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Halloween has always been our favorite holiday. Halloween is the perfect
holiday to be creative; the littlest things can be made into scary displays. We
enjoy watching people from near and far come and experience our display. They
give so much positive feedback, it makes all the expense and work well worth
it. The display seems to make not only the kids happy and excited, but the
adults as well all seem to really enjoy it. We enjoy being creative and working
with our hands building things throughout the year. Unlike other holidays,
Halloween is much less commercial and it is just good clean fun for the kids.
Our display is just that as well….good clean fun; it has no association with
devil warship, religious undertones, or any other purpose except to entertain.
The building of the props, construction of the display, gatherings we attend,
and the many friends in the haunting business we have gained has become a very
enjoyable yet expensive hobby obsession…..
We are located at 340 South Annandale Drive in Lake in the Hills, Illinois 60156. We do have neighbors. PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL OF THEM! Keep noise down, respect their property, and place your trash where it belongs.
This is a yard display which can be seen any time between early October and November 1st. Though the display can be viewed any time, lights, special effects, animations, garage display, and other things run daily from dusk till about 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday we run till 10:00 p.m. or slightly longer and may occasionally have actors. All animated operation is weather permitting. The entire display is operated on five or more separate circuits and is all timer controlled. Please do not ask us to “turn it back on” for you. We would love to, but it is not that easy.
Much of the display is stored in our attic, basement, or shed. In 2006 we broke down and started using off site storage as well. In 2009 we upgraded to a 10'x30' off-site storage facility, parts of the basement, shed, entire garage attic, and even parts of the master bedroom's closet.
Weekends bring the most visitors with some nights topping 1500 visitors. The number of visitors has really grown. In 2003 we had over 1200 signatures in our guest book and 700 trick-or-treaters (ToT's). In 2004 we had over 1600 signatures. We had over 839 confirmed individual ToT's on Halloween (but this only counts kids that made it to the door). Signatures in our guestbook include people from as far as Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Florida, and Canada. Each year many people are repeat visitors that bring their friends. Families make weekend outings to view the changes as the month progresses. In 2005 we had over 800 ToT's, and well over 3000 visitors. 2006 brought over 3000 visitors on October 31st alone, with 800 actually making it to the door to get candy. It is amazing how many don’t want the candy, they seem to trick-or-treat elsewhere, then come to hang out and see the display. In 2009 we had over 1300 TOT's, and just under 10,000 total visitors. As you can tell the old "if you build it....they will come...." holds true!!!
Total yard display is in the tens of thousands if it had to be replaced at retail. Current estimate in '10 is around $80,000. Most props are built by us using supplies available to everyone. We average between $3000 and $5500 each year in new or revised items. Because we make much of the display ourselves, cost is much less than retail. There are many related items that are used to help build the display that are not actually in the display. Keep in mind, to run this we had to purchase many behind the scenes items. Laptops to program props, PLC's to control props, pneumatic supplies, larger compressors for pneumatics, a trailer to transport props to storage, tools, etc. In addition, off-site storage, paint, wood, steel, candy, food for volunteers, and many other items add up quickly to make this an expensive endeavor...We do accept donations which helps cover candy and a few of the incidentals, but we do not make any profit in this hobby. That is not our goal. We would build new props and decorate even if only two people came to see. It is such a feeling of accomplishment to build something and watch it work.
Please know Haunt 31 collects scrap metal to help off-set the cost of this hobby. Please consider us before tossing your metal items to the curb.
We typically set-up the first weekend in October but are "staging" items for set up as early as late August/early September. Take down is the immediately after Halloween. These dates are flexible each year depending on weather.
In ‘09 we had over eight people working over seven 10 hour days. We estimated easily 200-300 man hours this year just in set-up. After the initial set-up, we usually spend another 20-40 man hours tweaking, wiring, adjusting, repairing, or adding to the display. In ‘09 we used over 500' of pneumatic air line, 500' of 24vdc low voltage cable, 1000' of extension cords, and bags and bags of cable ties. All this hook up takes a bit of time.
We get this question quite often. You can help by visiting and enjoying our display as well as telling your friends. Most important, you can help by keeping order and respecting our neighbors. If you wish to do more, you can drop a donation in the box located under the guest-book or offer some of your time. We are looking for some specific help too:
Help Wanted: Friday/Saturday nights get B-U-S-Y, We could always use help keeping an eye on things, helping with traffic management, or just hanging out. Late September/Early October we could use help with set-up, touch up painting, wiring, "go-for's", feeding the volunteers, etc. In November, fixing broken things, touch up painting, transport to storage, and help repairing our yard is appreciated.
Web Design - Well, you are here, so the site is at least working...lol. I have a GREAT friend in Florida who is putting up with my crap and helping me with the site. We could still use help bringing it to the year 2010. Maybe a photo viewer, or other modifications.
Landscaping - We need help with the repair/re-seeding/re-sodding of the dead spots in the front lawn, raking mulch back into the beds, and general post Halloween clean-up. We will add your company to our sponsor page and link to your website if you own a landscaping company and wish to help.
Photography - We need your photos and videos. Are you a professional video/photographer? Let us know.
Set-up/Take-down – We need help with set up. This includes transporting props from storage, getting stuff from the attics, carrying props to/from the back yard, painting, and generally taking orders. If you have basic electrical knowledge, it is a plus to help wire the display when we get to that point. All props run off 24vdc. Take down includes repair of anything damaged, and carefully packing everything up so it will be in great shape for next year.
Building - Help with the building of props. Believe it or not, we are building all season. Typically weekends are spent woodworking, metalworking, and building. Painting help is always needed. THIS happens throughout the entire year. Send me a message after December and find out our building schedule.
Donate - To help cover some of the extensive cost involved in this display. Please understand, we are not trying to make money, just recover some of the cost. If we were in it for the money, we would not be doing this!! There is a donation box located under the guestbook each season, or we do accept Paypal donations. E-mail for more information. In 2010 Storage cost alone was over $1320.00. Please know, Haunt 31 collects scrap metal to help off-set the cost of the display. Send us a message to arrange p/u, or drop off when you are in the area. WE TAKE ANYTHING. Email for more details.
Sponsors - Help defer some of the cost by becoming a sponsor. Are you a local business that would like your name/logo/link on our website? Become a sponsor by donating supplies, or your help in a specific area and we will place your company logo/link on our Sponsor section AND prominently located in our display. E-mail for more information.
Well, in '06 we ran power from five different circuits around the house which gave us almost 80 amps of available electricity. Currently we run cords all over to power up. In the future, we may consider having an electrician put in a sub-panel strictly for Halloween. Our bill typically goes up about $100-150 for the month. In 2008 we began changing the lighting over to LED's. 2009 completed the transformation pulling a TON of power out of the display. We upgraded the compressor to a 240vac which runs more efficient. We still use a BUNCH of power, but it is under control. In 20
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For more information or to report any issues with this site, please contact us at: haunt31 |