Welcome to the First Annual Ewoldt House of Horror!

Halloween has always been our favorite holiday and over the last couple of years we have, successively, done a bit more to add to the festivities. While it was a major leap this year, it was natural progression that we would create a haunted house in our back yard…having Mike and Shan here to help out this year was definitely a deciding factor.

Starting out, we knew that we wanted a jack-o-lantern patch and that we would turn the shop building into the main attraction. Over dinner and drinks, the overall plan evolved to turn the building into a morgue gone wrong. It was evident that we were going to need quite a few volunteers to staff the event so we solicited our favorite bartenders and wait-staff who were more than happy to don disguises and scare those brave enough to come out.

Once the basic idea was laid out, it was time to get to work…after a trip and many return trips to the local Halloween stores, the game room looked more like a warehouse or movie store-room. Armed with a lumber delivery from Home Depot, construction commenced, turning the deck leading to the shop building into a walled-in walkway. Frames for the main tunnel were built in the yard which was easier said than done. After our summer drought, the ground was as hard as permafrost. Extensive soaking did little to relieve the situation and a couple of times we had to resort to pouring concrete to stabilize the frame posts.

Next on the list was making supports for the lit pathways that would mark the escape and exit routes. We decided that it would be best to offer a way out for those who thought the shop building would be too scary to enter. The supports were placed and the lights were strung close to the ground, ultimately leading to the gate on the south side of the house.

Halloween weekend got here fast! Not only were there preparations outside of the house but there was cleaning and cooking to be done inside. Shan prepared lots of spooky “horror” d’Oeuvres and there was plenty of food for the cast and crew in attendance thanks to her and Mari's work. Saturday marked the big decoration day. Mike and Shan came out to help; the cobwebs and stage blood flew….

Sunday came and it was the day of reckoning. With the tunnel to be built, pumpkins to carve, and ghouls to dress we were going to have our hands full. It went off without a hitch…until the wind picked up. On what was supposed to be a relatively calm day regarding wind speed, gusts reached near 26mph in the afternoon. All we could do was watch as our plastic sheeting ripped free of the frames and blew to tatters. We regrouped and decided to reposition the part of the tunnel that ripped off completely to block the view of our prospective visitors. With the tunnel dilemma worked out, it was time to get messy. We carved up the pumpkins in assembly-line fashion and positioned them along the exit path.

Our friends and family arrived between 4 and 6 and the festivities were in full swing…just waiting for dark. We prepared our small shed next to the north fence and the post-mortem table for our not-quite-dead victim. The fog machines were prepped, the soundtrack was queued, and the strobe lights placed. We had a few curious early arrivals that came a bit too early for the show but were advised to come back later.

After being greeted at the iron gate by our gracious hostess June Cleaver (emphasis on ‘cleaver’), the small shed was the first thing our victims…ahem, visitors passed and was the station for “Jason” complete with bladeless chainsaw. Jack the Pumpkin Head directed our revelers toward the haunted house or the escape path as appropriate before he dashed into the morgue to add some more spooky theatrics. The morgue was staffed with our stars; The undead mortician, his ghastly assistant, the body who had quite a bit of life left in her, and a very hungry caged zombie. At the entrance to the building, a pet ghoul with glowing eyes was chained up with his evening meal- just in case there were any with doubts about whether they wanted to enter.

Several groups were treated to the talented screaming of our very own poodle-skirted fifties girl who was planted and grabbed as the next victim of the mad mortician. Those who heard her scream won’t soon forget it. After the morgue, survivors were treated to an assortment of candies and a handout of the history of Stingy Jack, one famous telling of the origins of the jack-o-lantern before being sent down the lantern path by the devil herself. Of course we couldn’t let our guests leave without one last scare…once our visitors thought they were done, they received one final and very fitting send off by the Grim Reaper.

Without further ado -

“Happy Halloween to All and to All a Good Fright”

Brought to you by the Ewoldt-Anthony clan and friends

Cast (in order of appearance)

June Cleaver – Shanna
Jason – Jake
Jack the Pumpkin head – Dave
The pet ghoul – Mike
Fifties girl scream queen (mortician’s victim) – Jocelyn
The body (not-quite-dead girl) – Betsy
The mad mortician – Eric
The mortician’s assistant – Jackie
The zombie – Cody
The devil – Mari
The Grim reaper – Billy

And special thanks go out to Jim and the Eischen’s crew for rounding up potential visitors, to Pat for lending props, and to Lynn for costuming expertise!