Family’s Halloween display a tribute to ‘80s and ‘90s horror

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frontby Stephen Dafoe

Freddy Kruger, Leatherface, Jason, Pinhead and Pennywise from Stephen King’s IT are hanging out with Chucky, a zombie with a severed head, and that creepy girl from the Ring. They’re all in a Morinville neighbourhood in preparation for giving trick-or-treaters a good Halloween scare.

Joanne and Trevor Antonsen traded the giant crashed UFOs they put up last year on their 98 Street yard in favour of a tribute to 1980s and 1990s horror movies.

I’ve been doing this for about five years now since we moved into this house,” said Joane Antonsen. “The kids are big on Halloween, and we were looking online one day where it showed you how to make the bodies. So we just started making the bodies and it kind of fanned out.”

That fanning out has now spread across the family’s entire front yard to include a dozen highly-detailed and positively ghoulish horror movie mannequins.

front1Antonsen said the creations use Halloween masks, and the rest is purchased at Value Village and other shops that sell Halloween costumes and items. But while the purchases let them create a realistic exterior, inside the mannequins, the frames are all recycled material.

“Inside Pinhead is old ripped up clothes the kids have worn out,” she said. “We recycle everything.”
The family also created Jigsaw from the Saw movies. That involved Antonsen and her daughter creating a paper mache mask of the character and adorning it with some old wigs.

front6“I’ve been big into it [Halloween] since I was a kid, so it just kind of blossomed,” she said. “We sit down a few months before. We were looking at scary movies, and this is what popped into our heads.”

The entire family gets into the spirit, including the couple’s 9 and 11-year-old children. Antonsen said she would be dressing up as Carrie on Halloween night, her daughter a creepy doll, and her son as Jason. Mr. Antonsen’s costume — if any — remains a secret from the family at this point.

Reaction to the display has been positive.

The family likes to put the display up a few weeks before Halloween for maximum enjoyment. They spent a month preparing this year’s tribute to horror films.

The family hopes people will drive by their 98 Street and 95 Avenue home to take a look.

Editor’s Note: We’ve been informed the family will have a bin outside on Halloween for donations to the food bank.

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