The Halloween House

Photographer Unknown

Every year my son has been sending me pictures and stories about a ” Halloween House” in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin

When I would pull the pictures up and zoomed in , I was blown away by what I saw.

There were little stories being told by groups of skeletons, spiders and gargoyles and the author of those visual Halloween Treats for your eyes was a man named Jeff Omen.

Jeff Omen used to pull a coffin behind his Cemetery themed motorcycle and he had a silver hearse parked in his front yard.

He wore a top hat decorated with skulls.

This year I was out in Wisconsin to celebrate some Halloween events with my granddaughter in Fox Lake and I wanted to explore some cemeteries. But top of my list was a visit to Jeff Omen’s Halloween House. After all these years I was going to get to visit it, explore it and celebrate it in person. I was hoping to meet Jeff Omen too. I had a million questions for him and I was hoping he’d answer a few.

Then my son sent me a new article. Jeff Omen had died unexpectedly.

A few days later I learned he had fallen from a ladder while he was decorating his house for Halloween.

Photographer Unknown

We went to take a look at Jeff Omen’s house and I was not prepared for what I saw- the house was huge and the exterior was decorated. The yard was massive and was occupied by skeletons, a couple of coffins, a sports car under attack by a giant spider. There was so much to see and I would have loved to have explored it more, but I took my pictures quickly and I moved about the displays carefully because I was very much aware that Jeff Omen had died here recently and at that moment I felt like I was visiting a memorial and not a Halloween House.

That didn’t take away from my enjoyment that afternoon. I just enjoyed myself quietly- the way the people walking by seemed to be doing too.

I hope you enjoy my tribute to the Halloween House in Beaver Dam- at the end of this post is a news story about Jeff Omen.

In addition- I did work on the pictures a bit because I took them quickly and I had to correct shadows and sunlight the best I could to flesh out the displays. But I think you will catch the vibe. It’s a haunting vibe, but I think that was Jeff Omen’s intention.

anita