KANSAS CITY, Mo — KSHB 41 reporter Marlon Martinez covers Platte and Clay counties in Missouri. Share your story idea with Marlon.
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A Northland house has become a Halloween destination, filled with floating ghosts, hanging witches and demons that look like they came straight out of a movie.
But the display is about more than the scare — it's about one man's creativity.
Todd and Lorraine Arbuckle are the ones behind it all, and much of what you see is made by Todd himself. He says he has to start in early September to get a head start on Halloween.
For most people, the sound of a piano is the sound of Halloween. For Todd Arbuckle, it's practically the soundtrack to his life. And he's got the front yard to match.
These aren't just demons straight off a store shelf. Arbuckle made them, building his own little world of horror, one creation at a time.
"I just love it because I can just cut loose, and my dark passenger comes out alongside my wife," Arbuckle said.
And that dark passenger doesn't take the night off. Arbuckle says he's been doing this since he was a kid, watching his own parents decorate for Halloween.
"When I was in high school, I did get an art scholarship, and I never really pursued it, but I continued in my own time, you know, making art, making crafts, making props. I was encouraged by my parents," Arbuckle said.
And he's not creating this nightmare alone. His wife and neighbors Chad and Kyle help bring the whole thing to life.
"We get a great deal of satisfaction out of seeing our creations come to fruition and then putting them on display for others to critique," Arbuckle said.
"I would do it even if nobody ever saw it, just because I really love making these creations and just kind of letting my imagination run wild," Arbuckle said.
But people are seeing it. And for Arbuckle, that's part of the fun — watching people take it all in.
"People appreciating what we've made, and giving us some criticism as well as some praise is a good thing," Arbuckle said.
You can come by the house anytime after 6 p.m. Arbuckle says that's when they have the music and fog machine going to give it the full effect. The house is located at 9621 North Tracy.
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