Not for the faint of = heart

AWARD-WINNING PLAINFIELD = HALLOWEEN=20 DISPLAYS ARE ...

October 26, 2007

By CATHERINE=20 ANN VELASCO STAFF WRITER

PLAINFIELD -- Dan Krein's version of the Last = Supper is=20 pretty gruesome.

In his Halloween display, dead-looking creatures = dine on=20 bloody fingers, eyeballs and even a heart that is = still=20 beating. And, if they get hungry for more they can = raid the=20 bloody fridge filled with more delights of the deadly=20 kind.

Throughout the year, Dan and his wife, Tammie, = attend four=20 Halloween conventions where they get more ideas to add = onto=20 their graveyard and gruesome dining room, which they = call=20 Souls of the Forsaken.

"We started with Jason (from the "Friday the 13th" = series)=20 and Freddy Krueger (from "Nightmare on Elm Street"). = Then, we=20 progressed into something scarier," said Dan, who = lives at=20 2205 Stonehaven Drive with his wife and their sons, = Danny and=20 Dylan, both 14.

Their hard work has paid off. The Kreins' home in = Wedgewood=20 subdivision was named Judge's Favorite in the = Plainfield Park=20 District's Halloween decorating contest.

Thirty-three people entered their homes in the park = district's Extreme Makeover: Haunted Edition Halloween = House=20 Decorating Contest. Six winners received certificates = and $25=20 Jewel gift cards.

"This was a first-time event for us and it exceeded = all of=20 our expectations! With more than 30 families entering = the=20 contest, I think we tapped an interest in our = community and=20 we're looking forward to building on the event for = next year,"=20 said Marianne Naughton, the park district's public = information=20 coordinator.

People don't have to wait until Halloween to see = the=20 Kreins' creation. The haunted yard has been up and = running=20 since Oct. 6. It is open 7-11 p.m. today and Saturday = and=20 7-9:30 p.m. Sunday. It will also be open on Halloween=20 night.

"We do it for everybody. We figure we will give = them all=20 month to see it," said Dan who has been creating the = scene for=20 three years.

With the click of a button at just the right = moment, Dan=20 can scare anyone with zombies that rattle the gate or = a=20 monster that jumps out at you.

Delightful and = gory

Juan Bursik,=20 18, and Rex Smiley, 15, stopped by to check out the = yard=20 Thursday night. Dan set up the electric chair for = their=20 viewing and, to their delight, the sucker in the chair = shakes=20 and screams.

"That's cool! That's insane!" Rex said.

Dan made many of the items in his display including = a=20 coffin, Frankenstein's table and a guillotine that = squirts red=20 water from a decapitated head. He makes the bodies for = most of=20 his zombies and other monsters with PVC pipe before = adding a=20 mask, hands and feet. And, he adds a little humor into = it --=20 one zombie wears a T-shirt that says "Classic Blood=20 Donor."

"My wife likes Halloween and she got me into it. = It's an=20 obsession," Dan said. "Every year you add on. Next = year, we=20 want to do a haunted home in the backyard."

Best special = effects

Jeff=20 Brennan, who won in the special effects category, = likes=20 sharing his craft of building scary props with others. = On the=20 Web site www.hauntbrothers.com, Jeff and his brother, = Mike,=20 show how they make a ground-breaking coffin, a monster = in a=20 box and a spooky flying ghost.

And, if you can't make it to his house on = Halloween, you=20 can view people getting scared that night online at=20 www.hauntedplainfield.com.

The Brennan family has been turning their yard and = garage=20 into a graveyard spectacular for 10 years. They = started at a=20 home in Lakewood Falls subdivision and moved the = scenes to=20 their new home in 14431 General Drive in Liberty Grove = Subdivision where they have lived for three years with = their=20 children, Kayla, 9, and Patrick, 5.

"We love it. We want people to see it. More people = find us=20 each year. We are back against the cornfield. People = basically=20 find us from the Internet and word of mouth," Jeff = said.

Bravery a must

The = Brennan home=20 greets people with eyes on the second-floor window = that light=20 up and follow you. Then, there's the eerie ghost = flying=20 around. As the creepy music plays, lights move = throughout the=20 graveyard.=20

To get a treat, brave trick-or-treaters must = meander=20 through the graveyard where there is a creature locked = up in a=20 box, a person being electrocuted and a skeleton that = recites=20 Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven." Then, they must = approach a=20 coffin from which a woman rises from the dead to give = out=20 candy.

Like Dan, the Brennans also visit Halloween = conventions to=20 get ideas. Then, Jeff comes home and figures out how = to make=20 items for less than the $1,000 it might cost.

Jeff and his wife, Debbie, come up with fun stories = for=20 explain their creations. This year, they say they = found an=20 interesting creature in the mountains for their = graveyard.=20

"Needless to say, we had to box him up for = transport and he=20 was very unhappy with that. We will have him on = display this=20 year," they wrote on their Web site. "But be warned, = he is=20 very dangerous, so don't get too close to him."

Called "creature in a box," the display will = definitely=20 surprise the unexpected who walk past it in the = Brennan's=20 graveyard.

Trisha Bukovsky held onto her 10-year-old son, = Matt, as she=20 got spooked by a monster Thursday night.

"It was awesome! I like the box," Matt said.

Contest = preparation

People can=20 learn how to make a creature in a box on Brennan's Web = site.

To prepare for the contest Saturday, Jeff had to = find=20 leaves. Because of the mild autumn, most of the leaves = were=20 still hanging onto the trees that weekend.

"You need leaves for the graveyard. I have to go = out and=20 find them. I was racking my brain looking for leaves = for the=20 competition. I had to go up to the forest preserve," = Jeff=20 said. "Now the leaves are starting to fall. I'll have = some for=20 Halloween.

"I like the graveyard area," he said. "I think the = effect=20 makes the house look a little bit more eerie."

Reporter Catherine Ann Velasco can be reached at = (815)=20 729-6051 or mailto:cvelasc= o@scn1.com?Subject=3DStory.Response=20

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