There's a home on Padstone Drive in Apex that you can't miss this Halloween. And you won't want to.
Al Francia, his wife Brandi and their daughter, Delaney, have always loved Halloween decorations. Al, a computer engineer, said the first decoration he made himself was a life-size Mike Myers.
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Mike, who looks unnervingly real, is made out of foam. Al installed a motor inside Mike and used PVC piping and wiring to make him move his arms. A pair of realistic-looking eyes behind Mike's foam face were a simple Amazon purchase.
Mike stands on the family's front porch, but the real centerpiece is the front yard. Spiderwebs cover the bushes and the grass is covered with gravestones, skeletons, a buried coffin and even a mausoleum occupied by a "ghost." Ghosts fly through the air on a clear wire stretched across the grass.
Al made everything himself. The large mausoleum looks heavy but, like Mike, it is made of foam, along with the gravestones. The mausoleum, hand-painted by Al and Delaney, was made to be broken down into separate panels so Al can fit everything in his garage until next Halloween.
If you visit the home, you might recognize the inscriptions on the gravestones. They were inspired by Disney's The Haunted Mansion, one of Delaney's favorite rides at the Magic Kingdom. Al used an X-ACTO knife to carve funny inscriptions in each.
Al's haunted yard is elaborate but practical. Tiny posts buried in his yard stay put all year so he can easily install posts to support the floating ghosts each October. He even installed a pulley system on his roof so he can easily put up Christmas lights in December.
The lights and motors come on each evening at 7 p.m., bringing the ghouls and ghosts to life. On Halloween evening, music will play from a speaker on the family's front porch to accompany the display.
Al said his neighborhood sees a lot of trick-or-treaters, and he is excited to watch their reactions. He wants to add something new every year.