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Tallmadge family's house gets ghoulish makeover for Halloween festivities
By Kim Hone-McMahan
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Sunday, Oct 12, 2008
''Oops, too late!''
There are people who decorate their homes for Halloween, stringing spider webs on their front porches or placing glowing plastic skeletons in their windows. And then there's John Kerr.
For the past four haunting seasons, he's transformed his basement into a maze for his family and friends. Last year, nearly 300 invited guests, some of whom helped decorate, came to get the bejeebers scared out of them.
John had been wanting to create a haunted house at his home for some time. But his wife, Charlene, is no fan of Halloween (she's afraid of masks). So, John had to get his wife a bit juiced up before she relented.
''Get a couple of drinks in her, and she's agreeable to most anything,'' John joked.
But he knew better than to ask her to help decorate the cellar.
Even when it's not Halloween, Charlene won't go down there. The Kerrs' home in Tallmadge was built in 1826, the same year our second and third presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, died. And the year Sing Sing prison was opened.
''It's spooky. It's ugly. And it's dirty,'' Charlene said of the 900-square-foot basement.
A motorized trap door on the outdoor deck creaks as it opens. That's where visitors descend the steps to the world below.
Narrow passages lead guests to an autopsy room, a funeral parlor and the Lost Soul Tavern, where wakes are held and guests are offered drinks spiked with make-believe blood. In the yard is a cemetery with headstones made of Styrofoam.
''Rest in Pieces'' and ''Izzy Dead Yet?'' are scrawled on a couple of the grave markers.
The History Channel's Web site, http://www.history.com, notes that Americans spend about $6.9 billion (that's with a ''B'') each year on Halloween. After Christmas, that makes Oct. 31 the second largest commercial holiday in the United States. With all of that creepy merchandise available, it's a perfect excuse for people like the Kerrs to have a big party with all of the ghoulish fixings.
''If you're gonna to do something,'' John proclaimed, ''do it right.''
Kim Hone-McMahan's Sketches are short tales you can read before finishing your first cup of coffee. Know of a behind-the-scenes person or unheralded happening? Call 330-996-3742 or write kmcmahan@thebeaconjournal.com.
Get the full article here.
