By Nicole Messer
Photo Editor
@NicoleMesser14
We scream, he gleams, we all scream for Halloween. For the past nine years, Coppell resident Jim Hall has invested his heart into creating a spooktacular Halloween show in his front yard.
“I’ve always loved Halloween because it’s the holiday without expectations,” Hall said. “It’s the holiday where you can do nothing and everyone is happy, or you can do something really extravagant and everyone is still happy.”
Whenever you pull up to the house, the synchronized lights, decorations and sounds immediately amaze you. In order to listen to the story, you have the choice of listening to it from your car by tuning into 107.3 FM, or you can get out of your car and press the button to turn on the speakers outside, which makes it more engaging.
Surprisingly, Hall himself has made a large majority of the extravagant props and lights, including each of the gravestones, the spider and the man in the window. On the fourth year, he started controlling them with a computer, and Hall added the radio in last year by putting the transmitter in the attic and placing a sign outside to inform visitors.
“It’s pretty much year round, but it’s a hobby. It’s when I have a free weekend here and there,” Hall said. “I usually try to take a break around January, but summer is when I am in full build mode trying to put new things together and get new props set up and working.”
Some of the props include the massive spider on the left side of the yard that he bought at the store and altered to fit the scene, and the candles around the house that he made out of PVC pipe, hot glue and light bulbs.
But it’s not just the props that are made by him – Hall also did all of the voice-overs and story writing for the story.
“I did college radio and voice work in my undergrad so I used that leverage to do a lot of the voices,” Hall said. “Most of it is me sitting down here, usually when no one is home, and doing a whole array of spooky voices and trying to figure out what works and fits well.”
The story line is about a husband and wife that used to live on Lakeview Court, however, when the wife died, a lot of paranormal activity started occurring. After going through several events, it ends mysteriously with the disappearance of her husband who was never to be seen again.
“I had a lot of props and was looking for a way to tie them all together, so what I used was the fact that we live on Lakeview Court and there isn’t a view of a lake and there has got to be a reason why a street with that name has no lake.” Hall said.
While the show is bigger than ever this year, Hall plans on growing it bigger every year and is already thinking about new additions for next year’s show.
“As a kid, I always loved Halloween and I’ve always wanted to do something to give back to the community,” Hall said.
And his giving doesn’t stop on Oct. 31. Along with the Halloween, the Hall family also does something for Christmas.
“This is the Hall Family Halloween Spooktacular, and sometime after Thanksgiving until sometimes after Christmas is when the Hall Family Christmas Lighting Spectacular runs,” Hall said.
Unlike the Hall Family Halloween Spooktacular, the Hall Family Christmas Lighting Spectacular doesn’t involve a story line. Instead, it is made up of lights, decorations, props and Christmas songs on a loop. This year, they are already planning on having eight songs and are looking forward to the new additions.
The Hall family lives on 836 Lakeview Court in Coppell, located in the neighborhood off of MacArthur Boulevard. It is a family friendly, fun activity that gets you in the spooky spirit.
