Man spends thousands building elaborate haunted house in garage

By Sejal Mandal via SWNS

A man has spent thousands building a terrifyingly elaborate haunted house in his garage.

Oscar, 58, has been a Halloween fanatic since childhood, starting with homemade costumes and eventually creating intricate animated props.

Since he started five years ago, Oscar has built 15 elaborate custom-made props, each costing between £154 ($200) to £463 ($600).

His creations include the "Creepy Claw Crane Game," which fools guests into thinking they’ll win a prize but instead unleashes a lurking zombie.

The "Zombie Meat Hook Thrasher", a gutted zombie hanging from rusty metal chains and meat hooks.

There's also the "Creepy Climber", a woman trying to climb a fence before getting electrocuted.

And the "Pepper's Ghost Illusion", which uses mirrors and lighting to create an eerie ghostly appearance.

Oscar's set up takes five days to assemble and two days to take down, but it’s only open to the public for about four hours on Halloween night.

Oscar, a real estate manager from Wisconsin said: “I’ve always been a Halloween enthusiast.

“About 15 years ago, I built my first animatronic and now, each year, I add something new.”

Every year, Oscar spends months designing, building and perfecting his creations.

He starts researching in the summertime and spends about three months figuring out the designs.

He said: "I’m just a one-man show.

"I drop all my other responsibilities when Halloween mode kicks in, but I couldn’t do it without my wife.

“She picks up the slack and I’m really grateful for her support.”

His most complicated creation is the "Reaper Puppet Master," which uses servomotors to control a skeleton's movements.

Oscar said: "It’s the only one I have that uses motors.

“Everything else is driven by compressed air and pneumatics."

While the props are intricate and often involve complex engineering, Oscar keeps things old-school when it comes to planning.

He said: “I’m old-school with pencil and paper.

"I research for months, figuring out the design and mechanics.

"Some props I re-engineer after seeing them online but others are 100% original.”

Oscar’s haunted house, which started five years ago, has since become a neighborhood hit.

He said: “The crowd favorite is the ‘Axe Door Murder’ prop.

“It’s a guy axing through a door and people can’t figure out how the effects work, even when they’re standing right in front of it.”