Home is where the haunt is for 2 Valley families who love homemade Halloween, their communities
Download mp3 (6.32 MB)Since the COVID-19 pandemic, spending on Halloween across the country has been on the upswing.
Earlier this month, the Arizona Office of Tourism released a digital “passport” to haunted attractions, events and destinations featuring the holiday “spirit.”
But what about the ghouls next door? For some Valley residents, home is where the haunt is.
Scary Christmas House
Year round, Bob Spacy and his 26-year-old daughter, Devon, work together to run the pool maintenance company he owns.
But once autumn approaches, Devon said the real work begins.
“When it attempts to cool down then we start making stuff, putting stuff up,” she said.
→ PHOTOS: Bauler Family Lights and Scary Christmas House go all out for Halloween
For Devon, Halloween has always been a fascination.
And so has the movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas." But in Bob’s case?
“I heard of it,” he admitted, “but I had never seen it.”
Devon said she and her mom introduced him to it, and made a trip to Disneyland’s Oogie Boogie Bash.
“I was just … blown away,” Bob recalled. “I was like, ‘Wait a second.’”
So Bob went to the drawing board, literally. He and Devon draw and craft everything in the display themselves.
Roughly seven years later, the Spacy home undergoes an annual transformation into a slice of Halloweentown.
“Our yard actually goes in order of the movie,” Bob explained, walking along the sidewalk in front of the house and pointing out the different sections. “So when you start on the left side, you start in Halloweentown which is all the graveyard and stuff. And as you come through you kind of go through the Christmas version. I have the snake eating the Christmas tree, a flying teddy."
Then, behind all the presents-gone-wrong, is the entryway.
“That’s Oogie’s lair,” said Bob. “So it’s all gonna be neon, it’s bright and colorful.”
And it’s all the result of teamwork, with each person doing bits and pieces of different decorations.
“He’s always calling me with new ideas, like all the time,” said Devon with a grin. “It’ll be April and he’ll call me up with it and he’s like, ‘Oh, I have an idea for the house.’”
“She’s my soundboard,” Bob added.
Their home is also set to be featured on ABC’s "The Great Christmas Light Fight."
“It was kind of crazy,” said Bob, adding that he initially couldn’t believe it when they received the first email from the show.
Even though people come by to see the house in person, knowing their display will be on screens across the country is a whole new level.
“It’s a little nerve-wracking,” said Bob, laughing.
Since filming wrapped last year, Devon said a lot of that pressure has lifted for this holiday season.
“We’re not as stressed about touching up every little thing,” she said. “Plus, we get to see the show this year. We get to see all our hard work. That’ll be really fun.”
Bauler Family Lights
To the west, another family takes a different approach. Jon Bauler works in IT by day, and is up all night programming the light display that dominates the front of his Surprise home.
“I’ll actually work on this, starting in January for the Halloween and Christmas shows,” he said.
He said his wife, Stefanie, was really the Halloween lover between the two.
When asked, she joked: “He stole my holiday.”
“And she’ll tell people that, too,” Jon added.
But Stefanie said once he found a way to “hack” the holiday, she was all for it. Now, their home is covered in 13,286 tiny lights called ‘pixels.’
“Instead of it just lighting up all one thing, some sections light up and do little animations,” Jon explained.
The ‘pixels’ are small, bullet shaped LED lights shaped into ghosts in the front yard, a skull in an upstairs window, and spiders on the roof. One favorite pixel-made character is the 10-foot tall tree sporting an eerie grin.
“I usually have him set as the lead singer,” said Jon. “Almost all the songs. The main lyric tracks are always, usually him – with the exception of ‘Barbie Girl.’”
‘Barbie Girl’ by Aqua, he explained, is one of the most popularly requested songs to play on the display. He also sells the programming for different songs that people can use on their own displays, and added ‘Barbie Girl’ is also the most popularly purchased.
As the sun starts to set, the nightly show begins. People tune in via car radio to enjoy the music while the lights create choreographed patterns.
Kids dance in the street, and the Baulers’ own children often join in on the fun.
Building family, building community
“I think they have more fun giving things away,” said Jon.
“It’s like, on Halloween the last two years in a row, instead of wanting to go out trick or treating they want to stay behind,” Stefanie added.
Stefanie said they’re making family memories, and it started with the ones she made with her aunt.
“My earliest Halloween memories tailor back to her,” she recalled. “So I’m hoping that this helps with our kids to remember, you know? Even if we don’t do things all the time, they’ll remember that the holidays were special.”
And for the Spacys, the elaborate decorations also began with family traditions.
Being a blended family, Bob said he was searching for a way to connect with Devon. Working on the display became just that.
“I took her hunting, I took her shooting,” said Bob. “And I’m like, ‘This ain’t working.’ Even though she’s like, ‘Yeah!’ You know, shooting away and what not. But I’m like, ‘There’s gotta be something here that’s some more common ground.’ And so that’s what – that’s what this house manifested into.”
“We got along, I liked him prior to that,” Devon explained. “But I feel like that really bonded us.”
And even before that, Bob said a tradition formed when he and his wife first got together.
“We were both broke,” he said. “Like I sometimes didn’t have enough fuel to get to work. But the one thing that we could do is put the kids in the Jeep. Four kids in a four-door Jeep, me and my wife, and we’d drive around, look at Christmas displays.”
Even though the kids have grown up, Devon said it’s a tradition she wants to continue in her life. She said and her partner often go, and sometimes she still goes with Bob to ride around, often getting inspiration for their own display.
Months of hard work benefits charities
For both families, providing a space for community members to make those memories lit the spark. And now, they’ve both taken giving back a step further by doing charitable work.
For the Spacys, it’s the Scary Christmas Tree foundation.
“We help families in need, whether it be single moms, single dads,” Bob said. “‘Cause Christmas is a scary time if you’re a single parent. I mean, you want to be able to give to your children and so we try to be there to help provide that.”
At the end of the day: “We’re creating memories and that, to me, it’s a feeling that– you know, you can’t replace that.”
Inspired by their three rescue dogs, the Baulers’ focus is on furrier family members.
“Around Christmas time, we run a collection drive for MCACC,” said Jon, describing their support for Maricopa County Animal Care and Control.
They also link visitors to make direct donations via a QR code near the huge wrapped ‘gift’ where donated items can be dropped off.
“We make it a family event by taking the trip down to MCACC to personally drop off the donated items,” Jon said, adding that they also spend time with animals at the shelter.
This year, the family is selling light up bracelets that sync to the show to support more donations.
As All Hallow’s Eve draws near, both families are looking forward – to continue giving back, and to the big night itself. And (of course) to putting up their Christmas displays afterward.
If you go
Bauler Family Lights: 6-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 6-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday through Oct. 31. Address and full details at facebook.com/baulerfamilylights.
Scary Christmas House: 6-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 6-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday through Oct. 31. Address and full details at scarychristmashouse.com.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to remove the incorrect location of Scary Christmas House and the spelling of Bob and Devon Spacy's names.
