The Good Life – September-October 2014

Name: Dave Jacobs
Occupation: Morning show host on Robbie and
Dave in the Morning – FM 107.9 The Fox
Favorite Halloween song: Thurl Ravenscroft’s
“Grim, Grinning Ghosts
BY: MEGHAN FEIR | PHOTOS: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
ince the mid-1990s, Dave Jacobs and
his wife, Margie, have been freaking
out their neighbors – on purpose. The
couple built a permanent structure
on their property in Leonard, N.D.,
that is specifically designed for their
haunted Halloween set up.
“I change it up every year. It keeps my
creativity at a level that I like to have it,” Jacobs
said.
Living in upstate New York before moving
to New Jersey as a college student, Jacobs
experienced the strong tradition of New
England’s fascination with the autumn holiday
and all things spooky.
“In one of the old houses we lived in when
I was a kid, my brother fell through the wall in
the basement, and there was a hidden room,”
Jacobs said. “There was an old cot and a wooden
wheelchair.”
Behind the mystifying 200-year-old house
was an antiquated cemetery surrounded by a
stone wall, complete with sunken graves and bat
head iron ornaments that rested atop handles of
an equally ominous gate.
“It was right out of a Stephen King movie,”
Jacobs said. “We would play around it as kids, so
I guess I grew up with a macabre sense of humor.
Maybe that just stuck. I just love Halloween.”
Jacobs hopes to scare and not scar his
audience, which is why there are three levels
to his set up. The first level is for the little ones
where he leaves the lights on and plays nonthreatening
Scooby Doo tunes. However, as you
go deeper into the structure, the terrors multiply.
“If you can get people to achieve suspension
of disbelief, meaning, they’re not sure if it’s real
or not, then as haunter, you’ve done your job.”
The Jacobs own hundreds of costumes,
outfitting each of their yearly volunteers in the
creepiest of getups. Jacobs is also a handyman,
building his own prosthetics and props in an
effort to create a more affordable destination for
families to enjoy the holiday together.
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