The spookiest houses in town

GRUNDY CENTER- Of the families in Grundy Center who have gone the extra mile to make the exteriors of their homes fear factories this fall, each of them have their own reason. For one, it was a father-son building project, and for another, a generational tradition. But Alisha Albright, who lives on 5th Street and boasts a giant inflatable ghost and personalized graves in her yard, just wanted more visitors.
 
“I’ve never decorated for Halloween ever—I mean, I’ll put up a few things—but I wanted trick-or-treaters,” she said.
 
A drive around town reveals several elaborate displays, including a project that Gary Kelley and his son Jack undertook on 1st Street near the fairgrounds last year. Using PVC pipe and Styrofoam, they constructed a full-size cemetery with an animated lightshow (and sound with the radio tuned to 89.7 FM) and have future plans to incorporate songs from recently deceased artists at “The Tomb of the Unknown Musician.”
 
The dearly departed at the Kelley Cemetery include “Bea A. Fraid,” “Yule B. Heresoon,” “Anita Shovel,” and “Pearl E. Gates.” For the Kelleys, the project was a perfect way to combine three of their favorite things—music, Halloween and building.
 
“(Jack) can learn some skills. It’s something fun rather than ‘Come over here, I’m going to show you how to use this hammer,’ or ‘Come over here, I’m going to show you how to use this drill,’” Gary Kelley said. “If you do something fun, they’re learning without even realizing it.”
 
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