This family in Lacey really wants to scare you

Sure, there are some beautifully carved pumpkins. But there also are severed heads on poles, a giant inflatable spider, a headless body in a guillotine and a beast of a man called “Frank” who jiggles away in his electric chair.

And all of it is has been on display in Lacey this month for Halloween.

The elaborate, spooky display known as Grimm Manor is the creation of Dennis Kauffman, who lives with his wife and daughter at 6647 Columbine Ct. SE. Dennis first created the display 20 years ago for his daughter because she was born on Oct. 31.

It started out small and cute, he said Sunday, but it has grown since then. It now covers his front yard, porch and garage. There’s also the projected image of a horror movie on the second floor of the house.

It takes Dennis two weeks to set it up, then it’s on display from Oct. 1 through Halloween. The curious are welcome to stop by to see it between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. About 100 people stopped by Saturday night, he said.

The viewing hours are extended on Halloween night. The display typically attracts 200-300 trick-or-treaters and they give away 75-80 pounds of candy, Dennis said.

After Halloween, Dennis takes it all down and begins work on his Christmas display, which is even bigger, he said.

If the Halloween display was created for his daughter, the holiday display was started for a grandfather who was partially blind. By making it a big and vivid display, family members could describe it to him, he said.

When he’s not building holiday displays, Kauffman works as a Boeing contractor, doing data analysis on C-17 planes.

This story was originally published October 29, 2017 at 4:22 PM with the headline "This family in Lacey really wants to scare you."