COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. — A haunted display in Comstock Park that’ll make your jack-o-lanterns and scare crows look like child's play is getting national attention for its ability to take you through a fairy tale land.
“There is the most plain beige ranch house with white trim and shutters,” Comstock Park homeowner Jennifer Dunahee explains.
“It is the most bland ordinary house you'll ever see under all of that.”
The that she is referring to is the Haunting of Storybook Hallows, a handcrafted fairy tale town with a spooky twist.
“The village has fallen under a curse and all of the villains have come back as ghosts to haunt the village,” Jennifer said.
And it covers quite literally every inch of the Dunahee’s Comstock Park home.
“The windows of the little shops are actually lined up with our actual windows so that if there's a fire, we can still get out,” Jenniffer said.
So instead of simply putting out pumpkins and cobwebs, this family has treated their neighbors to a spooky spectacle for the last 15 years.
It’s a tradition Jennifer started as a kid.
“When I was 11, my dad and I started doing a Halloween display at my parents house,” Jennifer said.
“We would take the day off school, he would take the day off of work, and we'd set it all up.”
Jennifer has come far from her early days of setting up for Halloween. Now the magic starts to come up in August, entertaining thousands every year.
But the fantasy land became a nightmare in late August when a tornado tore through Comstock Park.
“It was devastating,” Jennifer said.
“Within minutes, it picked up a huge tree and power lines sparks went everywhere.”
A number of trees including a 150-year-old maple tree toppled over crushing parts of the exhibit and destroying years of hard work.
But after the initial shock, Jennifer and her family got digging, recovered what they could and made lemonade out of lemons.
In no time, the family brought this storybook land out of the hallows just in time for the droves of Halloween lovers to arrive.
“I hope our neighbors are okay with it,” Jennifer said.
“I've got a few neighbors who say they absolutely love it.”
The Dunahee’s showing that the spells of mother nature can’t bring down the spirit of Halloween.
The house raises money for the Human Society and they have a goal to break ten thousand dollars.
It's open everyday from 9:30 AM- 9:30 PM Monday through Friday and until 10 PM on weekends.
