Jimmy Marinez’s home leaves no doubt Halloween season is upon us.
The Homewood resident has decorated his front yard at 1735 Ridge Road with dozens of life-sized horror movie figures, many of which he built for the Halloween season.
His wife, Alisha Marinez, compared the decorated yard to a haunted house because it features strobe lights, sound effects, cobwebs, pathways, fencing and tent enclosures.
Marinez, his friend Mike (who wouldn’t provide his last name) and his 6-year-old son, Rex, plan to wear scary costumes on Halloween and stand still in the yard pretending to be Halloween decorations before jumping out to scare trick-or-treaters and other passersby.
The yard includes three aliens from the movie Mars Attacks!, Captain Spaulding from the movie House of a 1000 Corpses, Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies, Michael Myers from the Halloween movies, Ghostface from the Scream movies, a jack-o’-lantern with devil horns, dog skeletons that appear to be feasting on human flesh and various creepy dolls.
The lights in the yard are set on a timer to turn on at 6 p.m. and turn off at 10 p.m. Marinez said that later this month, he’ll likely adjust the timing to turn off closer to midnight.
This will be the third Halloween that Marinez and his family have lived in Homewood. His setup of Halloween decorations grows bigger and livelier each year. Marinez adds to the display throughout October, giving neighbors and passersby new sights to enjoy.
“It’s a time to have fun, express yourself and be someone else other than what you are,” Marinez said, explaining why he loves Halloween.
“Growing up [in Burbank], about a block or two away from our house, there was a neighbor that decorated their stuff in front of their house,” Marinez said. “Around Halloween time, I used to always go out there. And I remember seeing the new stuff that they put up and finding it interesting. It stuck with me.”
Marinez, a service advisor at Ford of Homewood, said his co-workers were aware of the extremely decorated yard and were pleasantly surprised to realize it was his.
Mike helped Marinez scare trick-or-treaters and passersby on Halloween last year in a homemade Pig Man mask. He said he plans to wear it again this Halloween.
“It was really fun – more fun than I thought it would be,” Mike said, describing the first time he helped Marinez scare trick-or-treaters and passersby on Halloween. “The look of fear you see on people’s faces. There’s something about it. I just can’t explain what it is. It’s intoxicating and makes you want to scare more.”
Chicago Heights resident Tony Franklin pulled his car over when passing by Marinez’ house in early October. He said he and his grandchildren had to get a closer look at the Halloween yard decorations.
“You’ve got to pull over to see it in detail if you’re really into horror shows,” Franklin said, adding that he especially appreciated the Mars Attacks! figures. “You never see aliens.”
