For 15 years, the Thornwood neighborhood has enjoyed tremendous decorations from one house. The owners of this home, affectionately referred to as the “Halloween House,” always decorate the outside of their house, creating an extravagant display for all to view.

The homeowners, Soheyla and Rich Seiff, have been residents since 2000, when the Thornwood Grove portion of the neighborhood was built. They have been decorating their home for Halloween for 15 years, inspired by a love of Halloween and a local contest, The Gallery of Ghoulish Homes Tour.

Due to the large scale of the decorating, the process of setting up and storing everything is very methodical. They have three storage units to store everything, and have committed to hiked electrical bills and endless hours of installation.

“I’m probably in for around $20,000,” said Soheyla Seiff.

About two weekends prior to the beginning of Oct., the couple rented a truck to retrieve all of the large animatronics and other decorations. The first step of their decorating process is to put up all the large decorations and animatronics, a task done by Rich Seiff. Once these are up, Soheyla Seiff works on adding the smaller details like bones and skeletons. This takes about two days, and then they take a break for the following week. The next weekend, they add all the lighting and mechanics. They add the projectors, fog machines and all the lights. All in, it is about a four-day process.

Each year, they focus on a different theme. They have done themes like clowns, zombies, pirates, dinosaurs and more.

“This year it’s classic monsters, like Frankenstein and his bride, and vampires and witches, some werewolves, a troll,” said Soheyla Seiff.

The fun does not stop with the decorations. They also both dress up to match the theme of the year. On both the contest judging night and the night of Halloween, Soheyla and Rich have live actors outside and hand out popcorn, water and glow sticks.

In their 15 years of participating in The Gallery of Ghoulish Homes Tour, they have won awards six times. The contest includes the categories Best Actors (1-6 ghouls), Best Actors (7+ ghouls), Eeriest Haunt (without actors), Craftiest Creeper, Best Use of Technology, Family Fun, Best Rookie, Judge’s Favorite and People’s Choice. Among these, they have won awards for Best Use of Technology, Best Actors and more. It is free to sign up to participate in the contest through the St. Charles Park District website.

“One of the categories is Judge’s Favorite, and I’ve never won Judge’s Favorite, so that’s my goal,” said Soheyla Seiff.

The couple hopes to spread joy and fun throughout the neighborhood with their decorations. They love when people stop by to admire and take pictures.

“I just love it, because we’re making the neighborhood happy, and then it makes us feel good and happy,” said Soheyla Seiff.

This story was originally published on Stargazer on October 10, 2025.