KANSAS CITY - You may have noticed that Halloween decorations are out pretty early in stores this year. It's being called "Summerween".
For real Halloween aficionados the holiday is a year-round affair. Patrick Voss, owner of VFX Creates is responsible for many of the creepy, gory, scary things that make you jump and scream in haunted houses. "Sometimes we'll get contacted a year before they're going to open or if they have a special request or something like that, just to get it in time because there's a demand for all this with the haunted attractions," says Voss.
Listen to Patrick Voss of VFX Creates
Voss doesn't churn out flimsy props. He makes life size puppets, showing off MummRott the Mummy in the KMOX Studios. The puppet sits on his shoulder, supported by a harness. It includes a costume for the handler, and a sound system. MummRott is a roughly $2,000 investment for anyone serious about scaring.
Can anything startle Voss about Halloween's popularity??? "What surprises me is over the last few years more and more I'm seeing home haunters at the shows and buying our products which is not cheap," he points out. "These are high-end products for our main market -- haunted attractions and theme parks. You've got people that just love them and they love Halloween and the home haunters, you know the people that put all the stuff in their yard... ...and build mazes in their yard just to have fun and every year more and more people look forward to that stuff too."
KMOX asked Voss if he decorates his own house for Halloween. "A little. I'm usually about burned out but we still have fun."
@2024 Audacy St. Louis (KMOX). All rights reserved.