A west-end home becomes a nightmarish landscape every year thanks to Halloween-enthusiast Keith Lorenz. Populated by gargoyles, tombstones and a brutish butler, Lorenz hopes his home will thrill trick-or-treaters this year.
“The entire frontyard is surrounded by a homemade, wrought-iron fence which I made out of bits and pieces of plastic pipe and wood. This year I added our butler, Alfred. He is about five-10 and he will be greeting people by the door here. He has a very old mottled face, and he’s hiding in the shadows. He is kind of a sinister-looking brute.”
Citing his daughter as the inspiration behind the haunted house, Lorenz holds a deep affection for the season of Halloween.
“I think that there is a thing in everybody that likes the unknown,” Lorenz said. “Kids like it, and I think adults like it too. It’s just this time of year brings out the feeling in people. There is that excitement and heightened expectation of getting a little bit of fear that gets the adrenaline going.”
While Lorenz typically only sees 80 trick-or-treaters a year, he hopes to welcome many more to his open house Saturday night. The public is welcome to visit from 7 p.m. to midnight at 8319 190 St., NW.
