Theo Zuffante caught the haunted house bug seven years ago.
Zuffane was an eighth grader at Concord Middle School when he decided to turn his family’s front porch on Pleasant Street in West Concord for Halloween to make it a haunted room in an old castle. He constructed a set of 8’ x 8’ antiqued castle doors that the trick-or-treaters would have to open to enter the creepy room and get their treats.
He and his twin sister, Zoe, have put on a Halloween extravaganza every year since, with the theme changing each year.
Every year the display includes a theme-appropriate synchronized sound and light show, engineered by Theo.
Theo and Zoe have both moved out and started their adult lives but their passion for creating an attraction to entertain the neighborhood kids (and adults!) has not dwindled. Last year’s theme was Haunted Pirates, akin to Pirates of the Caribbean. It included a large pirate skull hanging over the porch, a 10’ tall Kraken tentacle, and a custom voice-actor recorded message that played along with a light show when the doorbell was rung. The message directed trick-or-treaters to open an old treasure chest to retrieve their pirate booty.
This year, Theo has flown back home from Miami to set something up so that the “neighborhood kids won’t be disappointed.”
