Hundreds of Needham homes are decorated for Halloween with pumpkins, skeletons, phony gravestones and clever displays of the macabre. And then there’s Mike and Christine Droney’s house.
The Droneys decorate their home at 10 Great Plain Terrace for just about every occasion, but they go all out for Halloween. Their front yard is filled with the requisite skeletons (one hanging from a basketball hoop) and fake headstones, while programmed blue and green lights dart around the window frames and along the roof lines of the dormers. On Halloween night, a coffin will open and close, and two pairs of eyes will follow you around the yard. Artificial fog will add to the atmosphere.
“The front yard is really based on Disney’s ‘Haunted Mansion,’ said Christine, “so we have Madame Leota’s head talking and all kinds of ‘Haunted Mansion’-themed things.”
There’s a good reason for the Disney influence: Christine, a financial adviser, worked at Walt Disney World while in college. After they married, the couple lived in Orlando, Florida for several years and informally competed with their neighbors to have the best Christmas decorations.
“You could put stuff on your roof and you could have a river running through your yard,” said Christine. “And that’s what we did because there’s no snow. So that started all of this.”
The Droneys moved to Needham (Mike’s hometown) several years ago, and bought their present home in 2022. On their first Halloween there, they were impressed by how many nearby homes were decorated. “It was awesome,” recalled Mike, a mechanical engineer. He thought, “I gotta get involved in this.”
Did they ever! With their three sons, 16-year-old Ryan and 14-year-old twins Liam and Connor also part of the operation, the Droneys this year have added a backyard haunted house based on “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.” At this writing it is scheduled to be open only on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 6-8 p.m. But Christine said if that goes well, it may also be open Halloween night.
The front yard is for the little kids, the Droneys said – not too scary. The scary stuff for the bigger kids is out back.
“My oldest is really into horror movies,” said Christine. “So last year we went to Universal Studios’ Horror Nights, which is 13 different haunted houses. They’re just over the top, so we came home and he’s like, ‘We have to do a haunted house.’ That really pushed it.”
Construction had barely begun on the haunted house last weekend when a visitor was offered a tour.
“There’s a dead body under here that’s going to be sawed with, like, hanging heads all over the place,” said Christine. “And this is the freezer room where all the meat is processed.”
“And then the cannibal families eat dinner there,” Mike pointed out. “And then this is the final scene where they chase you out.” There’s more, but we wouldn’t want to spoil it.
“It’s pretty gory,” said Christine. But “PG-13, make sure you mention that,” Mike quickly added, with a laugh.
Mike will be one of the haunted house characters “but everyone else will be a teenager,” he said. And they’ll get credit toward the volunteer hours they’re required to put in to graduate from Needham High School. The kids are also organizing a bake sale to benefit the Needham Community Council.
Christine, Mike and the boys do nearly all the construction and designing themselves. “I watch a lot of YouTube,” Christine said. Mike put up the lights – no small feat – but said he has no idea how to turn them on. That’s Christine’s department.
“We opted for permanent lights,” she said. “They’re up all year round, and there’s about six different apps that I use so I can program them for the most part to be anything. Which is lovely because I can tailor it for the holidays.”
As for the electric bill, “Everything is LED,” Christine said. “So it’s actually not as bad as you might think.”
Because of the anticipated crowds, the tiny stretch of road in front of 10 Great Plain Terrace will be closed on Halloween night. And people have already been stopping by to check out the display. You can’t miss it, facing Great Plain Avenue at the corner of Washington Avenue. And there’s no charge for anyone attending the haunted house, or on Halloween night.
“In years past, people have literally come up to me to offer me cash to pay for this,” Mike said, “and I keep saying no.” But this year the Droneys are accepting voluntary donations that will go to the Needham Community Council.
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