HOLIDAY HABITS
The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, Illinois

Huntley, Illinois · 2000 — 2025

25 Years of
Halloween Madness

Explore 25 years of props, fog, scare actors, lighting, handmade effects and Halloween nights at Holiday Habits.

Open The Full Gallery Watch Scare Night
Scroll to explore

Countdown to Halloween

October 31

—Days
—Hours
—Minutes
—Seconds

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Years of the haunt

2000 – 2025

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Visitors in one season

1,200+ on Halloween night alone

0+ hrs

Setup every season

Joe & Holiday Habits Team

Inside the cemetery

Fog to the curb. Music you could hear three houses away.

A full cemetery of static, animatronic and pneumatic props. The yard filled with fog from the witch kettle while an animated DMX lighting and sound system ran the whole show. Props were designed and built year-round; setup alone took 500 hours.

The full story Common questions
Holiday Habits cemetery arch with skeletons and colorful fog lighting at the Huntley yard haunt

Handmade, one at a time

Meet the Props

Hover a card to hear about it. Every one of these was built in a garage in Huntley.

The Holiday Habits Halloween cemetery display in 2023, Huntley, IllinoisThe Witch KettleDisplay · 2023The Holiday Habits Halloween cemetery display in 2023, Huntley, Illinois
The Holiday Habits Halloween cemetery display in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisCemetery GateDisplay · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween cemetery display in 2022, Huntley, Illinois
The Holiday Habits Halloween cemetery display in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisThe ReaperDisplay · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween cemetery display in 2022, Huntley, Illinois
The Holiday Habits Halloween cemetery display in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisPneumatic Pop-UpDisplay · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween cemetery display in 2022, Huntley, Illinois
The Holiday Habits Halloween cemetery display in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisFence & Fog LineDisplay · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween cemetery display in 2022, Huntley, Illinois
The Holiday Habits Halloween cemetery display in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisGroundbreaker CorpseDisplay · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween cemetery display in 2022, Huntley, Illinois
The Holiday Habits Halloween cemetery display in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisThe CryptDisplay · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween cemetery display in 2022, Huntley, Illinois
The Holiday Habits Halloween cemetery display in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisDMX Light RigDisplay · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween cemetery display in 2022, Huntley, Illinois

From the graveyard

Twenty-five seasons, photographed

The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, Illinois
The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, Illinois
The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, Illinois
The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, Illinois
The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, Illinois
Open The Full Gallery

Halloween night

The night itself

Drag or swipe to explore

A towering Halloween creature prop reaching toward visitors at the Holiday Habits yard haunt in Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022A towering Halloween creature prop reaching toward visitors at the Holiday Habits yard haunt in Huntley, IllinoisThe Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisThe Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisThe Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisThe Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisThe Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisThe Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHoliday Habits cemetery arch with skeletons and colorful fog lighting at the Huntley yard hauntHalloween Night · 2022Holiday Habits cemetery arch with skeletons and colorful fog lighting at the Huntley yard hauntThe Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisThe Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisThe Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisThe Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisThe Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisThe Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, IllinoisHalloween Night · 2022The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, Illinois
Scare actors in costume and makeup during a Holiday Habits scare night in 2017

Scare Night

One night a year, the actors came out.

Scare Night turned the cemetery into a live event: volunteer scare actors hiding in the fog, choreographed lighting, and a driveway full of people who knew exactly what was coming and came anyway.

Watch the timelapses

On video

Watch the display come alive

28 videos from the official Holiday Habits YouTube channel.

All 28 Halloween videos

Timeline

Twenty-five years, in order

Scroll the line — each milestone lights up with a photograph from that chapter.

  1. Childhood

    The habit starts

    Holiday Habits all started with a kid decorating his mom's house for the holidays. Each year we would add more and more decorations, always trying to outdo the previous year.

    The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, Illinois

  2. 2000

    First houses in Streamwood

    Joe started decorating his own house and his sister's house in Streamwood and kept it going through 2005.

    The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, Illinois

  3. 2005

    Huntley, and a much bigger production

    The move to Huntley turned a family habit into a neighborhood event, with family members, friends and neighbors all helping out.

    The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, Illinois

  4. 2012

    15,000+ visitors in a season

    Over 15,000 visitors came through in 2012, with more than 1,200 on Halloween night alone — plus a run of local press.

    The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, Illinois

  5. Year-round

    Chicago Haunt Builders

    Props are designed and built all year with a group of friends in Chicago Haunt Builders. Setup starts midsummer; the yard begins to transform in early September.

    Holiday Habits cemetery arch with skeletons and colorful fog lighting at the Huntley yard haunt

  6. The Cemetery

    Fog, DMX and a steel fence

    A full cemetery of static, animatronic and pneumatic props. The yard fills with fog from the witch kettle while an animated DMX lighting and sound system plays music that can be heard several houses away.

    The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, Illinois

  7. 12+ years

    Georgian Place parkway trees

    Red on top, white on the trunks. The neighborhood parkway tree tradition grew into a consistent, block-wide Christmas look.

    The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, Illinois

  8. 2024

    Permanent outdoor lighting

    Holiday Habits began doing seasonal and permanent outdoor lighting installations on homes — the same obsession with detail, year-round.

    The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, Illinois

  9. 2025

    25 years, and the final haunt

    After 25 amazing years, the public Holiday Habits yard haunt concluded following the 2025 season. Thank you for 25 amazing years.

    The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, Illinois

What people said

Are you the Halloween Guy?

It's like our family photo spot — she drives down from Wisconsin every year to photograph her kids in front of the house.

Over 15,000 visitors came through in 2012, with more than 1,200 on Halloween night alone.

People walk or drive past and ask: are you the Halloween Guy? What's new this year?

Behind the scenes

Setup started midsummer

Organising, repairing, testing, building — long before a single visitor showed up.

Drag or swipe to explore

Building and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonSetup · 2022Building and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonBuilding and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonSetup · 2022Building and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonBuilding and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonSetup · 2022Building and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonBuilding and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonSetup · 2022Building and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonBuilding and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonSetup · 2022Building and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonBuilding and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonSetup · 2022Building and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonBuilding and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonSetup · 2022Building and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonBuilding and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonSetup · 2022Building and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonBuilding and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonSetup · 2022Building and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonBuilding and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonSetup · 2022Building and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonBuilding and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonSetup · 2022Building and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonBuilding and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonSetup · 2022Building and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonBuilding and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonSetup · 2022Building and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonBuilding and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 seasonSetup · 2022Building and setting up the Holiday Habits cemetery display during the 2022 season

The archive is open

The haunt is closed. The 25 years are not.

240+ photographs and 30 videos from the Holiday Habits yard haunt — free to browse, forever.

Browse the archive See the Christmas side
The Holiday Habits Halloween yard haunt lit up on Halloween night in 2022, Huntley, Illinois

Our story

It started with a kid and his mom's house.

Every year, a few more decorations than the last. Streamwood in 2000, Huntley in 2005, and eventually a yard haunt that pulled thousands of people down one street every October — and a Christmas tradition that never stopped.

Read the 25-year story

From the journal

Guides from people who actually do this

Lighting · 5 min read

Transform Your Home with Permanent Outdoor Lighting

Holiday Habits now does seasonal and permanent outdoor light installations. Never string up holiday lights again — here is how permanent lighting works and what we recommend.

Read it
How-To · 6 min read

Georgian Place Parkway Tree Setup

How to install Christmas lights on the parkway trees in Georgian Place — the look, the pole, the lights, the cords, and how to do it safely and consistently across the neighborhood.

Read it