Each Halloween, St. Charles resident Jason Wooten transforms his home at 32 Moore Ave. into a haunted house and ghoulfest for trick-or-treaters.

Wooten selects horror-movie themes, including Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers and characters from Stephen King films,  for each section of the haunted house.

“It’s scary, it’s fun,” said Wooten’s neighbor Jessica Eynik. “He goes all out. He puts a lot of effort into it. I know he enjoys doing it.”
Wooten decorates the front of his house with gravestones made from wood and Styrofoam. But the real scares are in Wooten’s backyard, where he has built a 450-square-foot haunted house.

The idea began five years ago, when Wooten began competing in the St. Charles Park District’s Ghoulish Homes Tour and scared a few residents with his creation. During the Ghoulish Homes Tour, which is held each Halloween, neighbors compete for the best Halloween decorations.

Now Wooten has drawn visitors from across the Tri-Cities and the Chicago area.
Wooten’s project has grown into a hobby for the 30-year old single father who does most of the craft work and design, including building the walls and installing the sound and electricity. Occasionally, Wooten’s 7-year-old daughter, Alexandra, helps with decorations.

“Every year it gets bigger and stranger,” Wooten said.

Wooten said he draws upon his background as a tattoo artist at Roselle’s Tattoos-R-Us to design the complex. He begins the groundwork in early August. He originally started using two walls made from wood, and now builds 15 or 16.

“Halloween has always been a part of me,” Wooten said. “I was born on Friday the 13th and my name is Jason.”

Wooten also has seven or eight friends volunteer to dress as Halloween characters on Friday and Saturday nights. Wooten does not charge admission for visitors, but just asks them to remain wary when entering the house.

“I just like scaring the hell out of someone,” Wooten said.