Elaborate Halloween display created by twins draws crowds in Concord
CONCORD - Two Concord twins, Theo and Zoe Zuffante, are known as "haunters." It is a titled bestowed to people who create elaborate Halloween displays out of their homes. The duo has been at it for years, and they use their parents' house as a canvas to create movie and television themed displays.
"They are supportive. They just hate the fact that it's so much," said Theo, joking about his parents, "They have had enough of it. That is for sure."
This year they are creating an Ursula theme from "The Little Mermaid." Their home has a giant Ursula head that kids can walk into to get to the front door.
"Theo will send me a rough sketch of the idea or the shape. Usually it is the silhouette," said Zoe, explaining how the wooden, painted head was created. "I will draw it into a fully rendered piece on my iPad."
When children ring the doorbell, a mirror on the wall magically begins to play a video from the movie. Theo has the entire house wired, which includes a line straight to the doorbell in the home.
"That video itself is going on the backside of the mirror," said Theo, "Once it is lit up from the backside, it will only show that video."
Theo also programs videos to display on four different high-end projectors that turn the side of the home into a movie screen. Last year, they did this with a "Stranger Things" theme, and hundreds of people showed up.
"The real attraction is the projections at night, and the lighting that goes with it. I develop my own soundtrack and all the projections and lights go to that," said Theo. "On a good year, it takes 50 or 60 hours [to complete everything]."
This year the siblings almost didn't do it. They both moved away from home. Theo moved to Florida, and Zoe moved to Boston. Theo started receiving letters from kids who were eager to see this year's display, so he hopped on a flight home to get started.
"Everyone got so disappointed. I was like, 'Okay, I have to fly back," said Theo. "Flew back four days ago. Did all of this! It will be 5 p.m., and I will still be working tomorrow. Trick or treaters come at 6 p.m., so fingers crossed."
"It felt weird up until a week ago when Theo said he was flying home. I thought we weren't going to be able to do anything," said Zoe. "Only way any of this is getting done is if we do it together."
