‘It’s Really Taken Off’: A Terrifying Fundraiser on Buttery Road

Though many local homeowners opt to forgo Halloween decorations this time of year, for Dr. Dani Cohen and her family, it is a spectacle months in the making.

What began with a 12-foot-tall skeleton in their front yard four years ago has slowly grown into an intricate display, featuring lights, sound effects and even motion-activated animatronics.

And this year, Cohen has partnered with St. Jude Children’s Hospital and their Skeleton’s for Hope program, a fundraiser which provides avid Halloween decorators an opportunity to turn their displays into something more.

“We have a QR code out in the front of the house for families who come by, they can enjoy and have a much larger global impact for those who are in need of it,” Cohen told the New Canaanite. “I think people are just starting to learn that the QR code goes directly over to St. Jude’s, so we’re trying to get the word out. This is our first year doing the fundraiser for them, so I’m hopeful that with more people getting information about it, that they will hopefully donate more to a really great cause.”

Cohen has raised about $400 through her display so far, and hopes that figure will continue to grow as more people stop by. She said that visitors are welcome to park on the road outside her home to get a closer look.

“What people end up doing is they end up pulling over right on our side of the road and they’ll get out of their cars or they’ll go right onto silver ridge and just park on the side and walk over,” Cohen said. “We close the gate at the end of the driveway but they’re more than welcome to walk across the stone wall, interact with the different animatronics and take selfies, whatever they need to do.”

Putting together such a complex show is no easy feat, physically or financially.

“It’s extremely expensive,” Cohen said. “What I end up doing is at the end of every season, I go back to the stores to see what they have on discount, and I try to get as much of it as possible. When the new stuff comes that I think is gonna fly off the shelves I’ll buy those first. Everything comes back out and I always add more. I think what’s really cool is that a lot of kids in the community know what’s old and what’s new, so they’ll come by and be like, oh Frankenstein, he’s new, so that’s a fun part of it.”

Planning the display, which Cohen has a different theme for each October, is a year-long process, and just putting everything together can take months.

“My husband and I will build everything all summer in the backyard,” she said. “We stage everything for about three months back there, and then we usually pick one or two weekends before October where we spend the entire weekend, bringing it out front. Just bringing it out takes us about a day or two, and then we have to do all the electrical work to get everything to work in the lighting.”

The most difficult part of the process, however, comes at the end of the season.

“Putting it together is so easy, it’s the taking it apart and getting it back in the box,” Cohen said. “The one who I hate the most, there’s a floating witch all the way in the front lawn. She is the worst and hardest to put together—everybody loves her, and I almost didn’t put her out this year, just because I didn’t want to deal with it, but my son was adamant that she had to go.”

As it happens, Cohen’s children were one of the main inspirations for her newfound tradition.

“They loved every single time I got a new decoration,” she said. “As the display outside started to grow, and the community started to enjoy it more. I enjoyed it even more, because then they would all stop by. I would have moms telling me they use our house as a treat for their kids. If they listen, they can drive by. So it’s really taken off from there.”

Anyone interested in viewing the Cohen’s family’s display can find their home on 252 Buttery Road. More information about St. Jude’s Skeletons for Hope program can be found here: https://skeletonsforhope.org.