24 Ft Dracula Castle Dons Syracuse Lawn for Halloween

A 24 foot Dracula Castle, complete with Polly and Keith Urban graves, opens it's gates for the Halloween season in Syracuse.

Stan Munro and Suzi Campanaro have transformed their lawn in Syracuse for 14 years. Last year it had to be scaled back after Suzi's kidney started failing. This Summer she received a new kidney thanks to her niece. "The first thing she told me to do after she started feeling better was to start planning the Halloween lawn display," says Stan.

Planning also takes money. Money the couple didn't have after all the medical bills. "So many people were donating for medical expenses, we couldn't take that money and do something frivolous. But after you wrote the story about us looking for a sponsor we got one within an hour."

Real Estate agent Dominick Ciciarelli stepped up to sponsor the display. "He ended up being a kid who grew up in the neighborhood who had seen the displays over the years and he just wanted to be a part of it," says Stan. "He even showed up with his brothers, in matching Hawaiian shirts, to help us build it."

Photo Credit - Stan Munro

Dracula's Castle has opened it's gates for the season but Stan says it's bigger than originally planned. "I didn't mean it to be. I'm just not good at math. What was suppose to be 18 feet high now stands 24 feet tall."

The gates may be open today but the Pix Prop Closet won't open until Friday. "It's something new this year and scary," says Stan. "There's pitch forks, crossbows in there, something for the kids to grab and take a selfie with. We just ask everyone to be safe."

Also new this year, are tombstones...including one for Polly and Keith Urban. "I'm glad you had a sense of humor about that. We just wanted to put tombstones up for people who helped us make this possible."

TSM

Halloween on Sandra Drive is back to normal this year. "You appreciate normal so much more after you go through all the bad things."

You can appreciate Dracula's Castle on Sandra Drive in Syracuse. Lights are on every weeknight from 7-9pm. Friday and Saturday nights in October the lights will be on until 10pm along with music, fog and moving bats.

Photo Credit - Stan Munro

STAN MUNRO'S DRACULA CASTLE

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