Is This the Creepiest Halloween Set-Up on Houzz?
1500 hours of work, a forest, evil dolls and a toxic laboratory; this Halloween, the ultimate horror party will go down in this apartment
What do you get when a perfectionist with a penchant for Gothic aesthetics sets out to host a Halloween party? Oh yes, it’s quite possibly the greatest, most gruesome decoration in the world: an entire horror universe that takes up the whole 150 square metres of his Berlin apartment.
This small, humble phrase was uttered last year, but these words were disproportionate with what they put together afterwards. Guests were still talking about the party a month later, which is why the tradition will continue this year. Ideally even more frightful, creepy and morbid than a year ago.
Kauth, his companions Stefanie Krause (to his left) and Elena Geiger (right) and his mother Nadja (far left) put in an incredible 1500 hours of work into this year’s Halloween decorations. They began preparations as early as mid-August, and were all tired the day of the photoshoot – they had to pull an all-nighter in order to finish on time, after all. Kauth’s father, Heiner, also lent a helping hand.
Two themes influenced the decoration in all its aspects. One of them are the dolls. We have known how scary supposedly-innocent toys can be since well before Chucky the killer doll hit theatres. Kauth and his diligent helpers know that as well. Kauth says, “eBay was both my worst enemy and best friend.” He found all his dolls there.
An additional treasure trove for find the right decorations was a trusted antique dealer in Schildow, near Berlin.
The grandfather clock consists of a tall cabinet that Kauth already owned and the clock that he purchased separately. He made slight changes and newly equipped the ensemble for Halloween – it became a different kind of doll house.
The grandfather clock consists of a tall cabinet that Kauth already owned and the clock that he purchased separately. He made slight changes and newly equipped the ensemble for Halloween – it became a different kind of doll house.
The nails were not always part of the clock. Tim Burton couldn’t have pulled off this decoration in a more gruesome manner.
Here`s looking at you, kid
Kauth also made this display case specifically for Halloween. Illuminated and featuring a barbed wire halo, this doll head has started a new life in the world of the undead.
The devil is in the details when it comes to the floral decoration in the hallway, and we mean that in a positive way.
From the hallway, we make our way into the dining and piano room.
This is where the party’s second theme is established: the alchemy laboratory.
‘Mad scientist’ Kauth has spread the ingredients for his tinctures and drinks, for dangerous experiment attempts and occult experiments all over the apartment.
Designing the bottles took up the lion’s share of the 1500 work hours. Kauth and his assistants used paper for the labels. First, it was dyed with tea, then ironed after drying, fed through the printer and labeled, then it was not cut but rather torn to the right size and finally given dark spots on the white edges using a sponge.
‘Mad scientist’ Kauth has spread the ingredients for his tinctures and drinks, for dangerous experiment attempts and occult experiments all over the apartment.
Designing the bottles took up the lion’s share of the 1500 work hours. Kauth and his assistants used paper for the labels. First, it was dyed with tea, then ironed after drying, fed through the printer and labeled, then it was not cut but rather torn to the right size and finally given dark spots on the white edges using a sponge.
The bottles themselves were also treated and trimmed the old-fashioned way: “We simply took some wood glue and rubbed the bottles in them. Afterwards, we applied matt lacquer and powdered some wood ash onto it to use as dust.”
Of course, each bottle is filled. “We collected greens and herbs at the forest for this,” says Kauth. This is how a total of 220 finished vials, flasks and little bottles were made … a bright idea.
Of course, each bottle is filled. “We collected greens and herbs at the forest for this,” says Kauth. This is how a total of 220 finished vials, flasks and little bottles were made … a bright idea.
Finding glass domes like the three that are on this old piano was challenging, says Kauth. In the end, he found what he needed on eBay.
Across from the piano, hidden next to the door to the hallway, we finally find it: the actual alchemy laboratory amid spooky images and accessories.
Like many other things, Kauth purchased the laboratory glasses on eBay, in this case, from a doctor from Bavaria who had shut down his laboratory. The boards where the experimental setup are located come from abandoned military barracks that Kauth discovered and made into the setting for one of his photoshoots. He has single-handedly milled in threads into the support structure’s iron rods. “My father also helped out here. He mainly dealt with errands, from paper to thread taps, and thus saved me a lot of work,” says Kauth.
The images on the wall next to the laboratory once again show how meticulously the apartment was re-decorated. Kauth has hung them specifically for the party. They are holograms of Haunted Memories, which show normal or not-so-normal historical photos, depending on the viewing angle.
Kauth also equipped the apartment with several zombie dolls in addition to antique dolls. They were also purchased at the shop in Duisburg, where the idea for the Halloween party originated. Kauth’s favourite one is this horror butler, who menacingly shakes his head while he offers his guests dubious serving recommendations. It reacts to noise.
Kauth found the old deer bones at a market in Salzburg, where he lived for some time. He processed later bone finds, this time from a cow, into reagent glass containers. He also found them at a market, where they were located under a stand. “I asked the seller what he wanted for it. He said: 10 euros. Of course, I snatched them up.”
They are cow bones that the market dealer’s wolfhounds had received for gnawing. He first buried them, then he dug them out again and discovered a certain decorative potential in them, as Kauth did too.
They are cow bones that the market dealer’s wolfhounds had received for gnawing. He first buried them, then he dug them out again and discovered a certain decorative potential in them, as Kauth did too.
A look into the narrow end of the room reveals the actual dining area. Oh, and the branches do not always stay stuck in the wall; mountings for large-format artwork are normally located in lieu of the holes.
These bottles, along with the morbid labels, were already a part of the first Halloween party’s decorations from last year. Kauth concluded the following during our photoshoot: “We have to make them dustier and put spider webs on them.”
Questionable bottles and surgical instruments are piled up on the left next to the dining table.
The gramophone in the corner on the right next to the dining table was purchased by Kauth from his antiques dealer in Schildow, as an extra item for the party. After cranking it, it starts playing Es war einmal ein Musikus, a German song written by Friedrich Schwarz in 1932.
An open passageway leads from the dining area into what used to be the large living area and bedroom. Some reforestation was done here. The leaves are, of course, real, just like the thick birch branches. Both originated from a forest at Hennigsdorf, close to Berlin. The task force drove out with the station wagon, gathered, and brought biomass back to the apartment in a total of seven trips. Everything was laboriously dried and cleaned so that the apartment can be vermin and mildew-free.
The passageway is guarded by an undead man.
The thick branches that serve as tree stumps here were installed onto wooden boards with three-corner brackets by Kauth, and the boards were then covered with leaves. All branches were already lying on the forest floor.
No living being had to die for this Halloween decoration, even if that would seem to be the case in some places.
No living being had to die for this Halloween decoration, even if that would seem to be the case in some places.
“It was not so easy to incorporate the television into the decoration,” says Kauth. “We’re going to show horror films from the 1920s during the party. I own them anyway; I don’t need to acquire them.”
“I am happy I was finally able to use my old Spanish cross,” says Kauth. It is cast-iron and comes from the 19th century. Before the Halloween preparations began, it lived a shadowy existence behind the cabinet.
The tripod came from his mother’s garden. “I don’t know if she’ll be getting it back,” says Kauth as he laughs.
The tripod came from his mother’s garden. “I don’t know if she’ll be getting it back,” says Kauth as he laughs.
“From the outside, it now looks as if a forest were growing in the apartment,” says Kauth. “I sometimes wonder what pedestrians think is going on up here.”
A horde of bats had sprawled up the wall; gruesome zombies lurk under the chandelier and on the cabinet.
The lighting concept is just as sophisticated as the rest of the decoration. Lamps will be equipped with green light bulbs for the Halloween party. The Living Dead Dolls by Mezco Toys behind the TV already received contrasting lighting in red. The light will also be red in the hallway.
25 select guests will enter this morbid, twilight universe at Brunnenstraße tonight, on October 31st. “People come from all over Germany. They come from Münsterland, Cologne. Many more have asked if they can join us, since last year’s party is still being talked about. But we have only invited our closest friends,” says Kauth.
This zombie doll can also come to life, and it looks as if it was being pulled into the ground by something unnatural.
The bedroom was declared a ‘creepy crypt’.
Kauth’s parents brought the corn shrubs to the bedroom from Munsterland. “I still had the scythe.” Who can say that? Kauth can.
While anyone can indeed wear the costume they want at the Halloween party, you can’t do without the fear factor when dressing up. “Last year, Elena and Stefanie went as zombie Playboy bunnies with bloody bunny ears and bloody little rabbit tails,” says Kauth. “I was a zombie metalhead. We also had a werewolf, a zombie unicorn and a zombie nun.” The party went on until 7:30 in the morning and no one expects it to end any sooner this time around.
A snack buffet and cocktails will be provided in reagent glasses. The hosts want to place color-coded bottles in the decorations from which guests can serve themselves. Before it can happen, the three must live in their self-created spooky-beautiful decoration – lots of fun. And one thing is already certain now: This Halloween party has been declared a tradition in this apartment.
See more photos of this creepy Halloween decoration
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See the rest of this home, without its make-up on
See more photos of this creepy Halloween decoration
TELL US
How do your Halloween decorations compare to this woeful wonderland? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
MORE
See the rest of this home, without its make-up on
At a glance
Who’s having this gruesome celebration: Marcus Kauth, Stefanie Krause and Elena Geiger and 25 guests
Where: Berlin, Germany
Size: 150 square metres
The idea came about in a decoration store. Marcus Kauth, who works as a web designer and produces art photography and Gothic fashion in his spare time, stood with both of his companions at the shop in Duisburg, west Germany. At first, the three just looked around, but then an idea came formed: ‘Why don’t we have a Halloween party?’