Who's Behind Wolfman Jack and his Ghastly Crew in Wayne?

West Wayne resident Jackie Baver notices it immediately. Someone has moved the hand of the dead body laying on her lawn. Later, mid-conversation, she darts to one of the number of ghoulish dummy propped up. "I have to go fix this head," she says, trailing off.

It's not your typical conversation, except for maybe during the month of October when Jackie and her husband Bill unleash a trove of scary ghouls and skeletons all in the name of giving kids a bit of a (fun) scare at their West Wayne Avenue home.

You probably know the house, which they have lived in for 19 years, if you have ever driven by around Halloween. But you may not know that on Halloween night the Bavers also turn their front room into a "haunted room," where if children want a big candy bar they have to be brave-- they have to get close to the action.

Although their children are long grown, it looks like the couple are not wavering in this quest to be the scariest house in Wayne. Last year Jackie picked up a real (but not used, she said she was assured) coffin on Craigslist, and if children wanted a good trick, they would have to take it right out of the body (a dressed up Bill) laying in the coffin. 

Jackie is strict with her fun-- no trick, no treat, she said of people coming to the house not dressed for Halloween. "If you're not dressed up, you're not doing your part," she said.

The decorating started out when the Baver's oldest son Riley was a child. He just loved scary masks, she said. Younger son Devin "just grew up with it."

Apart from loving to scare the kids who want to be scared (not toddlers, she said), Jackie said that the community aspect is cherished. Neighborhood children like to help them set up their displays, and she has great memories from when her sons were young and their friends came over for a good spooking.

Jackie said in all the years they have only had one theft and one complaint. Most of the feedback she gets is positive. If you visit the house, Jackie said, look, but don't touch.