Getting the Creeps in Glencoe: The unspeakable — and interactive — horrors of The Haunted Glencoe Manor

By now, the Ackermans know what they are looking for as they expand their elaborate and terrifying Halloween display in Glencoe.

A key addition this year, though, attracted Melissa Ackerman for a different reason:

It scared the bejesus out of her husband, Jeffrey.

“He literally jumped out of his seat. … It was so funny and scary and I said I have to have that bench,” she said.

Make sure to read our other Getting the Creeps pieces — Skokie | Wilmette | Highland Park | Northfield — all publishing before Halloween night.

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The bench has become the centerpiece to this year’s experience at the Haunted Glencoe Manor, a first-year name for a Halloween display the family creates annually at 241 Fairview Road.

It’s more than a just a bench, though. On one side, a clown-dressed child patiently sits, enticing you to join on the opposite and open end of the bench.

But once you do, beware. The child turns their head and screams and the bench vibrates.

“I really love the bench. It’s really fun and interactive,” Melissa Ackerman said. “Even if kids are scared they make their parents do it. The videos we’ve gotten from it are so hilarious and so fun.”

Visitors to the Haunted Glencoe Manor are asked to share any photos and video with the attraction’s Instagram page — also in its first year along with the name, the bench, an archway welcoming you to the manor, and a soundtrack you can listen to at 90.5 FM.

Jeffrey and Melissa Ackerman moved to Glencoe nine years ago, and with a love for Halloween, started building a scene.

The first piece was a large dinosaur skeleton bought at Home Depot. It remains, but is now surrounded by monsters, ghouls and demons of all shapes and sizes.

Many of the Ackermans’ pieces are huge and most are original. The family — which includes three children — goes to a renowned decorations trade show, TransWorld’s Halloween and Attractions Show, in St. Louis each year.

There, they find horrifying monstrosities to bring back to Glencoe.

“Every year we add something to it, make it more interactive more fun,” Melissa Ackerman said. “We get such positive feedback from the neighbors.”

The Ackermans have leaned into the interactive pieces, including an alien scene that results in the alien squiring water.

The 20-foot demons and ghouls are quite a site as you approach the manor, but explore a bit. With so much happening, the yard is broken into themes, like the graveyard, the clowns and the zombie pumpkins.

And of course, please don’t forget to sit on the bench.

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