RSM's Singing Pumpkin House Needs Updating

By Martin Henderson

Scott Johnson, the lighting-minded wizard behind four singing pumpkins on Talega Lane in Rancho Santa Margarita, has provided the community with one of its annual attractions. 

The lighted Halloween house has entertained thousands either in person or on YouTube. Johnson is looking to replace faulty equipment to keep the show going and has turned to Kickstarter.com to find the financial backing he needs. 

In other words, he says, "This year's Halloween light show will be brought to you by you. I really need to raise $1,000 to put this year's show on." 

Through the Kickstarter program—a way for entrepreneurs to get seed money for their ideas—Johnson has already attracted $940. He gave himself 20 days to raise $1,000, and he has just a few more days to raise the final $60. 

"The money will be used to update some broken pieces and to cover operating costs," said Johnson, a 2008 graduate of Tesoro High who was among the first profiles of newly launched Rancho Santa Margarita Patch in December 2010. 

For the past three years, the Johnson home at 8 Talega has been transformed into an electrified canvas with 1,068 channels of light that dance to the whim of artist Johnson. The sound of singing pumpkins come through an FM radio channel, so those watching the performance can do so from their cars. Halloween-themed music comprises the singing pumpkin's songlist of choice, which includes such standards as "Thriller" by Michael Jackson and the Addams Family theme.

"The show gets better and draws in more people each and every year," Johnson says on his Kickstarter site. "We started with just one singing pumpkin and 16 channels of lights. We are now with four singing pumpkins with 1,068 channels of lights."