Haunted Manor Of Evil In New Lenox A Labor Of Love For Creator

NEW LENOX, IL — New Lenox resident Jeff Eggener makes his living as a carpenter. For most of the year he uses his skills to turn his clients' dreams into reality. But, when the Halloween season rolls around, he puts those projects on hold so that he can give his full attention to transforming his own dreams — or, one might say, nightmares — into something tangible.

And Eggener is scary good at it.

He calls his labor of love The Haunted Manor of Evil, and it is now on full display at his home at 2867 Ferro Drive in New Lenox.

For 10 months out of the year, Eggener's home fits in quite nicely with those of his neighbors on the quiet residential block. Then September rolls around, and the Eggener home starts to transform into something just a bit more terrifying than the rest.

The Haunted Manor of Evil started out innocently enough in 2015 with just the home's front entryway. And many people would've just stopped there and been happy with the results. Not Eggener.

"That's all I was going to do, and I stepped back and looked at the rest of the house," he said. "I said, 'I gotta' do the rest of the house. The rest of the house looks terrible. How cool would it look if it was all done?'"

And that moment sparked the beginning of The Haunted Manor of Evil, which now covers the entire facade of the front of the house, including the garage, plus every available inch of space on the front lawn.

Nearly everything on display was carefully and meticulously hand crafted by Eggener. And the few plastic items he didn't create himself, such as the chains and giant spiders, he put a lot of effort into modifying and molding to meet his high standards of spookiness.

His efforts have not gone unnoticed. Just last year, Eggener achieved national recognition when The Haunted Manor of Evil won Kelly Ripa's and Ryan Seacrest's "Live with Kelly and Ryan" Spooktacular Halloween House Contest.

But the humble carpenter didn't let the national attention get to his head. His goal remains the same as it ever was: to selflessly share his passion so others can get joy.

"I've been blasting social media for years trying to get people to come out here because I put so much time and energy into it and I want people to enjoy it," Eggener said. "And they do. But, the more the merrier. If I could have a thousand people out here I wouldn't have a problem with it."

Eggener never charges anyone to visit The Haunted Manor of Evil. People are free to come and enjoy his craftsmanship, take photos of themselves alongside the oversized props and spend a little time in his world.

He does all of that for free, but he also collections donations for charity, if people are so inclined to give.

This year, Eggener is collecting money for Ronald McDonald House Charities, a private nonprofit, the mission of which is "supporting families around the world and helping them access the medical care and resources they need."

Ronald McDonald Charities holds a special place in the Eggeners' hearts. Years ago, one of his children became sick and the family received much needed help from the charity organization.

"It was just incredible. If it weren't for them, it would've been bad," Eggener said. "But, yeah, it works out great because people come and, if they like it, they put in a couple bucks and it goes to a great cause."

The Haunted Manor of Evil is open daily for visitors from now through Halloween. Eggener suggested the best time to come out is around dusk. That way, Eggener explained, people can spend some of the sun's waning moments of light appreciating all the intricate details of the display, before that light goes out and the darkness casts its own haunting visage on the property.

"I think my haunt looks better [at dusk]. At night, to me, it's more theatrical," Eggener said. "But I like it during the day, especially when it's overcast. I just like how eerie it looks."