By: Alyssa Ochss | C&G Newspapers | Published October 30, 2025
WARREN — Two Warren residents take pride in their handmade Halloween display pieces, which they’ve been creating for a number of years.
Couple Braxton Young and Kat Young have had a love for Halloween ever since they were little. Braxton’s father was even born on Halloween.
“Growing up, we were always dressed up and always decorated the house,” Braxton said.
Kat said it’s her favorite holiday.
This year, it has taken them around two weeks and counting to set up their display pieces. The pieces include a homemade spider they call Miss Velvet, a life-size coffin and mummy on their front porch, and the newest addition, a repainted dollhouse with “zombified” porcelain dolls spread out around it.
“We got the house off of Facebook, and what was it, white and pink and purple, and we painted it,” Braxton said.
“I put all the spiderwebs,” Kat said. “I hung the lights.”
Kat and Braxton said they’ve had Miss Velvet in their collection for approximately five years. Braxton said it was one of the first projects they did by themselves. The spider is made out of chicken wire, spray foam, plastic wrap and PVC pipe — for the legs — for easy storage.
The couple look to YouTube and other forms of social media for tips and builds.
“There’s these people called “Wicked Makers” on YouTube, and they just make tons of stuff,” Braxton said.
Braxton went on to say the channel started with small spiders and has grown to make animatronics. Braxton also called them an inspiration.
“We’re not there yet, but maybe one day we’ll get there,” Braxton said.
Kat received the porcelain dolls from her parents’ house. They “zombified” them using paint and other materials. Braxton said they create a whole day centered around making decorations involving their two children.
“It’s a process for sure,” Kat said.
Kat said the coffin on their porch has been in her family since she was around 12 years old.
“That is one of my big staples that we put out just because it’s sentimental and it has memories,” Kat said.
The mummy was created by wrapping Braxton in plastic wrap and tracing his silhouette. Kat said a closer look shows indentations for the mouth and eyes.
“That’s one of my prize home DIYs,” Kat said.
The next display on their docket is an alien. So far, it has the basic body outline and a mask for the face. They work on it in their garage, which is also where most of their props are housed across the seasons.
They start the teardown the day after Halloween. Braxton said they try to get the props in the garage as quickly as possible.
“Because then we start decorating for Christmas,” Kat said.
“Mostly it’s just kind of getting everything into the garage and then slowly putting it away after that,” Braxton said.
The house can be broken down, but, Braxton said, it will be a bit more difficult this year since there are things attached to it.
Braxton and Kat said they get a lot of their props from garage sales, Facebook Marketplace and other discounted stores. Some of the items, such as the spiderwebs, are specially ordered. Kat said they don’t really visit craft stores, since they don’t usually have outdoor supplies.
They suggest that first-time makers try YouTube or other sources to start out. Braxton said that while starting his alien prop, he consulted the video site. They plan on adding more props through the years.