Oliver Lees
When asked to weigh in on the debate of whether Australians should celebrate Halloween, Patrick Blume had a simple response.
“I don’t really care where it comes from. We’re here to have fun – and the last couple of years we haven’t had a chance for a lot of that,” Mr Blume said.
“The kids always get into it, they love this stuff. But it’s especially pleasing to get the adults to enjoy themselves. Because how often do we adults get a chance to have silly fun?”
And have fun, he does.
Every October for the past five years, Mr Blume, a father of two, has poured hours into bringing his frightening fantasies to life.
Mr Blume says the holiday is a rare opportunity for him to fully flex his creative muscles and employ his love for tinkering and hands-on projects.
In 2019, he transformed his garage into a deathly butcher shop fitted with dismembered body parts and welcomed more than 1000 people eager to catch a glimpse of the gruesome display.
To keep the spooky times rolling throughout the pandemic, Mr Blume engineered a lolly slide to be able to provide the community with candy while still maintaining appropriate social distancing.
“I’ve had parents tell me their kids come along and they’re still talking about it days later,” he said.
“If I can get people to walk away from my house happy, that’s all that really matters to me.”
You can check out Mr Blume’s military base display at his home on Donelly Close in Sunbury this weekend.
