Most people string up a plastic bat, plug in an orange porch bulb, and call it a day for Halloween. Jeff and Ann Haberman did something entirely different. On a quiet residential corner in Long Beach, California, their house transforms into a fully synchronized neighborhood spectacle driven by twenty-eight computers, singing pumpkins, and a flying ghost dog.
If you think this sounds like a commercial theme park installation, you are missing the point. It is entirely free, funded out of pocket by two local residents, and built on a foundation of professional engineering and theme park nostalgia. Let's look at how a retired aerospace controls engineer and a Disneyland veteran built one of the most complex residential Halloween shows in the country.
The Engineering Behind the Spooky Spectacle
You cannot run synchronized projection mapping, moving spotlights, multi-channel audio tracks, and animated props with a single consumer laptop. Jeff Haberman spent his career as a controls engineer at McDonnell Douglas and Boeing. That background shows in the hardware setup.
The production scaled up over the years. Back in December 2022, local reporting noted they ran their holiday displays off eighteen computers. By the current season, that number hit twenty-eight computers communicating in a complex local network. Each machine handles specific subsets of the show, whether it is audio timing cues, DMX lighting controllers, or video feeds projected directly onto the house.
When you stand on Chatwin Avenue watching the show, you are witnessing an industrial automation mindset applied to residential holiday decorating. The timing between the audio tracks, the jaw movements of singing pumpkins, and the shifting illumination on skeleton displays hits millisecond precision. There is no loose improvisation here. It is tightly scripted code keeping every mechanical element locked to the music.
Theme Park DNA in a Residential Front Yard
Ann Haberman spent decades working at Disneyland's Blue Bayou Restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. That kind of professional immersion leaves a mark. You see it in the meticulous attention to detail and the theatrical pacing of the nightly performance.
The display leans heavily into beloved cinematic properties without feeling cheap. You will spot skeletal versions of Disney princesses, villains straight out of the Harry Potter universe, and central characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas. The standout visual piece is Zero, the ghost dog from the film, which appears to actually fly around the property's chimney against a backdrop of synchronized music and projected clips.
Crowds gather nightly along Wardlow Road to watch the performance loop. The schedule runs from 6:45 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, stretching until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Families walk over from surrounding blocks, kids stare at the moving props, and adults try to reverse-engineer how anyone manages to wire twenty-eight computers without blowing a residential fuse.
Why Do It For Free
It costs money to run twenty-eight computers, maintain high-end outdoor projectors, and repair animatronic props exposed to coastal California air. The Habermans do not charge admission. Visitors stand on the public sidewalk and watch the show for free.
The project operates as a labor of love rooted in community connection. Long Beach natives through and through, the couple treats the neighborhood as an extension of their living room every October and December. Beyond the entertainment value, their seasonal displays often tie into charitable efforts, including support for For the Child, a local organization providing mental health services for children.
When Halloween wraps up, the computers do not get boxed away permanently. The hardware gets reprogrammed, new elements are introduced, and the entire production pivots for a massive Christmas display starting December 1.
If you happen to be in the Long Beach area during October, skip the crowded commercial events and head over to 3343 Chatwin Avenue. Check the local schedules before you go, respect the neighborhood parking rules, and remember to keep the sidewalks clear for the hundreds of other families showing up to watch twenty-eight computers bring a house to life.
