On the front yard of one Naperville home lies a misty abyss lurking with ghosts and goblins.
Naperville resident Jeremy Prendergast and his family have transformed their yard into a free interactive Halloween experience known as The Fog Bog.
Fog machines conjure up a spooky experience
The display, located at 225 Ridgefield Lane, began in 2018 and has expanded ever since, featuring multiple fog machines and themed Halloween decorations that create the spooky experience. This year’s theme is Ghostbusters.
“The girls wanted to do Ghostbusters. They’re excited about Frozen Empire, the movie coming out, and we actually had a pretty fun time trying to figure out ways to create some of the scenes from the movies in the Fog Bog,” said Prendergast.
One is the classic battle against the giant Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. Another is the vortex, an optical illusion created by a laser system. But the main scares happen with the push of a button.
“With the magic bookshelf, we were trying to recreate the opening scene in Ghostbusters, the original movie…and when you push the button, the librarian pops out from the side of it, which is kind of cool. It’s very interactive,” said Prendergast. “The Slimers…we have one that comes out of the actual main body of the facade, and it will pop right up to your face.”
The Fog Bog partners with ‘A Pint for Kim’
This year, the scares are also for a good cause. The Fog Bog partnered with “A Pint for Kim” to help raise awareness about the importance of donating blood.
The movement and blood drive were started in 2020 in honor of Naperville mother, Kim Sandford, who passed away from cancer in March that year. At one point during her battle with the disease, she needed 40 blood and plasma transfusions.
This inspired her family to start APFK, which evolved into a blood drive that, in 2023, broke the record for the largest single-day, single-location blood drive in Illinois.
Sandford’s sister and APFK founder, Kristyn Benedyk, said the Fog Bog’s partnership is another example of the support she has received from the community.
“We have a lot of Kim’s friends and family members obviously come out in support of fighting for Kim, but then to have it go this next step, where people from the community are reaching out, ‘How can I help?’ and ‘I want to be a part of it,’ it’s very humbling,“ said Benedyk.
She noted that the Halloween season has become a cherished time for her, as it was one of the last holidays she celebrated with her sister.
“It was sort of our last fond memory with her. And I actually just took a day off work and [we] went to Sunny Acres by ourselves and acted like a bunch of kids. And so, I think that’s how Halloween became so special in terms of just memories with her,” she said.
Prendergast said he was inspired by Sandford’s story and wanted to use The Fog Bog’s growing popularity to make an impact.
“Whenever we tell somebody about the fact that most of the donations of blood go to cancer patients, they [say] ‘I didn’t know that,’ And that’s exactly what Kristyn and her family are trying to do, to raise that awareness that it is important, if you can, to donate blood,” he said.
The Fog Bog is also coordinating a fundraiser for the American Red Cross called “Fog It Forward.”
The display is open every day until Nov. 1 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
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