By MATTHEW WIKFORS
SPECIAL TO PASCACK PRESS
PARK RIDGE, N.J.—Halloween has come early to 138 Ridge Ave., as skeletons, ghosts, tombstones, a mausoleum, a real hearse, and even a 10-foot-tall animatronic Grim Reaper decorate Matt and Paulina Kaprielian’s property as part of their annual charity fundraiser.
The display began about six years ago in New Milford and became a Park Ridge tradition two years ago, when the Kaprielians moved to the borough.
The couple have collected for a variety of charities over the years, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Michael’s Miracles.
They said their charity of choice for their third fundraiser in the borough, Bruce’s Legacy, hits close to home. The non-profit volunteer organization searches for and recovers drowning victims through the use of sonar and cooperation with local dive teams.
On Aug. 10, Ryan Normoyle, a close friend of the Kaprielians, drowned on vacation in Lake Tahoe, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Dumont man’s body was missing until Sept. 29 when Bruce’s Legacy and Lake Tahoe authorities performed the lake’s deepest recorded recovery to retrieve him.
Paulina Kaprielian, who teaches English at North Bergen High School, told Pascack Press, “No amount of money will ever thank Keith and his team enough for the work they do, but maybe it will help another family find the closure all families deserve through such a difficult loss.”
Although arranging a yearly Halloween display for charity has been a somewhat recent tradition for Matt Kaprielian, he said that Halloween displays have been a part of his life since grade school.
“When I was a kid, my mom was making nice displays that were bed sheet tombstones, plastic pumpkins, and the like. I thought it was so cool. As I grew older, I started to take over building it.”
He added, “In middle school, I started learning how to build it, and in high school, I started doing everything from building the props to setting up the wires.”
Now Matt works as a manager for balloon production in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City (it’s the world’s largest parade), and runs Dusk Productions, a company that designs Halloween props as well as displays for homes and businesses. (Careful, some of these are pretty gory, but there are great family-friendly options.)
He said he “really lives Halloween every day” since his work is year-round.
The couple have three rescued cats, named after literary figures: Ernest Hemingway, Zelda Fitzgerald, and—of course—a black cat named Edgar Allan Poe.
Of his home Halloween fundraiser, which is almost entirely original, Matt said it’s taken on a life of its own. He built and designed nearly all of the props and animatronics that appear on his lawn. Some of it he reuses from previous years, but he creates new props each year, such as this year’s De Carlo mausoleum, an homage to actress Yvonne De Carlo of “The Munsters” fame.
In a loving nod to “The Sopranos” and borough native son James Gandolfini, there’s a Sopranos-inspired cemetery on the couple’s side yard. Paulina said, “Matt and I, like many people during quarantine, binged the entire Sopranos series and have been fans ever since!”
Other notable names etched in “stone” include horror icons Vincent Price and Alice Cooper.
Matt also sets up the display’s spooky soundtrack and pyrotechnics. (Two columns shoot flames. These can only function under Matt’s control.)
He describes the project as a busy process that takes a few weeks to set up.
“I put myself through hell each year,” he said. “It’s the busy season, and I still put up a display. I don’t make any money on it. I’ll always keep doing it, and there’s a higher purpose now.”
The couple has considered the unique challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each year, the display is set up so people can view it from the street as they pass by. A pumpkin bucket is left on the driveway for people to leave donations, so little to no contact is involved between individuals.
Matt said that he’s hoping for a great Halloween this year even with restrictions. “It’s a break from the monotony and heaviness of this year. I’m hoping people can relieve some stress.”
Paulina added, “The neighborhood has been so receptive to the display. Park Ridge is such a friendly and inviting town. We couldn’t have been met with kinder people or more amazing responses to the display.”
Check it out. The fundraiser runs through October. The display runs from 6 to 9:30 p.m., weather permitting. There will be live ghouls at the display on surprise weekends, Oct. 30, and Halloween night.
— With additional reporting by John Snyder