Scaring and caring go hand in skeletal hand at this homemade Iowa City haunt

Alex Rain, the artist behind Alex’s House of Horrors, started 28 years ago with a single Frankenstein figure, who can still be spotted along the spooky walk between the front and back of their home. Rain’s creations range from local landmarks (The Black Angel) to figures from Greek myths to the delightfully, horrifyingly gory. Rain sees themself as a trash artist, in a way: other than buying paint, screws and glue, they told LV on their opening night that they build from things that make them think “oh, that’s a weird-shaped thing.”

“See that?” They pointed at a UFO. “That was a broken patio umbrella.”

Rain started with silly decor to entertain passing drivers, then created a spooky garage walk-through. Before long, their horror handiwork had taken over the front and backyard, crafted from recycled items that were destined for the landfill. All store-bought items were donated, Rain says. During open hours, the host can be spotted in a handmade clown costume, hammer and nail in hand.

Rain is proud to keep the haunt accessible. While there are some truly scary sights, the brilliance of their artwork and willingness to walk visitors through it makes House of Horrors far from intimidating. Sensitive to flashing lights? No problem. Rain can disable those on their phone, and they are more than willing to help people of all ages and abilities assess which parts of the yard they might like to see. While entry is free to all, donations are welcome.

Alex’s House of Horrors is open Thursday-Saturday from dark to 9:30 p.m., now through Oct. 30, with a “Trick or Treat Spectacular” from 5:30-8 p.m. on Halloween night. On that final night, Rain will up the fear factor by adding 20 volunteer scare actors. Strobe lights cannot be turned off on Oct. 31, but if you would like to avoid jump scares for any reason, just tell Rain — they have a system for that.

Watch a brief video of Alex’s House of Horrors