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While she runs a cleaning business by day, at night she spends hours in her “she shed” creating what she calls her “Munsters,” according to Kil-kare Owner Dave Coterel.
“She’s got hundreds of hours in creating these different ‘Munsters,’” Coterel said. “They’re really life-like. We have people stopping off the bike path all the time and taking pictures of them.”
Black said she still has the first witch she created about 30 years ago. It’s not on display yet, but others are, including her 7-foot-tall headless horseman and “Granny in a rocking chair, who owns a mean cat.”
“All of them are my favorites and they all have a little story to tell,” Black said.
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Black said she creates the bodies for the creatures using fence posts and pvc pipe. She gets her masks and outfits from friends and has received some gifts from Foy’s Halloween Store in Fairborn.
Assembling the parts is a nightly ritual and “just fun to do,” Black said.
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“If I get home from work around 3 or 4, sometimes if I’m working on something new I’m in there until 3 or 4 in the morning putting them together,” she said. “I enjoy doing it for the kids ... It makes me feel good.”
Black’s ghoulish creatures are planted all over the Kil-kare property, peeking between trees and standing guard by the main office, along the bike path and parking lot.
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Brave souls can get close to Black’s creations this weekend during events scheduled from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Racing is weather dependent, but the “Trailer to Trailer Trunk or Treat” event starts at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and will happen rain or shine.
Admission is $10. For more information, visit kilkare.com or call (937) 429-2961.
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