Every Halloween, La Center Mayor Tom Strobehn gives families and trick-or-treaters an experience more terrifying than city government by transforming his home into an interactive haunted maze.
The family’s annual tradition has grown significantly since it began 24 years ago as a modest setup in his garage and has become a 40-by-15-foot maze filled with animatronics, fog effects and jump scares. Last year, 300 visitors braved the eerie attraction, making it a Halloween highlight for the community.
Strobehn said the family looks for the scariest decorations to add excitement to the maze every year.
“It’s my wife’s birthday, and then my kids like it. So they ask, and instead of just sitting around handing out candy, I decide to be interactive and get going with it,” Stobehn said.
Ironically, despite being the mastermind behind one of the area’s scariest Halloween events, Strobehn confesses he’s not a fan of horror films.
“I don’t even like horror movies, I don’t watch horror movies,” he noted.
The effort put into the maze is no small feat. Strobehn and his family spent over a month crafting this year’s haunted experience. Each Halloween, Strobehn ups the ante, adding to his collection of animatronics and horror-themed props. This year’s most terrifying addition is a “soul sucker” animatronic rigged with fog, fans and lights, designed to look like it’s consuming a prop’s soul. Visitors are also confronted with animatronics of infamous horror icons like Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Chucky and Michael Myers, creating a surreal, nightmarish atmosphere that sends chills down spines of all ages.
The mayor’s son, Austin Strobehn, played a role in setting up the maze and decorations. He said the maze isn’t just scary for kids; many adults find themselves too frightened to enter.
“It’s honestly going to scare the older people, but some of the younger people are not gonna get scared. I already know it,” Austin remarked.
Austin said the best part of the haunted maze is a well-hidden trash can featuring a zombie head that pops out at guests. Tom Stroebehn remarked the setup, which he engineered, scares most guests.
“Yeah, it gets everybody — 40-year-old men get scared on that one, so it’s quite funny and humorous when you’re walking through and you get to watch all of it,” Tom said.
Each year, Strobehn adds to the thrill by dressing as a different horror character, blending in seamlessly with the animatronics to surprise guests. This Halloween, he chose a scarecrow costume, lurking silently in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to startle unsuspecting visitors.
Despite his aversion to horror movies, Strobehn said the experience is a labor of love worth doing every year.
“We all come together [for] the reaction of the kids. What’s crazy is that you’ll see 5-year-old kids that aren’t scared of it. … And then you get teenagers or 20-year-olds, they want nothing to do with it. It’s neat to see how people react to different things,” he said.
