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See ‘Stranger Things’ display at Plainfield home through Halloween

Audrey Appel: ‘We have some cool things in store.’

By Denise M. Baran-Unland
Dave Appel’s "Stranger Things"-themed Halloween display at his home will be open to the public on the weekend evening hours throughout October. The Plainfield Halloween display featuring a levitating Max from the Netflix show "Stranger Things" went viral on social media. Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, in Plainfield.

Dave Appel’s "Stranger Things"-themed Halloween display at his home will be open to the public on the weekend evening hours throughout October. The Plainfield Halloween display featuring a levitating Max from the Netflix show "Stranger Things" went viral on social media. Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, in Plainfield. (Gary Middendorf - gmiddendorf@shawmedia.com/Gary Middendorf)

If you haven’t seeing the “Floating Max” exhibit from “Stranger Things” — or if you want to see it again — you have through Halloween to do so.

Audrey Appel, who created the exhibit with her husband Dave Appel, said hours for this weekend are 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday and 3 to 8 p.m. Monday, which is Halloween.

The display is in front of their home at 1806 Whispering Oaks Court in Plainfield. The Appels said on their HorrorProps Facebook page that people are welcome to visit all week. However, the special effects are only available during posted hours.

[ How Plainfield couple made ‘floating Max:’ Local physics professors weigh in and Dave Appel shares his secret ]

The Appels announced on their TikTok page on Monday that people should “be ready for more Max then you’ve ever seen this week.”

“We are not exactly sure when this weekend, but we have some cool things in store,” Audrey Appel said. “We are asking people to wear their costumes this weekend.”

Dave Appel said in an Oct. 9 Herald-News story that approximately 1,500 people come out each night to see the “Max” prop and the rest of his and Aubrey Appel’s Halloween display. The couple’s ultimate goal is to own and operate their own haunted house.

“It’s families,” Dave Appel said. “It’s young kids. It’s older adults. It’s anyone who loves Halloween.”

The “Stranger Things” element is just one part of a larger exhibit that includes features from “Pet Sematary,” “Beetlejuice,” “Predator,” “Arachnophobia” and “The Ring” to name a few, he said/

“We follow pop culture, horror and fantasy pretty closely,” Dave Appel said in an Oct. 6 Herald-News story.

[ Haunted house in New Lenox inspired ‘Stranger Things’ display in Plainfield ]

Sgt. Dwayne English, spokesperson for the Joliet Police Department, said Joliet officers are still assigned to the area around the home of the “Stranger Things” display. A neighbor had complained about the increased traffic early in October and the Appels temporarily took down the display.

But event has run smoothly, despite the crowds.

“There have been no further issues concerning this display from our perspective,” English said in an email.

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Suni Mansilla, who came from Chicago, takes a photo of her kids Marissa and Nathan with the levitating Max. The Plainfield Halloween display based on the Netflix show "Stranger Things" has gone viral on social media. Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, in Plainfield.

Suni Mansilla, who came from Chicago, takes a photo of her kids Marissa and Nathan with the levitating Max. The Plainfield Halloween display based on the Netflix show "Stranger Things" has gone viral on social media. Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, in Plainfield. (Gary Middendorf - gmiddendorf@shawmedia.com/Gary Middendorf)