Dallas' Mega-Viral King of Halloween Is Back With a Display of Pop Culture Carnage

When done correctly, decorating for Halloween is both a science and an art. Anyone can throw a few plastic skeletons up in the front yard, but in the hands of someone who has a real vision, a humble display can be a feat of engineering, imagination and just plain crazy can-do attitude — just like the gory yet glorious décor devised by former M Streets resident Steven Novak.

For a few years, Novak’s front yard went viral with a tableau of spare body parts plus a refurbished wood-chipper spewing arcs of faux hemoglobin all over his lawn. His neighbors called the cops, various news channels came calling and Novak made it onto Inside Edition, Page Six and global publications.

“Inside Edition did a hit piece on me and hit me in the face with the microphone, but my neighbors are actually cool,” he says. “Everyone heard the cops were called, but they actually stopped by to take pictures. They weren’t pissed, but it was a better story for a while.”

But then, after 2021, Novak disappeared. Locals may have feared Novak moved out of our city, but not to worry. He’s back in a new home at 1414 Lansford Ave. in Oak Cliff with a fresh tableau that merges pop culture with his traditional (fake) blood and guts. But first, he had to make sure everyone around his new 'hood was OK with his particular sense of humor.

“I moved, and I really didn't want to piss off all the neighbors — I’m not an actual asshole, but I played one on TV for a while,” Novak jokes.

A safecracker by trade, Novak went to art school, so his training in problem-solving and working with creative materials informs his over-the-top décor. He loves a challenge and originally approached those first attempts at Halloweening with a completely different tone until he moved firmly into slasher territory.

“The very first year I just did spooky stuff,” he says. “I was into drones, so I did an animatronic ghost that would follow you down the street, so that was spooky and light. Then I got realistic with blood because I had a body part [on display] and the kids in the neighborhood said, ‘Why don’t you do blood?’ It was the children’s idea! I hate all this shit, that creeps me out.”
Nevertheless, he devised decapitated torsos from mannequin parts, foam insulation and plastic skeletons; stuffed pantyhose serve as guts. Novak uses a mix of theatrical blood on his display pieces and red food coloring and recycled, pumped water for the gushing streams and puddles.

This year, Novak has pivoted with a new theme that includes “the ghost with the most,” Beetlejuice, dumping a bucket of gore over a hapless victim holding an umbrella. The idea, believe it or not, came to him in a lucid dream.

“I’d recently seen Beetlejuice, which I love, so Beetlejuice was in my head,” he says. “I didn’t have an idea for a new theme — it was one of those waking moments when you’re still in bed and you’re not really asleep and you solve the problem. I usually think through stuff like crazy, but this just popped in there. I got up at [5:30 a.m.] and just wrote it down exactly what this looks like. I didn't edit I or change it, because once Beetlejuice is involved, nothing has to make sense. He’s magic.”

Novak devised load-bearing mannequins that could take the weight of a full pot of water and an endless shower of blood. At night, green lasers shoot out and swirling fog creates a magic layer Novak says looks like “10 million fireflies” over the grass.

Beetlejuice is rather incongruously dressed as Santa, and Novak says he envisions the body parts strewn across his lawn as having been stashed in the character’s sack of toys. He’s eagerly awaiting the delivery of presents, so the cross-holiday theme might mean the display can stay up through Christmas.

“It’s Beetle Claus or Santa Juice, the jury’s out,” he says. “He’s just hijacking Halloween as Christmas, and he’s also defiling Christmas and hopefully he’s pissing people off.”

Having conquered Oct. 31 so completely, it’s shocking to hear Novak admit that he doesn't particularly care for spooky season. He’s just thrilled to use his artistic talent in a way that satisfies him and his coterie of real-life and online fans. So far, it’s working. One of the videos he posted of this year’s display has already garnered over 1.5 million views.

“I don't even like Halloween,” Novak says. “When I see skeletons and like spooky goofy stuff, I roll my eyes: That is so fricking lame. But as an artist and an indefatigable person that needs to just use his hands constantly, this is an excuse to do something original. That’s why I can’t do the same thing next year. It’d be cheaper if I packaged this stuff up and put it out again but that would be cheating. I need my brain wrecked with a completely new problem every year.”