Shropshire man builds replica Hitchcock Psycho house for wife

A man has spent four months building a 12ft-high (3.6m) haunted house model, based on the classic horror movie Psycho.

Dave, from Church Stretton, in Shropshire, has developed a tradition of making his wife Samantha – a self-confessed fan of Halloween – a unique decoration each year.

The structure, which is on wheels in their garden, has been mostly made of recycled timber.

Samantha said she was “absolutely delighted” with the model, adding that her husband had “put his heart and soul into making something spectacular”.

Dave said the pair of them had worked together on painting it and aging the timber.

“It all started a few years ago when we lived next to some young children, and I made them a Halloween house because they were at the age where they really loved the fun side of Halloween,” he said.

“But I always thought it would be nice to make a really big one… so that it was more impressive and I could add all the detail to it.”

He said the long build time was largely due to his reliance on recycled timber, adding that the main frame came from an old roof.

“The cladding on the outside of the house was actually our bedroom doors which we didn’t really like. So, we took them down, cut them up, and used them to make the side of the house,” Dave said.

“As it’s just a Halloween decoration, I decided to put it on wheels so we can actually just push it into a barn and store it there over winter, all through next year, and bring it out again when it’s Halloween,” Dave said.

When asked about plans for next year, and whether he could match this year’s effort, he said there was “always room for more”.

“I don’t think my wife would be too disappointed at that, so maybe next year I’ll make another outdoor ornament of some kind, perhaps along the graveyard theme,” he added.