Halloween at Grandview Drive castle: Ghostbusters, fire-breathing dragons and candy

PEORIA HEIGHTS – The castle on Grandview Drive is once again hosting a free Halloween spectacle for all who dare attend.

“You may see some ghosts, you may see some creepy crawlies. Who knows what might come up?” said Megan Johnston, who is directing the event. Johnston is part of a crew from Peoria Players Theatre helping the Soderstrom family put on an extra-special trick-or-treating event at the gothic mansion they own on Grandview Drive.

Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!

This year’s theme is inspired by the 1984 movie "Ghostbusters," starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Sigourney Weaver. It centers around three parapsychologists who set up shop as a ghost removal service in New York City.

The movie became a cult classic, and Ghostbusters cosplay groups sprang up all across the U.S. The Central Illinois Ghostbusters will be participating in the event at the castle.

“They are bringing their car, the Ghostbusters car Ecto-1. It will be on display, as well as some really cool set pieces like the Ecto containment unit – that's where they store the ghosts,” Johnston said.

The equipment complements elaborate sets the crew is building on the castle grounds.

“This year it was our intent to transform the castle into the firehouse from the original movie,” said Johnston. “It’s iconic. Once you see it, you immediately know what it is.”

Scenes from the movie will be re-created, and the car will be part of it.

“Like when the Ecto containment unit is shut down because of the lawyers that get involved, the car is going to be staged like a set piece,” said Johnston.

Actors will bring the sets to life.

“I have at least nine volunteers who will be in costume,” Johnston said. “If you are familiar with the movie, you may see some familiar faces.”

A Halloween tradition

Halloween has long been a tradition at the castle, even before the Soderstrom family owned the property. The previous owners were known for handing out pencils after there was a debunked scare about candy in the 1980s, and they decorated the property and had their friends dress up in costumes. After Peoria dermatologist Carl Soderstrom bought the property in 2013, he elevated the annual event.

“We knew on a night with good weather, we can see as many as 3,000 people come through there, so one thing we knew for sure, whether we did anything or not at the castle, there were going to be a few thousand people showing up, so we needed to make it special,” Steve Soderstrom, Carl Soderstrom’s son, told the Journal Star in 2021.

After staging the event themselves for several years, the Soderstroms decided they needed professional help.

“Peoria Players Theatre specializes in all this stuff, sound and lighting, costumes, actors, music, and I had done some musicals there and had gotten to know the people really well, so we decided to have them handle Halloween, and then we would make a donation each year,” Steve Soderstrom said.

Last year, the Soderstroms added an elaborate light and music show that can be enjoyed by people driving by on the nights preceding Halloween. This year, the light show has a Ghostbusters theme, and can be viewed starting at dusk on Oct. 27-30. Trick-or-treating will run from 5-8 p.m. on Monday. As always, visitors will be greeted by the pair of fire-breathing dragons at the end of the driveway.

4,000 chocolate bars

Shortages this year made it more difficult to acquire their signature treat, Hershey’s Chocolate Bars, said Steve Soderstrom. They had to go to several different vendors to get enough.

“We usually have 4,000 candy bars on hand. It’s insane,” he said.

There's never any trouble getting rid of all the candy, however. The event is very popular, said Johnston.

"I have heard stories of people driving two and a half, three hours just to come see this castle.”

Leslie Renken can be reached at (309) 370-5087 or lrenken@pjstar.com. Follow her on Facebook.com/leslie.renken.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Halloween: Ghostbusters, Hershey's chocolate at Grandview Drive castle