Christmas lights are often described as pretty, whimsical and fun, but one display in Seymour is so much more.
Brett Hays, a local attorney and the creative mind behind Fear Fair, Indiana’s scariest haunted house, has taken his unique talents and created an over-the-top animated outdoor light show at his home.
With about 20,000 RGB pixels taking the place of traditional Christmas lights, Seymour Lights is an experience for the many people who drive by nightly.
Located at 911 South Drive in Sunset Parkway, the display is synchronized to a playlist of popular music, including the "Star Wars" theme and traditional holiday hits. Visitors can dial their car radio to 89.9 FM to listen as they watch.
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Many people remember Hays’ display from years past. He started Seymour Lights in 2007, and it ran for five years, ending in 2011. That year, the weather took a toll on the display with high winds tearing down some of the features.
Now, eight years later, he decided to tackle the display again because he missed it, and he likes taking on new challenges.
"I always wanted to do it again, and I kind of knew I would," he said.
The display had become so popular in the community that people would ask him all of the time when he planned on doing another one.
A lot of people didn’t realize it had been eight years since his last display.
"They would ask me, ‘Now, did you do it last year?’" he said. "No, people, I haven’t done it for eight years."
First, he had to get Fear Fair under control because it was taking so much of his time and money. Besides running the haunted attraction through October, he and his team also organize Valentine’s and Christmas themed events.
He started setting up Seymour Lights in the middle of November this year and had everything ready to go in about three weeks.
"I used to start Nov. 1. I was on it," he said. "But then I would always try to come on Thanksgiving night."
Hays knew that wasn’t a realistic goal this time around.
"There simply just wasn’t enough time," he said. "I really bit off more than I could chew."
That’s because he started the display from scratch.
"There’s not a single thing that’s the same," he said. "Everything is new."
And in eight years, the technology is much more advanced, he said.
Each of the computer-controlled pixels can be any color, and they create tons of different patterns and sequences.
"They have red, green and blue in each one of them," he said. "You can’t do that with regular Christmas lights."
He can turn the show on and off with his smartphone but has it set to run from 7 to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 6:30 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays. He plans to keep the lights up through Jan. 5.
The display features a talking animated Grinch, a row of singing Christmas trees on the roof, a giant Christmas tree up front along with a large television-like pixel matrix that displays different scenes.
Learning how the new technology works and what all he could do with it presented the biggest challenge, but it’s also what he likes most.
"It’s nothing like what I did before," he said. "I’m a nerd. I like the technical aspect of it. It’s fun."
He gets a lot of satisfaction when he figures out how to get something to work the way he wants it to.
"When it starts working, it’s a great feeling," he said.
There are four cooler-sized controller boxes that house wires and switches, which are the brains of the display.
He relied on help from others around the world who also enjoy putting together elaborate light shows.
"This is not a small thing," he said. "There are a lot of people that do this. They’re just not geographically around here."
For instance, the guys who write the software he uses for the display are in Australia.
Hays knew he couldn’t come back with fewer lights than he used to have, even though it took him five years to build his display to what it was.
"I’m basically trying to do a fifth-year show in the first year," he said. "But it came together, and it will be easier next year and better because I’ve got a lot of ideas."
Putting together such a display is a lot of work, he added.
Each of the individual pixels have to be pushed in and then are soldered.
He began building the different features last spring. He ran the pixel strips that make up the large tree for 48 hours straight to make sure they worked.
"I had truthfully forgotten just how much work it is," he said. "But I enjoy taking on something darn near impossible and beating it. I’m kind of sick that way. I really like to take on something super hard and even if it about kills me conquer it."
With a lot of new neighbors, Hays said he doesn’t know what all of them think, but he hopes they enjoy it.
"I think it’s the traffic that causes some problems, not the lights," he said.
The crowds that come by each night aren’t as big as they used to be, but more people are coming by as word spreads. He has a Facebook page to help publicize the display.
He estimates around 50 vehicles a night will go by and in most cases stop. In 2011, on Christmas Eve, Hays said vehicles were lined up all the way on Community Drive back to Tipton Street.
"There’s scarcely been a minute where there’s not some cars out here when I look out," he said.
There is enough music to keep playing for an hour before it repeats, so people can catch a different part of the show every time they come by, he said.
He likes that the display brings joy to so many people.
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Seymour Lights, a musical, animated residential light display
Turn your car radio to 89.9 FM to listen to music the show is synchronized to.
Created by: Brett Hays
Where: 911 South Drive in Sunset Parkway
When: 7 to 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 6:30 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays
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