Behind Pflugerville's free 'Pfrightmare Manor' is a few guys with a passion for art, community

PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — Imagine: a haunted maze full of thrills and classic horror movie references.

Now, imagine it… small, contained in the yard of a Pflugerville home in a seemingly regular neighborhood just east of State Highway 130. But don’t let its size and location fool you, Pfrightmare Manor is full of haunting twists and thrills, and of course, classic horror film references.

David Watkins and Daryll Coleman created what is now Pfrightmare Manor a decade ago, on an even smaller scale. It started with a few spooky yard decorations and one volunteer actor who would scare folks as they walked up to the house.

Now, it’s a whole haunted trail experience. Completely free and open to the public for three nights a year, and entirely handmade and homegrown by the two men. It’s grown just from foot traffic and word-of-mouth, Watkins said.

“Been in the neighborhood for about 17 years,” Watkins, who owns the home that hosts Pfrightmare Manor, said. “And about 10 years ago, I met up with my friend Daryll, who had a bunch of decorations, but no kids to come around anymore, so we teamed up. We have a dual love for Halloween.”

Watkins said last year, more than 1,200 people came through. At the time, it was just a few “rooms” of sorts set up in the front yard. This year, he said they upped the ante and built out a whole haunt in the backyard, and set up an elaborate spooky scene in the front.

“A lot of our props are hand-made, so that’s another thing we really enjoy,” Watkins said. “It’s kind of a giant art project for us.”

They expect the haunt to keep growing, too. That’s where Andrew Dimitrijevic, a 20-year-old who lives nearby, comes into the picture.

Dimitrijevic said he reached out to Watkins and Coleman to see if they needed help building the haunted trail this year, and he teamed up with them to help with “background stuff” like social media and securing sponsorships for a raffle, a new aspect for the trail this year.

Watkins said having Dimitrijevic be part of the process this year was “huge” because a ton of work, planning, time, and money goes into it.

“I love social interaction. I love networking with people,” Dimitrijevic said, explaining why he got involved. “And this isn’t something that I would picture necessarily as a job. It’s more so something that you just do for fun. You want to put smiles on people’s faces. And I decided, why not?”

Dimitrijevic has a full-time job outside of Pfrightmare Manor, running a pressure washing company. Watkins and Coleman, who are both 60, also have day jobs outside of the Manor.

Watkins said the crew has been planning this year’s experience for about a year and building everything out for about 3-4 months, since the summer.

It’s fully self-funded by the trio, and free for attendees to walk through. The group hopes to keep expanding and use more yard space in the future, and they’re looking into getting more sponsors.

The Pfrightmare Manor is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, from about 5 or 6 p.m. to around 11 p.m., or whenever people stop showing up, Dimitrijevic said.

Friday night is “candy night,” and Saturday night will be more of a party experience, according to Watkins. There will be a raffle on Saturday, and Dimitrijevic will be DJing.

The haunt is located at 2925 Pedernales Falls Dr. in Pflugerville.

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