Yacht Haven home gets its haunt on

The Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton may have its elaborately choreographed, scream-inducing BREAKOUT! haunted prison trail, but one home tucked away in a quiet neighborhood in the Mount Vernon area has its own small-scale, free and family-friendly rendition: “The Haunting of Yacht Haven.”

Wade and Lisa Woolwine — both fans of horror movies and the supernatural — first conceived their front-yard Halloween display when they lived on North Kings Highway. What started as a cemetery scene with a handful of animatronics and lighting evolved into a larger display last year with the addition of about 15 animatronics.

This year, Wade Woolwine estimates they added at least another 50 animatronics, illuminated by over 160 stage lights. To get everything ready in time, the couple began setting up the display in early September.

As visitors wend their way along the fog-filled path through the Woolwines’ yard, they encounter a variety of creepy dolls, skeletons, gargoyles, witches, demonic figures and clowns. Woolwine says they’ll continue adding items “to keep it fresh for our repeat customers” and make one final addition on Halloween night, when they also will hand out dozens of bags of candy to trick-or-treaters.

The Haunting of Yacht Haven, located at 4400 Dolphin Lane (see map), is open Fridays through Sundays from now through the weekend after Halloween.