Every year, Braden Hulshof, 14, builds his own haunted house in his parents' garage. Since he was 5, he's been fascinated by Halloween. Many of Hulshof's props are handmade.

On a sleepy and unassuming Calvin Drive cul-de-sac, Braden Hulshof waits all year long.

In the off months, the 14-year-old tucks away in his parents’ basement, tinkering, building and curating. When the leaves change color and fall and ghosts and pumpkins line the streets of Lawrence, Hulshof knows it’s time.

In the garage he’ll arrange his cast of characters, a mix of familiar, frightful faces and pop culture lore into a short maze of narrows and sharp turns. In the darkness there he’ll mask himself and hide behind a drop-down portrait, standing patiently until his victims pass by, unsuspecting.

Every year, Braden Hulshof, 14, builds his own haunted house in his parents' garage. Since he was 5, he's been fascinated by Halloween. Many of Hulshof's props are handmade.

“Every year he’ll build the haunted house in the garage,” said the Hulshof’s next-door neighbor Donna Callaghan. “He’s just fascinated by Halloween. He’s a wonderful young boy.”

Hulshof said he’s been building haunted houses in his parents’ garage for the past four years, to be precise.

“He becomes the best kid this time of year,” said Hulshof’s mother, Stacie Hulshof. “He’s always a good kid, but he’s so appreciative that we give him the garage.”

Parking on the street is a small price to pay to see Braden so happy and working on something he’s so passionate about, Stacie said. Especially something that’s held his interest for so long.

“He didn’t get it from me or his father,” Stacie laughed. “I mean, I like going to haunted houses, but not like him.”

Braden said he first became stricken with the holiday after a trip to the Kansas City, Mo. store Spirit Halloween when he was 5.

The store made such an impression on him, Stacie said, that he came home and began directing scary videos on his own camera and creating his own Halloween props.

Over the years those props and creations have become more and more sophisticated, Stacie said.

“That’s where he spends all his money,” she said. “He treats all his props with care.”

Combining what he can buy for himself with what he can build and the precious few things that friends and family have donated to his cause, Braden walks through his maze proudly.

Braden said he’ll pick up specific ideas from different stores and haunted houses or mazes around the area and try to incorporate them into his own creations.

Near his exit a werewolf struggles to break free of its handmade wooden cage. A faux porch with motion sensor mannequins set to scare, strobe lights and fog machines all wait within the walls.

The first thing guests will see, or not see, is Braden himself.

“There’s a way I can peek through and see when they’re coming,” Braden said, demonstrating the drop-down portrait he built and hides behind. “So I can scare them first.”

Each year Braden’s haunted house has a theme, and this year he said he plans to lean heavily toward the zombie genre.

Unfortunately due to their location in the cul-de-sac, Stacie said the haunted house doesn’t get too many visitors, but in future years they might put up some signs directing trick-or-treaters their way.

Despite comparatively small attendance numbers, Braden said his guests appreciate his work, and more people have come each year.

“This year 10 to 20 is what I predict,” he said. “They sure enjoy it.”

In the years to come Braden said he wants to make his haunted house even more sophisticated, potentially carrying his work into the professional realm.

Stacie said whether he plans on building haunted houses for a living or move on to something else, she’s happy he’s being productive.

“I just like that he’s not on his phone or playing video games,” she said. “He’s learning to build. It’s something that can apply to other things; he’s learning creativity.”

Braden’s haunted house, 3205 Calvin Drive, will open on Halloween during normal trick-or-treating hours.