One of the terms I’ve heard used to describe a good but not great Halloween Village lighted piece is “It’s no Monster’s Ball, but it’s still pretty cool.” What exactly does that mean? I recently scored one, so let’s have a look.
Product Line: Lemax Spooky Town. Introduced in 2005.
Price: 87.99
Animation: Yes – All of the monsters dance via magnetic rotating pieces of the floor, the dragon circles slowly on top, and the executioner sways.
Sounds: Yes – Festive music plays and voices from several monsters are heard. When animated, the building is fairly loud, but not obnoxious.
Lights: Yes – Lights above the dance floor blink, strobe and rotate. The “flames” on each side of the organist flicker to simulate flame.
Boy, where to start on this thing? Let’s go with size.
This is a massive building that has one of the largest footprints of any Spooky Town building. It takes up almost an entire mossy display platform by itself. This isn’t a problem per se, but just be aware if you’re looking to score one off eBay that your village will need some room to be able to display this beast.
The construction feels very sturdy throughout so those worrying about things breaking off probably needn’t be overly concerned.
The lighting on Monster’s Ball is freakin’ outrageous. All of the illumination is made all the better by the mirror at the back of the dance floor which allows everything to bounce.
Combined with the perfect music and monsters dancing, it makes for an amazing scene.
The pieces contained all have very nice paint jobs and excellent detail is seen throughout. Even when it’s not running, it’s still a showpiece.
The building is not one of the “terrifying” variety, in fact, I suppose you could classify it as quite cute. There is nothing overly grotesque about it (like, say, the Torture Factory) so keep that in mind if you are looking for pure horror.
However, while it may not be super scary, it has classic Halloween personality in spades. The organist and all the monsters (many classic tropes are found on the dance floor) are all well designed and ooze personality.
I eventually plan to have a “Hall of Fame” section on this site for specific village pieces that are “must own” for any enthusiast. The Monster’s Ball will have a definite spot on this list. It’s completely outrageous (in a good way) and makes a great centerpiece for any collection. It’s one of Lemax’s greatest pieces and justifies the high price.