Waukesha Native Continues Custom Of Halloween Skeletons Display

WAUKESHA, WI—Waukesha native Jimmy Zamzow is known for epic surprises and creativity. The carpenter, who now lives in Hubertus, is the creator of the annual "Holy Hill Skeletons." This year's theme is a huge skeleton wedding in honor of Zamzow tying the knot with his wife Sandi in August.

In 2019, he surprised his now-wife with a trip to New York. He and Sandi wanted to go on the "LIVE with Kelly and Ryan." Zamzow made a spiderweb and spider costume inspired by the book "Charlotte's Web."

"We got on the show and I actually surprised her and proposed to her live on the show," he said.

Host Ryan Seacrest heard a commotion backstage after asking the couple about their costume and showed the feed of the proposal during the episode.

The display this year has two skeletons getting hitched while over 100 skeletons are watching.

A mannequin, who is socially distanced from the skeleton crew, is wearing a tie-dye dress is in the back.

Zamzow said this was a wink at him, as he is always wearing a tie-dye shirt. He had the mannequin propped up during his wedding to help guests find the church.

She is now holding a tip jar, a recent addition, to help fund the display. Some of the past displays have cost over $3,000. The money raised is used for the next year's display.

Family-friendly frights

The display started modestly in Waukesha with three skeletons dangling from a tree and has turned into several hundred skeletons in the Holy Hill area for over 10 years.

Zamzow gets crowds of people stopping by to take pictures of the display and with the skeletons.

One of his favorite things is hearing about what display was someone's favorite. Zamzow was shocked to hear his least favorite display, with skeletons working out on exercise equipment, was someone's favorite display.

"The first big one I did was called the Bone-deans which was a take-off the BoDeans," Zamzow said.

The American rock band formed in Waukesha. The display had their music playing and the skeletons set up as if they were in the band. Zamzow made a Youtube video and got permission from the band to use the music.

One year he created a display featuring the Green Bay Packers versus the Minnesota Vikings. There were 80 skeletons in the bleachers watching the game. There were goalposts and skeletons making touchdowns. Zamzow said he could have included some jabs at the team but he didn't want to poke fun or hurt anyone's feelings.

"If you were a Vikings fan and came to the display, you enjoyed it just as much," Zamzow said.

Other displays have included Wizard of Oz, NASCAR, Dancing with the Skulls, Stairway to Heaven/Highway to Hell, and a bar scene.

Dancing with the Skulls was fun for Zamzow but the most difficult. He had to make the skeletons twirl and spin. He played the theme song from the show, a disco ball and lights lit the scene.

He reuses the rainbow bridge from his Stairway to Heaven/Highway to Hell display. The bridge has animal skeletons because children love it. Zamzow said visitors who lost a pet also love the little bridge.

Zamzow's motto when designing the display is not to be gory or offensive. He is incredibly conscientious in his craft and takes great strides not to upset anyone.

"This is why I don't do anything political," he told Patch.

Zamzow hopes to continue doing the displays but admits to having some parking issues. He has been buying material for a huge display for years and hopes to keep making his creations.

The skeletons can be viewed on Highway 167, approximately a mile east of Holy Hill. You can also view the current and past displays on the Holy Hill Facebook page.