Burbank, Illinois: Frankenmufflerman
RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report
Haunted Trails
- Address:
- 7759 S. Harlem Ave., Burbank, IL
- Directions:
- Haunted Trails. North side of town, on the east side of Hwy 43/S. Harlem Ave. just north of W. 79th St.
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
-
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Frankenmufflerman
Frankenstein's Monster resembles a former Muffler Man, 20 feet tall, reworked into a smartly-dressed creature. Nonetheless he stretches our powers of creative categorization.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...Burbank, Illinois - Muffler Men: American Giants Ep. 8
Frankenmuffler Man:
Two Chicago area Muffler Men get their American Giants road trip close-ups, including the mutant Frankenstein Muffler Man at Haunted Trails.
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Haunted Trails
There's more to see than just the Frankenstein Muffler Man. A Creature from the Black Lagoon. A Dracula!
[Missy, 10/25/2022]Frankenmufflerman
The big Frankenstein is still up in Bridgeview at Haunted Trails, brandishing his enormous bloody ax. He's been around for a long time.
[Ben Perdue, 01/26/2016]I lived in the area since the 1960s -- back then it was called the Fun Fair and was owned by a guy named Al. The sign featured a clown's face, collar and hands. The Haunted Trails logo is still based on the original Fun Fair sign.
The Fun Fair was then taken over by Rich Oltmann, who named the new place Haunted Trails. Signs were/are expensive, especially when you are a small business, so the basic, large light up sign was kept. The orange paint on the metal parts of the sign were painted black, some new sign panels were created, replacing the white faced, red haired clown face with the green faced, white haired ghoul face, adding some red stains on the collar (now I noticed the logo has a red bat bow tie) and keeping the hands.
When going past the area a few years ago, I noticed the old light up sign has been completely removed.
As a teen, I worked at Haunted Trails starting in the spring of 1977. I remember seeing the Frankenstein, just after it was delivered, when it was still crated up and lying on its side in front of the batting cage area. Rich bought the Frankenstein and our other fiberglass figures from a company in Wisconsin. He was made using the basic, existing Muffler Man design, with many alterations. Back in 1977 I was told he cost $5,000.
To help draw in customers, he was originally installed at the second hole of the old, original miniature golf course, facing Harlem Ave. He was later moved near the entrance when the golf course was redesigned.
[Lewis DeWitt, 10/20/2010]Page of 2 [Next 5 items]
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Agreed, but the other statuary at this mini-golf pales (like a ghost) in comparison to its unique FrankenMufflerman.