Visit this haunted cul-de-sac in Aliso Viejo and help Camp Pendleton Marines

When Dawn Stanley was little, her father, an infantry Marine who served in Vietnam, didn’t do many of the usual parenting things, like reading stories or playing Candyland; instead, he taught her what she now says was much more important: how to handle life.

“He explained stressful situations can mean life or death,” she said. “Because of that, I’m really calm and let things roll off my back.”

Stanley, 56, of Aliso Viejo, said that sense of purpose and ability to tune out the noise is among the most valuable things her father, Bill Sigafoos, could have given her. She only wishes, she said, that she could have returned the favor and helped him with what affected him most: the stressful welcome home he received after returning from the Vietnam War.

She has found a way to help other servicemembers, through what has become one of South Orange County’s most visited Halloween destinations. With her husband, Mike, and eight neighbors, Stanley creates a Halloween haunt on the Oak Ridge Circle cul-de-sac that raises donations for the Dana Point Fifth Marine Regiment Support Group.

“Everyone was showing up,” she said of the popular haunted display, “and I thought about how we can turn this into something good. Dad was a Purple Heart 5th Marine.”

Since Oct. 10, hundreds of Halloween enthusiasts have visited to marvel at this year’s Universal Monsters-themed Halloween displays in cul-de-sac’s yards.

Scenes based on the 1930s black-and-white horror movies with Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, the Creature of the Black Lagoon and more have been created in animated detail. The couple flew to Universal Epic Universe in Florida to see the latest versions of the monsters and gather inspiration.

“We get a lot of people that want to talk to us and tell us how they can’t believe how incredible it is,” Stanley said. “A handful of them even get the little easter eggs we put in displays.

“Most people wouldn’t notice, but real fans of Universal Monsters would notice.”

Before or after touring the displays, Halloween revelers can enjoy free cocoa and learn about what the Marine support group does. Last year, the Stanleys handed the nonprofit a $6,000 check.

The support group uses the money to help single Marines and those with families at Camp Pendleton. Some of the money goes toward holiday festivities such as Thanksgiving feasts, the Marine Corps Ball and Christmas dinners and presents.

“They have done a masterful job of not only decorating their home but have garnered the support of the entire cul-de-sac with monsters, goblins and goons,” Terry Rifkin, the support group’s former president, said. “With the warm hospitality of hot chocolate, many want to chat a bit about the Marines and make a donation that supports our mission. It’s just good fun and amazing what a community can do when they come together.”

Though the couple started doing themed Halloween displays 20 years ago, Stanley said it didn’t become a destination until COVID, when their neighbors, also cooped up in their homes, agreed to get on board with the festivities.

Mike Stanley starts planning the Halloween theme in January and then gives his neighbors assignments; he said they’re always happy to take his ideas and help create.

He assesses each neighbor’s yard and decides which shapes best fit the display ideas. This year, for example, he said one neighbor couple was hoping to keep people off the grass they had just redone, so Mike Stanley came up with the idea of creating the “Invisible Man” vignette with just a rocking chair and a few side props on their empty lawn.

It’s become one of the most popular; he joked that many people were “getting it” and taking pictures in front of the home.

Sigafoos, now 80, served as a 20-year-old private first class with the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division. He fought in the Battle of Khe Sanh and was wounded the day after the Battle of Buffalo ended at Da Nang Air Base while loading a plane hit by a rocket.

When he returned from Vietnam, Stanley recalls her father telling her he took his uniform off when he arrived in Los Angeles and didn’t want to show he was a Marine because he was “welcomed home” by a rowdy group of hecklers. Many Vietnam veterans have said it was a long time before their service was acknowledged.

Only recently, when Stanley’s sons asked their grandfather about his service, did he start talking a little about it, she said.

And for Sigafoos, who has enjoyed seeing the display over the years, it has also had its intended effect.

“I’m very proud,” Sigafoos said of his family’s effort to acknowledge the Marines who serve now and their families. “I think that anybody who serves their country, and especially if they go into battle, deserves the best treatment, and now they’re getting it, just like they did during the Second World War and other wars past. It was only Vietnam where they hated us and caused us to clam up. Our valor was stolen.”

“When I got off the airplane, they had a big fence so we could walk through without people harassing us,” he recalled. “There were all kinds of people there with derogatory signs; they were yelling mean and nasty things at us. Welcome home! We got a reception alright, but it was not a welcome.”

“Now, everybody is treated as they should be,” Sigafoos said. “I was just a beach kid, who went from hanging out in Manhattan (Beach) to a foxhole in five months.”

The haunted display is open 6:30 to 9 p.m. through Thursday and 6:30 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday on Oak Ridge Circle in Aliso Viejo. Find out more at @stanleyhaus5 on Instagram.