Rock Falls residence plays host to preternatural nuptials

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

BY DAVID HOLSTED SVN REPORTER dholsted@svnmail.com ROCK FALLS - Kimberly Crump, pastor of the Community of Christ Church in Sterling, read from the familiar Biblical description of love found in I Corinthians 13. "Love is patient and is kind." In some cases it's also creepy, spooky and all together ooky. The unconventional, couple before her was dressed in black, and the young man had numerous piercings, including both eyebrows, a spike protruding from beneath his lower lip and small hoops in both ear lobes. There was love in the air late Saturday afternoon, as well as shrieks, screams, moans and an eerie fog, as love birds (or in this Halloween season, are they love bats?) Casey Conro and Megan Carey, tied the knot in a most
unusual way. The marriage took place in the front yard at the home of Missy "Spooky" and Jason "Evil One" Schultz. The happy couple, both from Rockford, pledged their vampire-like undying love before family, friends, numerous tombstones, a couple of bodies hanging from scaffolds, corpses emerging from the ground, a few heads impaled on the wrought iron fence, a werewolf and a tall undertaker who waited to whisk them away in his hearse. The Schultzes are die-hard Halloween enthusiasts and their home is a showcase of the ghoulish and macabre. "I just like doing it," the evil one said about the elaborate Halloween decorations. "There's something about that scared look on people's faces that makes me laugh." The Schultzes are themselves newly weds, having been married on Oct. 13 (Friday the 13th for those not keeping score) in Las Vegas. They presided over the Conro-Carey wedding from the top step of their porch, Jason dressed appropriately as a demon and Missy in a Morticia Addams-like black dress. The bride's sister, Erica Leach, lives near the Schultzes and was familiar with their all-out Halloween efforts. When she suggested that it might be a good place to have the wedding, Carey and Conro came to Rock Falls to check it out. Jason Schultz said he immediately thought it was a good idea. He wasn't adverse to having other weddings performed at his haunted house. "It really thrilled us that someone would want to do it," he said. Getting ready An hour before the ceremony, the Schultz house was buzzing, not with chain saws, but with excitement. Friends of the couple arrived. All were dressed in black. A blonde woman dressed in "normal" clothing moved about checking on things. She was Lisa Conro, Casey's mother. When asked what she thought about the unusual wedding, she merely shrugged her shoulders. "This is my son," she said, then pointed to Casey who stood in the corner talking with a friend. "He has all these piercings and everything." Like any proud parent who was eager to preserve memories of her son's big day, Lisa Conro moved about taking pictures. Outside, a long black hearse pulled up to the curb. A tall man exited wearing a stovepipe hat, dark coat and striped pants. This undertaker was Arnie Drolema who runs the Asylum of Mad Dreams, a haunted house in Morrison. His hearse, which had an old-fashioned cloth-covered casket in the back, was to be the newlyweds mode of transportation for their post-wedding ride. "These guys called me and it seemed like a neat idea," Drolema said. Inside, Drolema and Jason Schultz immediately started talking shop. "I've always been the black sheep (of the family)," Schultz said. "I like black, skulls, things like that." Casey Conro, dressed like Dracula in a black robe, completed the image by affixing vampire fangs to his incisors. When asked what the honeymoon plans were, he replied laconically, "Haven't a clue yet." Missy Schultz asked if the music, that of Rob Zombie, was ready. Carey arrived and like any prospective bride, goth or goodie-two-shoes, said she was nervous. She went into a back room to put on her wedding dress. Finally, it was time. The ceremony The guests filed out through the porch, which featured a severed head dripping blood in a bucket and a desiccated corpse lying in an open coffin. The light afternoon rain had changed to a steady downpour. Everyone gathered under some trees, while a few umbrellas popped open. Casey, standing with his attendants, puffed on a cigarette. Pastor Crump, wearing a vest with the words "witches brew" on it, waited by the gate. Despite missing pastor class the day haunted house weddings were discussed, Crump appeared to enjoy her freaky officiating duty. Casey, looking like a radiant Elvira, appeared at the top of the porch steps to be given in marriage by Al Graziano, a family friend. Like any young couple in love and standing in the middle of fake cemetery, Conro and Carey held hands, stared into each other's eyes and exchanged vows. After a few moments spent in the house, the happy couple emerged and headed for the hearse. Drolema held open the door. They would have to ride in the front seat with him, he said, unless they wanted to sit on the coffin. The other cars queued behind the hearse, and off they drove, into the gloaming. In the musical words of the Carpenters - a duo about as different from Conro and Casey as could possibly be - "They've only just begun." Local haunts