Friends, family carry on murdered Lexington man’s haunted house on Halloween weekend
Halloween was Ty Abner’s favorite holiday of the year. He enjoyed the satisfaction and laughter that came with spooking people, so in recent years he had turned his garage into a haunted house.
Abner didn’t get to experience the thrills his haunted house provided over Halloween weekend. He was beaten to death in a downtown Lexington parking garage a week ago after completing a shift at Pies & Pints, a downtown Pizzeria on Main Street.
Abner was 31 years old.
Despite Abner’s absence, his garage haunted house lived on this weekend at his home on Nickwood Trail near Liberty Elementary School because of grieving friends and family who offered it in his memory. Hundreds came out to take in Abner’s creation, which could easily be mistaken for a professionally-done setup that would earn thousands of dollars in profits.
The haunted house featured multiple rooms along a winding path that were filled with decorations, live actors, a black light glow and the sounds of screams and fear.
Scare-seekers had to duck or squeeze through the narrow passageways because the walls and ceiling were full of props.
The opening room was Abner’s favorite, according to his husband, John Abner. It set the tone for the remainder of the journey.
There was a bookcase on the left side of the room and a table on the right full of Halloween items, like bones, candles, potion bottles and more. A hanging witch with a wrinkly, green face and straw-like hair guarded the entrance to the next room.
One of the trip’s highlights was the “pirate room,” which was a new addition to the house. It was also the site of a small memorial for Abner, which featured a picture of him holding a “free hugs’‘ sign in his traditional clown costume. The photo sat on top of a barrel and behind a glowing electronic candle.
Abner’s haunted house character had been “Tiggles the Clown.” A picture of him in the costume was printed on T-shirts that friends and family wore at the haunted house.
He was described as the ringleader for the maze by his friend and neighbor James Coots, who shared with the Abners a similar love for Halloween.
“We loved it,” Coots said. “It was the same type of child-like wonderment going through it. Looking at life through a child’s eyes and being able to feel that zest for life again. We just knew we had to carry it on because that’s what he would’ve wanted us to do because that’s what he poured his life for the last month into.”
Abner finished decorating the haunted house near the end of September. He had it open for previous weekends, so he was able to see the reactions before his death.
The maze was free to enter, but Abner accepted donations for anyone feeling extra generous. His 2019 haunted house earned a little over $400, and he donated it all to the Lexington Humane Society.
This year, Coots estimates the donations have doubled. It’s all once again going to the humane society.
“It just shows what a great place Lexington is,” Coots said. “Coming out and supporting his cause and supporting him and getting the word out and that’s what Ty would’ve loved most, is the people seeing this and enjoying this and partaking in this, and not only that but also people giving because that was all Ty was about.”
Coots described Abner as one of the most giving and caring people he knew. So did John Abner, who played a part in creating the haunted house before his husband was killed.
“Ty would give everything,” Coots said. “That was literally his life. He gave every person what they needed at that time. If you felt bad, he would feel bad with you until you felt better. He would make you feel like you were the only person in the room and that you would matter.”
The best example of that was a simple but sweet gesture Abner would do when Coots and his family would take a vacation.
“My wife has a little workspace in the garage and when we’re on vacation, they’d come over and let the dogs out for us,” Coots said. “He’d go out there and he would write, ‘you are beautiful and I love you,’ and he would put it up on the wall. That’s what a heartfelt person he was.”
This story was originally published November 1, 2021 at 7:15 AM.
