I love Halloween and the like. My wife and I even added stickers to our van to simulate landaus since it already looked a little like a hearse.

The 3 best "spooky" Lego sets to me are the Haunted House, Hearse, and this one. What makes this set underrated is the ways colors and perspective are used. Sure, the aesthetic is great, with opening gates, hinged front for more access, and fun side builds, but there is more.

The use of the more drab green for dying plants and purple for more nighttime moodiness are great. Also, the use of the key orange to make the background look like the sun is setting in the background is really well done.

The small building in front of the rounded orange background really makes it feel like I am in the cemetery, looking out the gate onto the setting sun behind the distant building. The use of a technic brick to show light shining through is a good touch.

I know of no other set that is so evocative and really lets me know where I am, and what cardinal direction I am actually facing! This set is more impressive in person, to me. I was glad to pick it up. It would be a bit difficult to piece out, so getting it complete second hand is probably the way to go.

Set #40260 Halloween Haunt: The holiday vignettes continue with this 2017 LEGO Halloween based set and it’s not much, but is effective and far more impressive than the last such vignette.

Box/Instructions

Box: This box looks great, you’ve got a skull nametag in the top corner for gift giving and there’s a spooky mountain range image in the background of the set which adds to the moody atmosphere implied by this spooky looking graveyard party. Great box design.

Instructions: With easy to follow step-by-step build sections this instruction manual is standard fare from LEGO. There’s an image on the back as well of the Thanksgiving based set, not much more to say honestly.

Parts

Suitably this set is loaded with orange and black parts, there are some dark purple and forest green elements, however there’s nothing much about this set when it comes to MOC parts packs and the like. Though I do appreciate the Jack-o-Lantern head design helmet piece being included here.

Minifigures

LEGO Skeleton: It’s your standard LEGO Skeleton, not much else to say really, if you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all. Though it is nice that they’ve improved on the design of the parts and part use for these things over the years. The floppy limbed skeletons are a bit old hat these days thanks to droid arm style skeletons.

Vampire: A bit of a different look for such an iconic sounding horror creature, this vampire is dressed smartly and includes immaculate white gloves, and the widows peak hair piece made famous with Monster Fighters. The face is a tad generic looking when it comes to prints unfortunately, I believe I’ve seen this print before, but I’m not entirely certain. He kind of looks like Cole from the LEGO Ninjago Movie.

For accessories you get some nice printed cookies and the like, however the biggest draw is the two silver chalices. Great accessories for Halloween parties.

The build

The two small side builds of this set are relatively quick to build, basically you get a rat and a pumpkin and a cauldron full of steaming punch of some sort, simple little builds that add a bit to the display.

The main build features relatively repetitive and easy to follow steps for most of the back and the front doorway which is mirrored. Overall nothing tricky or difficult as is customary in such a small set, honestly it was a while since I built it, but I recall it being relatively quick and somewhat lackluster until the finished model was done.

The completed model

Halloween Haunt: Here is a Crypt doorway or Graveyard gate which features a suitably gothic looking design, the real fun of this model is that it makes a perfect displayable item because the back consists of an orange wall, meant to evoke an eerie Halloween skyline with a tiny castle visible off in the distance. Almost as if the model was a play set piece for a stage. The red spider on the one door adds creepier atmosphere to the thing. A fun little model and much better executed than the façade from the last Halloween vignette with the trick-or-treating girl.

Overall opinion

I’d say this was a great offering from LEGO and I’d definitely recommend it for fans of Monster Fighters and Scooby-Doo because if you’re looking to make a decent Halloween display this will add to it. Finding it for a reasonable price now that it’s off the primary market may be difficult, that being said, it’s a strong offering and the jack-o-lantern mask is a great touch. Strongly recommended.