ROYAL OAK, Mich. (WXYZ) — A little boy from Royal Oak is embracing the Halloween spirit after 26 months of cancer treatment.
He finished with just enough time to build a spooky display in his front yard. It features 42 moving and talking animatronics.
The Halloween display took Jackson Amick and his dad about a month to build.
Jackson says it was anything but easy.
"It was hard and very disruptive and it makes you angry cause twice it blew over," said Jackson.
When it comes to Halloween, Jackson doesn't mess around.
He spends all year collecting spooky animatronics, each with its own story.
"This guy, which is motor and ghoul from Menards, is my favorite," said Jackson.
The creatures do a lot of the scaring, but Jackson picks up a shift every now and then.
The lively 10-year-old had a rough couple of years. He was diagnosed with Leukemia when he was eight years old.
"His first admission when they accessed his chest to put the port in and to take his initial dose of chemotherapy was very frightening for him, his mom, and me," said Thom Amick, Jackson's dad.
Amick says Jackson spent most of his time planning the display. It gave him something to look forward to when things got rough.
"For some kids, it's athletics that give them strength and motivation," said Thom Amick. "He works really hard at this, he loves it, and he's very proud of it."
Jackson says even while he was fighting Leukemia all he could think about was his spooky decor.
For Jackson, Halloween is a way of life and he loves bringing people to the dark side.
"I want them to have a full experience because people pay money for their costumes and they pay money for their candy," said Jackson.
Speaking of money, as you can imagine building the display is a financial commitment.
"We'll typically probably bypass one week vacation or a five-day vacation because of what we will do with animatronics," said Thom Amick.
Jackson says he wants to make a career out of his love for animatronics.
"Probably just a pop-up Halloween store or keep on doing this, that would be fun," said Jackson.
The display will be up through Monday night. Jackson’s dad says anyone is welcome. The house is located at 405 Mount Vernon Blvd in Royal Oak.
Jackson also runs a Youtube channel where he vlogs about his collection. Check it out here.
