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Hell, Michigan

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A Little Town On It’s Way Up

“Eternity in Hell” is a sentence of suffering for most. But not for John Colone. Eternity is just about the length of time it would reasonably take to put in place the thousands of ideas that spew from the mind of this former top Chrysler dealer who has made a commitment to transform Hell – Michigan, that is – into a year round Halloween destination.

“We’ll be celebrating, and selling, Halloween 363 days a year,” says John Colone, the energetic owner of two of the three businesses in the tiny town. “Christmas and Easter, we’ll be closed. We don’t want to compete with Santa Claus or that crazy rabbit.”

Welcome to Hell, Michigan

Colone’s vision of Halloween in Hell is inclusive, family-friendly and decidedly original. Here you won’t find the gore that has become increasingly realistic in the Halloween trade. Despite the name, Hell is no haven for those who take their devils – or anything else for that matter – seriously. Instead, you’ll visit “Screams,” (The Scariest Ice Cream Parlor on Earth), for a build-your-own premium ice cream sundae, ladling toppings from a previously-owned European toe-pincher coffin (newly-lined in stainless steel, of course). And here in Hell, they don’t miss a trick: instead of calling the marshmallow sauce, well, Marshmallow Sauce, you’ll find it filed under Scary Ghost Poop. Chocolate chips are Hog Warts. The big portions of ice cream are Frankenscoops, and when you drink a frozen fruity drink, you’ll be getting a BrainFreeze.

Hell, Michigan

“Screams” will also host a truly esoteric collection of Halloween decorations for inside and outside the home, candles and candle holders, and an entire wall of masks, ranging in price from under $10 to over $150.

Colone recognizes that he’s not really in the ice cream business. Nor is he in the Halloween business, per se. He’s in the entertainment business; his plans for Screams include an element that most customers at an ice cream shop, even one with a Halloween theme, will find extraordinary: a haunted chamber of commerce office. With a couple of high-end pneumatic effects from The Scare Factory in Columbus, Ohio, Colone intends on dishing up a few surprises for his guests.

vulture in Hell, Michigan

“Every thirty minutes, the lights in the office area will flicker and go dim. We’ll pump in a little smoke, rev up some spooky audio, and trigger the first effect: a banging set of shutters that eventually fly open to allow a gruesome ghoul to fly out toward the visitors.” Colone starts to get warmed up when describing the action. It’s easy to see his enthusiasm for the project. “And just after the first scare, when they’re laughing and catching their breath, we’ll pop the top on our Deskolator – a normal-looking desk until the blotter swings up and out pops a masked head. It’s great,” says the head Hellion.

Colone owns another business in town: Hell Country Store and Spirits. The store serves the just shy of 300 (living, mortal) residents, who, like anyone else, need their daily groceries and newspapers. Inside the store, Hell’s Kitchen serves up outstanding pizzas, sandwiches, hot dinners, salads, and desserts, and is increasingly busy with catering. Another corner of the Hell Country Store and Spirits is occupied by the U. S. Post Office. A favorite for tourists, its specialty rubber stamp impressions adorn visitors’ envelopes all year, and in April, hundreds of taxpayers send their “Taxes from Hell.”

Hell Country Store and Spirits

Folks who go to “Hell and Back” want souvenirs, and they’ll find them in the Country Store: bumper stickers, T-shirts, bandanas, mugs, shot glasses, ashtrays, key tags, watches, small wooden bats (‘Bat Out of Hell,’ of course), and much more.

Not surprisingly, Hell is on the internet, too. The main site for the town, with products, Hell history, and a Hellish take on the news of the day, is at www.hell2u.com. And Hell’s fully non-accredited institute of higher learning, Damnation University, can be found at www.damu.com. There, you can buy diploma packages, with Dam U apparel, which commemorate the foibles and follies of everyday life.

To say there’s a lot of angles to Halloween in Hell is, well, a helluva understatement. It would take a small army to develop the place to match the vision of Colone, but even without the army, Hell’s new owner is steadfast. “We’re in Hell for the duration,” vows Colone. “One eternity or two, I’ll be here.”




Filed under Halloween, Spooky Places

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12 Responses to “Hell, Michigan”

  1. Erica Says:
    September 19th, 2007 at 10:15 pm

    I live near Hell, MI, but I didn’t know that they celebrated Halloween for 363 days a year. That’s awesome!

    Love,
    – Erica

  2. admin Says:
    September 19th, 2007 at 10:28 pm

    Yup! This story is a couple years old, so I had to check to make sure they still celebrate when I did a website redesign this year. I’ll have to check out the town myself – after spending a week baking in Hell, Cayman Islands, of course!

  3. Jason Morgan Says:
    October 10th, 2008 at 8:22 am

    i was wondering is there any homes or jobs in Hell , cause i can not find anything on the internet about hell , & id love to live in hell so i can celebrate halloween 365 days a year …

  4. Halloween Alliance Says:
    October 10th, 2008 at 5:05 pm

    I’m sure a lot of people would love to live there, too! The town is pretty small, so it might be difficult. The website in the article can tell you more, and there’s a good entry in Wikipedia.

  5. Leona Says:
    October 20th, 2008 at 12:16 am

    The night I went to Hell we happened to give a ride to a guy that crashed his car, he was bleeding and got some blood on my van. That spooked me!!

  6. Lora Says:
    October 20th, 2008 at 2:48 pm

    I think the actual town of hell might be something quite pleasant, and living in what we refer to as ‘hell’ is more of a state of mind. Still, I’m curious as to how they celebrate Halloween 363 so I’m going to look for their town, city, or village’s website if they have one; and if they don’t, they should get one.

  7. Melissa Says:
    June 18th, 2009 at 7:14 am

    wow. I didn’t think a place like this exsisted. But I’m glad I found out! It be so awesome to live there althought the name “hell” is….a bit out there, I think i just found my second home!

  8. Brooke Says:
    October 7th, 2009 at 6:22 am

    is there any haunted house attractions there? we’re looking to take a trip down there, but only if they have good haunted houses and stuff like that.

  9. Chris Molnar Says:
    October 7th, 2009 at 9:35 pm

    Yes they do! Check out the following places within 60 miles of Hell (I love saying that!):

    The Boneyard – http://www.boneyard-fx.com/
    A Nightmare on Elm Rd – http://www.nightmareonelmrd.com/
    Darksyde Acres – http://darksydeacres.com/
    Wicked Hill – http://wickedhill.com/

    - Editor

  10. Creepy Clyde Says:
    August 6th, 2010 at 4:22 pm

    Hello! John is a Hell-of-a -guy! I perform in Hell, singing spooky songs. I also host a show called Spooky Talk, Saturdays at noon on AM 1310 WDTW, rebroadcasted at midnight on AM 1610 Hamtramck, MI. This is a great site.

  11. Skip Romano Says:
    September 24th, 2010 at 6:30 pm

    We live in Naples FL since 2004 and were residents of Picney for 27 years before retiring from Chrysler.

    John Colone was a good friend and neighbor and unsolicited offered to let me and Catherine have his personal Purple Prowler for the day and on another occasion his personal Black Viper. The Viper was as you may know was a 10 cylinder 5 speed stick. I was terrified to drive it and when Catherine tried to drive it, she found that her feet could not reach the clutch pedal. We have pictures in our albums somewhere that we may uncover some day.

    We love you John.

  12. Skip Romano Says:
    September 24th, 2010 at 6:39 pm

    We live in Naples FL since 2004 and were residents of Pinckney for 27 years before retiring from Chrysler.

    John Colone was a good friend and neighbor and unsolicited offered to let me and Catherine have his personal Purple Prowler for the day and on another occasion his personal Black Viper. The Viper was as you may know was a 10 cylinder 5 speed stick. I was terrified to drive it and when Catherine tried to drive it, she found that her feet could not reach the clutch pedal. We have pictures in our albums somewhere that we may uncover some day.

    We love you John.

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