Lily and Herman Munster Paid Their Due

10/31/2002 at 01:15 PM EST

Some people, it seems, celebrate all year-round. Just for Halloween, The New York Times has put the spotlight on a rather unusual couple in Texas, who have painstakingly replicated the house at the fictional 1313 Mockingbird Lane occupied by the Munsters on the 1964-66 TV series of the same name.

The couple, Sandra and Charles McKee -- who are 46 and 47, respectively, making them just old enough to remember the show in first-runs -- relied on old production stills from the show and VCR freeze-frames of all 70 "Munsters" episodes to design and build their 10-room, $250,000 Munster mansion in the rural suburb of Waxahachie, about 27 miles south of Dallas, the Times reports.

The trap doors that were part of the "Munsters" set also have found their way into the McKees' home, as well as a staircase opening up to reveal a fire-breathing dragon. (The Times features a photo of the McKees -- who, naturally, are dressed up as the Munsters.

Last weekend, the pair hosted a party in the house, with guests including Al Lewis, 92, who played Grampa Munster on the TV series, and Butch Patrick, 49, who played Munster son Eddie -- he of pointy ears fame. (Fred Gwynne, who played father Herman Munster, died in 1993, while onetime screen siren Yvonne De Carlo, now, 80, who played Munster matriarch Lily, has kept a very low profile over the past several years.)

Still, it is not a perfect house, at least in the eyes of husband Charles. "If it had been up to me," he told The Times, "my living room would look like the bridge of ("Star Trek"'s) the Enterprise."

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