BY STEPHANIE BERNABA

The dining room lights dim just enough for two movie screens to glow at each end of the room, while the walls are covered in decades of monster memorabilia. This is Famous Monster Pizza in Decatur, one of the region’s most popular Halloween destinations. 

Owner Max Miller has been a horror devotee since childhood. “Growing up in the 60s, we were known as Monster Kids,” he said. “Kids who, instead of playing Little League and stuff, read monster magazines and watched horror movies on Shock Theater.”

Miller opened the restaurant with his family a little over eight years ago. His daughters manage the restaurant’s finances and scheduling, while his son, a graphic artist, designs the restaurant’s rotating parody promotions. Each month features a new movie-inspired menu theme. Recent themes include The Haunted Mansion and Beach Party Week (in tribute to “Jaws”). 

Famous visitors

The horror-themed pizzeria draws fans from far and wide. “October is our busiest, craziest month,” Miller said. Wait times can reach up to two hours on Friday and Saturday nights. The restaurant hosts after-hours movie screenings with buffets, and past celebrity guests have included Felissa Rose of “Sleepaway Camp” and Sara Karloff, the daughter of horror icon Boris Karloff.

The restaurant’s gift shop — stocked with T-shirts, glassware, collectibles, and novelty items — has become a destination in its own right. “It’s kind of weird to me that people want Famous Monster Pizza on a shirt,” Miller said. “But for a little pizza place in a small town, we attract people. They say, ‘We just drove from three hours away,’ to come visit us.”

Delivering a whole dining experience

Miller explained that he worried about running a restaurant heavy on theme but lacking in food quality. To deliver an exceptional dining experience, he and his team crafted a diverse menu featuring premium ingredients. “Let’s make it good all the way around,” he said.

Regulars return for the all-meat Wolfman pizza, which the menu muses “is sure to put hair on your chest”; the Frankenstein, “…all stitched together into one creation”; and Monster Mixers, the restaurant’s take on dirty sodas.

During the Halloween season, Miller also leads haunted wagon tours featuring stories from his book, “Tales From the Graveyard Shift: Adams County, Indiana Strange Stories and Urban Legends.” The book is available for purchase at the restaurant’s gift shop.

With pride in the delightfully eerie and fun world he has created, Miller is eager to welcome both pizza enthusiasts and horror devotees this Halloween season and year-round.

Famous Monster Pizza

136 N. 2nd St., Decatur, IN 46733

Hours

Tuesday and Wednesday: 4-9 p.m.

Thursday: 11 a.m.- 9 p.m.

Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Closed Sunday and Monday

Find them on Facebook or at famousmonsterpizza.com.