The new LEGO Midnight Valley Collection theme is the rough equivalent of the LEGO Winter Village Collection, only instead of centering around Christmas, this theme is based on Halloween. Assuming it follows the same trajectory as its predecessor, we'll likely see one major addition to this whimsical, haunted village each Autumn.
The Mayor Manor, out now, is the theme's debut set (see it at Amazon). It's an engaging, enjoyable build, with a cool visual motif for LEGO to elaborate upon in the years to come.
The Mayor Manor is not a "closed" building; it is open in the back like a classic dollhouse, allowing the builder to observe and stage the interior to his or her liking. It comes in nine bags – paper rather than plastic, thanks to LEGO's ongoing sustainability initiative. The switchover has been gradual, starting in 2020 and ramping up considerably in the last two years or so.
[A note about the paper bags: Make sure you shake and flatten them out completely before discarding them. Paper is not as slippery as plastic (nor as see-thru), and so if you're missing a piece, it might be stuck in the scraps. It happened to me twice during this build.]
The design is very '90s Tim-Burton-meets-Addams-Family. You have traditional spires mixed with stained glass windows, along with a foreboding gargoyle perched on the roof. The tree leaves are off-color blue and green, which creates the impression that you're viewing this house in the twilight rather than the bright light of day.
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