I don't know if this helps, but I threw this little scene together to illustrate an idea. The lightning is a couple of 2D pict objects drawn in Painter and rendered in Bryce. I didn't do any post work, but I would probably outline the lightning with a glow brush for a finished render.

The old house is available on several sites in several different file formats so I can't credit the modeler. I added the "ironwork" with Amorphium. The texures on the house are from Chemical Studios.