Antonio's Halloween House Haunts Hawthorne
When Antonio Rodregues arrived in Hawthorne, one of the things he missed most about his home in Portugal, was their Carnival season, so he set about to recreate it on his front lawn.
For the last 15 years, he has constructed personal haunting scenes in front of his Lafayette Street home.
Antonio’s Halloween is more than just decorations, he puts on a show. Sometimes he sits in the yard with the decorations, keeping still with the other monsters, then jumps out when a visitor gets close.
“Sometimes you can hear their screaming for three blocks,” Antonio said.
“I love Halloween. A lot of people are scared, listening to stories about witches. I like to make magic instead.”
Antonio is proud to tell you he built each of his 300 pieces by hand. He learned from his father who owned a sofa factory back in Portugal.
“I grew up doing the upholstery,” said Antonio. “Now I buy old clothes at garage sales and make each of these pieces by hand.”
This year, Antonio says he will show about 100 of his 300 pieces.
Antonio says the very first decoration he made 15 years ago was the butcher block (shown in the center). He says he was partly inspired by Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
“I love Michael Jackson, but I wanted to build it my way.”
Antonio spends a good part of his day dressed up and entertaining with his display.
“This is not a business. I don’t make any money,” he says. “I do it for the smiles. I love to see the smiles.”
