halloween
Two Wayneareahomes provide annual thrills and chills
WRITTEN BY CINDY SCHWEICHHANDLER PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNE-MARIE CARUSO
Haunted houses at amusement parks and boardwalks are fun enough , but they ’ re best when they ’ re in your neighborhood . Tony Rodrigues of Hawthorne and the Iervolinos of Pompton Lakes decorate their homes in highly-anticipated displays that grow in scale and scariness every year . Here , we take apre-holiday tour of each .
PHOTO CREDIT
TONY RODRIGUES AT HIS HAWTHORNE HOME
LIKE PORTUGAL ’ S CARNIVAL
Tony Rodrigues , who arrived in the U . S . from Portugal in 1995 , says it took him about 10 years to realizethat he could recreate the thrills he experienced during his native country ’ s Carnival holiday by decorating his home for Halloween . An upholsterer by profession , he called his first display “ The Butcher .” When the bloody vampire with the knife in its right arm proved too gruesomefor his neighbors , he recalibrated and started the tradition that continues today : Storing wood figures , masks , and other materials in his backyard , and bringing them out in September to make different characters and structures every year . “ My inspirations are Michael Jackson and Charlie Chaplin ,” he says . “ In America , everything has to be big . If you need one witch , you get two .”
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