Community Corner

This House Is Seriously Haunted (The Sequel).

Tenant Tesh Rosenblath Talaro has covered her apartment building with Halloween decorations for more than a decade.

Last week, .

Or is it? Turns out there's another contender for the Santa Monica residence that's most decked-out for Halloween: the apartment building located at 819 California Ave.

For more than 10 years, tenant Tesh Rosenblath Talaro has decked out the entire complex for Halloween. And with decapitated heads, bloody mannequins and realistic-looking skulls, her terrifying tribute to the holiday would warrant at least a PG-13 rating.

Find out what's happening in Santa Monicawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It's not for the faint-at-heart, I tell you," she told Santa Monica Patch.

Talaro, who designs jewelry and hand-paints children's clothing, creates a lot of the decorations on her own.

Find out what's happening in Santa Monicawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I collect dolls and mannequin heads," she said. "I go to garage sales and thrift stores, and get what I can incorporate into [the display]."

Each year, Talaro goes with a somewhat different arrangement. This year, for example, she brought out more blackbirds and gravestones than usual. But there's been one constant over the years: The display keeps getting more elaborate.

"I don't think I can make it any bigger," she laughed.

It takes Talaro about six weeks, with help from her husband and neighbors, to arrange the Halloween display. It only takes about two days to take it down.

Surprisingly, over the years, Talaro hasn't gotten any complaints from neighbors. In part, that's probably because she gets approval from the apartment owners, with whom she is friends, and then gives notice to the tenants and invites them to participate.

Tenants join Talaro for an annual Halloween party at the apartment building, at which point the display takes on a whole new life, she said. While the party is private, she said kids are welcome to visit the building on Halloween itself and get some treats.

It was during Talaro's own childhood that she fell in love with the holiday.

"My mom loved Halloween," she recalled. "We'd make dummies and throw them off the roof."

And she takes joy in knowing that, every year around this time, she can feel like a kid again.

"I love doing [the Halloween display]," she said. "It feels theatrical."

Look above for photos of Talaro's Halloween display at 819 California Ave.

Which residence has a more impressive Halloween display, this apartment building or ? Share your comments in the box below, and take our poll.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here