Brooklyn man enchants his community with year-round holiday displays
NEW YORK — A house in Bergen Beach, Brooklyn has become a neighborhood attraction thanks to the homeowner's elaborate holiday displays.
For Halloween, his dream is to haunt and scare.
Brooklyn families flock to "Halloween house" for free fun
Like in a trance, families are drawn to the eerie and sometimes terrifying house at 1102 E. 72nd St. in Brooklyn.
Brightly lit displays of larger-than-life ghosts and ghouls haunt the block, a graveyard of bones glows from the sidewalk, and pirates on the front lawn eternally search for their treasure.
"I'm already a bit scared because of the horror music and the spiders," said 10-year-old Tyler Blondet, who recently moved to the neighborhood with his family.
"I actually came out because they're like 'oh, let's go to the Halloween house right around the corner,'" said Bergen Beach mom Kaymmi Torres, who came with her kids.
"Not too many people left decorating the neighborhood, you know, so it's definitely nice to see, great for the kids, she loves it," said Tony El, holding his 5-year-old daughter Ariana.
"I always usually know what I'm doing a year ahead"
The morbid monsters were born in the imagination of 23-year-old Austin Ferrazzano, who spends weeks building and planning the stunning spectacles in his front yard.
"I plan months ahead. I always usually know what I'm doing a year ahead, and I'm building and planning fixing throughout the year. And installation of this is surprisingly only takes ten days," he said, adding that neighbors are always asking what he plans to do for the next holiday.
"I like to keep it a surprise and say wait and see," he told CBS News New York's Hannah Kliger.
The bright lights and fog machines draw people from all over the borough in the weeks leading up to Halloween, especially those looking for a free, fun and safe way to spend a night of terror.
"This guy is a legend. Literally all props to him," said a smiling Blondet. "I just feel happy, so happy. Like, amazing, I can't get over it."
"I'll have people travel just to see my display, and it makes me feel honored that they'll come from such distances just to see my work," said Ferrazzano, who hopes to one day turn his hobby into a profession.
The Thanksgiving decorations will be coming up this weekend, followed by an elaborate Christmas display with a lighting ceremony on Dec. 1.
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