Among half-finished dolls, handmade witch brooms, and skeletons, Antonio Jesús Gallego and Mari Nieves Cabrera are preparing against the clock for the annual Halloween event at their home, known as the Little Chocolate House, in Tahíche. Every year, this couple transforms their home into a tunnel of terror so that the little ones and their families can experience a terrifying night full of scares and treats.
This couple has been celebrating Halloween for over twenty years, although in the beginning the scale of the decoration did not come close to what it is today. "At first, it was just the two of us at the entrance of the house, he would scare our daughter and her friends and I would give out candy," says Mari Nieves Cabrera. "It grew little by little and since it seemed small, we moved it to another part of the house and there we started to make it bigger and bigger," adds Antonio Jesús Gallego.
Over time, the rest of the family has become involved in the annual decoration of the house. "People who came, like my niece Vanesa and Alexis, who help us the most, told us they also wanted to participate and they would laugh for a while because we were doing more and more things at the entrance, so we decided to move it to the area where we do it now," indicates Cabrera.
Such was the growth year after year and the number of people who came that they decided to create the tunnel of terror, whose theme and form change every year. In this way, visitors enter through one area and exit through a different one in a visit that begins in the afternoon and ends at ten at night.
Up to 500 euros each year to decorate the house
The work to decorate the house and ensure no detail is missed normally begins a week before, but it depends on the weather conditions, especially the wind. Mari Nieves and Antonio Jesús acknowledge that they get involved out of pure passion and entertainment. "We do it because we like it and so that the children have fun," they point out. So much so that they do not charge absolutely anything for access to their home.
"Every year we buy new things and we spend between 400 and 500 euros," they reveal. However, they also recycle decorations from previous years and make new ones, as a large part of this decoration is handmade with imagination, patience, and a lot of skill.
In addition to the decoration, they also create the structure of the tunnel of terror. "We do the entire installation because it's not a house that you decorate, but rather you have to build it, and from the house, you then decorate it," details Gallego.
This year, the theme of the Chocolate House is a house, although in other years it has been a cave or a castle. "We change the facade," they point out.
Although they begin to set up the tunnel of terror a week in advance, they confess that about fifteen or twenty days before they already start making and putting up some things. "We think about some little things and we start doing them," he points out.
Furthermore, one of the fundamental pillars for the night at the Chocolate House to be as terrifying as possible is the family that participates by dressing up and scaring visitors. "We change every year, my son Echedey and his girlfriend participate. My daughter doesn't participate because she doesn't like it, but she helps us with the music and keeps an eye on the dog," they comment.
Dolls that come to life thanks to recycled materials
Many of the creepy dolls that decorate the house on the night of October 31st are handmade and, moreover, made from recycled materials to bring them to life. No YouTube tutorials or instructions of any kind, Antonio Jesús and Mari Nieves' main tools are imagination and creativity.
One of the dolls, Antonio Jesús explains, has a microwave motor to make it spin. These recycled materials are used in other decorations such as the bed of the girl from *The Exorcist*, which has a hidden crib to bring this demonic character to life.
Another of this family's creations is a chainsaw made from the casing of a leaf blower, the perfect weapon to terrify anyone who dares to enter the Chocolate House.
To all these decorations are added the smoke machine, crosses, tombstones, and, above all, eerie music, something that plays a vital role in creating a terrifying atmosphere.
The tour through the tunnel of terror
In the middle of the creation process, Mari Nieves and Antonio Jesús show how they are building the tunnel of terror that will become an experience. Amidst pallets and tarpaulins, they explain that they fence off the entire perimeter so that the little ones and their families know where to walk during the tour and avoid falls. "We fence off the whole garden, which we decorate entirely," he points out.
When the tour ends, visitors leave through the main entrance of the house, where they receive treats from two family members. As they reveal, hundreds of people attend this event every year, approximately 400. "Every year it gets bigger and, in fact, two years ago the Local Police started closing the road to avoid problems because a lot of people gather," they state.
Upon entering the house, they say that many of the young children "get scared, cry, and some don't even come in". However, he assures that "they love it". "Days before, they see me on the street and ask me if there's Halloween this year," she says. Mari Nieves recalls that on one occasion, she found a box of chocolates in front of her house along with some drawings and a written note thanking her for her work.
This year, after people leave the terror tunnel around ten at night, the family has decided to continue the party. That is, by themselves. "We don't usually do it because we end up very tired and we start taking things down due to the wind or whatever, but this year we decided to have a party because just thinking about having to take everything down that night after working so hard..." she admits.
In fact, Antonio explains that in previous years, the next morning all the decorations were already dismantled. And in addition to the decorations, there are dry leaves scattered on the ground, so they also have to clean up at the end of the night. "Another problem is storing the things because they are mannequins and giant dolls," he says. Added to this Halloween decoration is the Christmas one, as this family also participates in the nativity scene contest of the Teguise City Council and in which they have managed to be among the best.
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