Massapequa "Haunted" House

For decades, a Massapequa home has been the center of tall tales and teenage rite-of-passage visits. The owners call it Cafaro Castle. The house’s legend stem from its looks. The house is bright red with gothic trimmings along with turrets and an iron fence. One of the more common rumors is that the curtains are made from coffin liners. Another one is that the number of candles in the window represent the amount of people in your car and seeing them will bring misfortunes. There’s a persistent tale of a horse-drawn hearse in the backyard.

While neighbors have noted that there are residents in the house, there is little activity throughout the course of a normal day. The surrounding homes on the block carry on with daily activities as if there wasn’t a large, brick mansion across the street; complete with turrets, a “bleeding” maroon sidewalk and a hearse parked in the driveway, barred behind an eight foot tall wrought iron fence that is perpetually chained. Several overgrown trees block some of the house from view.

The design of the house is architecturally symmetrical, down to the 25 plus windows that evoke a grinning devil face. The curtains are drawn at all times and are said to be coffin linings. Legend has it that candles suddenly illuminate in the upstairs window when cars drive by the house. Supposedly, the number of candles in the window corresponds to the number of people in the car, and it is said to be very bad luck for those who see the candles.

Some say that the residents belong to a Satanist cult who chant behind closed doors. Others claim to have seen people emerge from the house, dressed head to toe in Gothic black.

Of course, the reality is, none of this is true. A normal family lives at the house.

Sources:

“Haunted Houses In Massapequa.” Massapequa Observer, 14 Oct. 2016, www.massapequaobserver.com/haunted-houses-in-massapequa

Leita, John. Long Island Oddities: Curious Locales, Unusual Occurrences, and Unlikely Urban Adventures. The History Press, 2013