I know that people handle grief differently. But, what this woman is doing seems ghoulish. Holding a Halloween Haunted House in the house in which her two sons died:
Article here
Mother Runs "Haunted House" in Home Where Sons Died in Fire
KTLA News
8:47 PM PDT, October 23, 2009
RIALTO-- A woman is running a " haunted house" attraction for Halloween in the same burnt out home where her two children died in a house fire earlier this year.
Though the Halloween decorations are still being put up at the 1460 North Lilac Avenue home, some neighbors are reportedly appalled by the prospect.
Nearly six months ago on May 29th, firefighters arrived to the house which was already well-involved in flames.
The firefighters quickly extinguished the flames, but discovered 2 little boys, 5 year old Mario Sisneros and 3-year-old David Sisneros lying unconscious, overcome by heat and smoke in a converted bedroom along with their puppy.
The boys were rushed to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, where they died at 1:22 a.m May 30th. Their puppy also died.
Irma Delgado, the boys' grandmother, was inside the house when the fire broke out. She told KTLA she tried to tell the boys to crawl to safety, but they got lost along the way.
"I hit the couch and my grandson told me, 'How do I do it, Grandmom?' and I said, 'Just crawl.' [They were] too small to know what crawl was, I guess, I don't know," she tearfully said in May.
"This is the way I'm coping with the loss of my two kids," said mother Viviana Delgado, 27 Friday evening. "It's my way of saying happy Halloween to my kids."
Delgado says she is planning to have pony rides as a part of the "haunted house."
Amid Halloween décor including monsters and spooky signs, a planter sits on on the lawn, filled with some Mario and David Sisneros' toys-- a scooter, a toy tractor, and stuffed animals.
In the midst of the boyhood trinkets are two plastic buckets, each holding a picture of one of the two deceased boys, as well as a crucifix.
Two tombstone decorations can be seen on the lawn.
"People don't know what I'm going through, they don't know how I feel," Delgado said. "This is how we're going to spend Halloween together."
Though Delgado says the "haunted house" is a tribute to her boys on their favorite holiday, some neighbors consider the scene to be "ghoulish" and "macabre."
"It's not cool," said Harry Cass, 49. "I disagree with it."
Delgado is inviting visitors to walk the very halls where her sons attempted to crawl under the deadly smoke. She says there will be flashing lights and a Halloween soundtrack playing for effect.
"Since it's a haunted house, it has to be some kind of scary," she said.
Though the building has not been marked as unsafe, Bob Watson, city supervising building and safety officer, says the official who would have red-tagged the home is retired, and that he would investigate the matter himself sometime on Friday.
Even if the the site of the house fire that claimed her sons lives gets red-tagged and shut down for safety concerns, Delgado says she will still stand outside and offer candy.
A sign hanging in front advertises the haunted house. It will be open this weekend and the weekend of Halloween.
Posted by Valkyre at October 23, 2009 11:54 PM