The popular Huntington Beach castle house’s Halloween Bash is on for Saturday, Oct. 28; it’s an annual tradition where guests are invited to get spooked in a home-turned haunted house.
This is the first Halloween at the castle house since owner Dominic Menaldi, who lived there and was the driving force behind the event, died in August at the age of 59. His family and friends are continuing the celebration.
The castle house gets its name from stone facade and medieval decor that Menaldi added after moving into the southeast Huntington Beach home. It took him more than a decade to complete his vision.
With the help of neighbors, he started decorating the home each Halloween, transforming it into a haunted house. Several thousand people typically show up.
Marguarite Menaldi said family and friends are keeping the tradition going to honor her brother’s legacy. Menaldi said she remembers watching her brother spend all month planning and prepping supplies for the celebration, but what mattered most to him was to scare “the heebie-jeebies out of everyone who showed up.”
“He asked me to do my best to carry this on for him,” Menaldi said, “and it’s what I’m going to do.”
State Sen. Janet Nguyen recently sent the family a memorial resolution, honoring Dominic Menaldi’s life, saying he was “a pillar of the Huntington Beach community who was known as an extremely generous man.”
Saturday’s Halloween Bash begins at 5 p.m. at 9001 Bermuda Drive. There will be bands playing and a costume contest at 9:30 p.m.
Marguarite Menaldi is asking anyone interested in helping to contact her at 714-931-8000.
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