A grieving Rialto mother, whose two young boys were killed in a house fire earlier this year, has turned that now-vacant scene of tragedy into a haunted house for Halloween.
Many onlookers said it was "creepy" and "bad taste." But the Rialto fire department and police department expressed a different opinion, they said it had been red-tagged, and it was "unsafe", and Friday night, they shut it down.
"This is the way I'm coping with the loss of my two kids," said Viviana "Dulce" Delgado, 27. "We used to do Halloween every year. Costumes, candy and fun."
On May 29, Mario Cisneros, 5, and his 3-year-old brother, David Cisneros, were overcome by smoke in the burning house where 11 family members once lived.
They were found unconscious, along with their puppy. They were taken to the hospital, but they didn't make it. The puppy died, too.
The family worked for a week, turning the front yard of the charred home into what looked like any of a million Halloween attractions. But, to those who know the heart-breaking history of this location, it took-on a much different appearance.
Delgado, who said she was extremely disappointed by the fire department's action, had been inviting visitors in to walk the halls where her sons once gasped for air. There were classic Halloween decorations all around, including skeletons and tombstones. But, also, there were children's toys, and photographs.
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As curious onlookers expressed dismay and even repugnance at the scene, Delgado said she was paying tribute to her lost boys, and the Halloweens past when they had so much fun. "My kids would have loved this." she said. "There's nothing I can do to bring them back. This is something I need to do."
