Editor’s Note: This article was written for Mosaic, an independent journalism training program for high school and college students who report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.
With Halloween approaching, many San Jose residents have decorated their houses. A few pumpkins here, a few ghosts there. However, one San Jose resident doesn’t stop at that.
For the past six years, Nick Ghazawi has been creating and collecting elaborate decorations and structures to transform his house into a Halloween spectacle, with a scary-movie twist. Previous themes for the house include “The Ring,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Terrifier,” and “ Saw.” For this Halloween, the “Scream” franchise is being brought to life (or death).
“This year was perfect because it’s the 30th anniversary of ‘Scream,’ and also it’s like the No. 1 horror movie,” Ghazawi said.
The house, on Chesbro Avenue in Blossom Valley in south San Jose, will feature familiar scenes from across the seven-movie franchise, as well as Ghazawi’s own creative interpretations of less fleshed-out details, such as a scene depicting the room of a “Stab” fan. (As aficionados know, “Stab” is the movie-within-a-movie featured repeatedly in “Scream.”)
Danny Paulazzo has been visiting Ghazawi’s house and viewing his progress since this began six years ago. ” ‘Scream’ is my era,” Paulazzo said of the franchise, which premiered in 1996. He said that this year’s theme is his favorite.
Ghazawi started decorating his house Sept. 5, portraying scenes within the movies as accurately as possible. He searches platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and Offer Up to find appropriate decorations, such as books from the ‘80s, ‘90s, and early 2000s to replicate the house from the first movie.
One of the scenes displayed at Ghazawi’s house from “Scream 4” in San Jose, Calif. on Saturday, October 3, 2026. (Eliana Aguilar/Mosaic)
“I try to get everything as close as possible to the movie. So I try to go crazy on the details,” he said. “I’ll pick a scene and I’ll pick out all the details” for hardcore fans.
As soon as decorations went up in early October, spectators came by the house to watch it take shape. On Oct. 1, “A swarm of people just popped up. I’m like ‘Dang, that was crazy.’ I didn’t expect a bunch of people to come,” Ghazawi said.
The next day a number of fans came by the house, including one anonymous visitor dressed as Ghostface, the series’ recurrent killer.
“The first time I ever came here was actually last year,” another visitor said. “I was driving around and saw a bunch of people. It was the ‘Saw’ house. So dope!”
Ghazawi said the onlookers’ enjoyment and excitement are his favorite part of the entire effort. The experience “sort of separates them from being so glued onto their phones,” he said.
Over the years, features and interactive opportunities have grown. This year, Ghazawi intends to build and execute a walk-through. He has partnered with local neighbors to help bring to life the movies’ infamous garage scenes.
“You’re gonna be able to walk through and go halfway into the garage, just like ‘Scream 7,’” he said.
Ghazawi’s cousin Blake Ajlouny, who will be involved on Halloween as an actor on the set, helped build elements of the set. “We wanted to add more to give to the community,” he said. “More interactive parts that people can hang around and stick around and stay with the Halloween spirit.”
Another addition planned for this year is a projector showing “Scream” against an outside wall for onlookers to watch.
“I basically made a really long edit and cut a bunch of stuff to make it feel like you’re actually a part of the movie,” Ghazawi said.
His goal for all the work is to allow visitors to “appreciate Halloween again. … It brings people together. People just freak out over it.”
Eliana Aguilar is a member of the class of 2027 at Valley Christian High School in San Jose.