Just two blocks from Rodeo Drive sits the Spadena House, or Witch’s House as it is universally called, inducing double takes from most who pass by.
“Most people think it’s dilapidated and vacant,” says Michael J. Libow, owner of the storybook home. “I’m an odd person to begin with, and the home is so odd for its neighborhood.”
If it weren’t so impressive, the Witch’s House might be an eyesore: The shutters look like they’re falling off, the roof is curling and the yard is thorny. It resembles the rickety gingerbread house occupied by the witch in “Hansel and Gretel.”
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“It gives me great joy to be able to bring joy to people who stop by to look at it,” Libow says, though he concedes there’s always a few scared by the Witch’s House, particularly children.
They might have good reason: Libow gleefully notes his oven is “just about perfect child-size. Something every witch should have.”
