HIDDEN HORRORS
Inside the Essex council home transformed into a spooky fantasy land with 13 ‘worlds’, a haunted bedroom and a voodoo kitchen
IT LOOKS like an ordinary three-bedroom semi, but behind its front door lies a hidden fantasy world that could be straight out of your dreams... or nightmares.
This former council house in Essex features 13 secret "worlds" - from a voodoo kitchen and a lighthouse-themed loo to the "haunted" bed chamber of an Edwardian child who mysteriously died.
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And its remarkable interior isn't just a shock to the eyes - each room also has its own dedicated scent and soundtrack, played out on small speakers embedded in the walls and air vents.
Fantasy fiction author John Tarrow, 54, spent around £700,000 and 25 years painstakingly creating the DIY masterpiece, which he has named Talliston House and Gardens.
But he denies that it's a "fantasy" land.
“Narnia is a fantasy. Talliston is very much the real world," Mr Tarrow told . "It is not how the world is, but how I think it should be."
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The author, who grew up in London's East End, bought the ex-council home in a quiet cul-de-sac in Great Dunmow for £73,000 in 1990 after deciding to leave the capital.
He says it was "the most normal" house with little character and a leaky bathroom.
2,000 fantastical artefacts costing £500,000
He claims he didn't plan on eccentricity - but today, every inch of the property is truly extraordinary, with nearly 2,000 items from at least 27 countries adorning its spectacular rooms.
The guest bedroom has been transformed into a "Room of Dreams", inspired by the Alhambra palace in Granada, Andalusia, where the author himself once stayed in a guesthouse.
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It boasts Moorish mosaic tiles, a soundtrack of cicadas and a delicious orange blossom scent.
And it's not the only delight for the senses - as the garden shed, re-imagined as a 1940s-style Canadian log cabin dubbed the Wisakedjak Lodge, smells of fresh cedar from a woodstove.
In the New Orleans-inspired kitchen, wafts of nutmeg and coffee can be smelled.
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Bedroom 'haunted by little boy's ghost'
Along the corridor from the guest room lies the spooky "haunted" bedroom, which recreates in disturbing detail the bed chamber of a dead Edwardian little boy.
It features crucifix-adorned walls, children's clothing, hand-carved angles and toys, as well as a photo of a young child, chillingly covered in black lace.
It's the stuff of nightmares - but surprisingly, Mr Tarrow's pals sometimes request to stay there.
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Downstairs, the sitting room has been turned into the mead hall of an old watchtower, decorated for Christmas in the late 1800s. It features festive strings of nuts that are kept up all year.
The nearby loo has been modelled to look like a lighthouse-keeper’s home, there is a "hall of mirrors", and the author's writing room is themed on 1920s New York.
13 different 'worlds'
This small room, called The Office, was the first of the 13 "worlds"; to be created.
"When I moved in, I needed a writing space, so I decided to convert the pokiest of the three bedrooms," Mr Tarrow, known to his fiction fans as John Trevillian, told the newspaper.
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He loved the vintage transformation so much that he decided to keep going - reportedly spending around £500,000 on his artefact collection (including items based on Egyptology, crime and voodoo ritual) and a further £200,000 on building materials.
Visitors pay £16.50 to tour creepy Talliston
Since then, the acclaimed author, his husband, and his pals aren't the only ones to have enjoyed the wondrous land - with nearly 1,000 visitors paying £16.50 to tour Talliston.
The stunning property - which also has huge standing stones in its front garden, inspired by 19th Century rectory gardens - has previously featured on Netflix's Amazing Interiors.
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In 2014, that Mr Tarrow was struggling to pay Talliston's mortgage - with the payments, upkeep and insurance on high-value contents costing him £2,000 a month.
He said at the time that he was planning to put the house on the market for £350,000.
"That’s the price of the bricks and mortar but I have an inventory of all the items and I’m looking for someone who’s interested in the package," he told MailOnline.
But the author's story has since taken a different turn.
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Next year, he is set to throw a farewell masquerade at before handing over his beloved house to a close friend and heading off on a three-month trip to New Zealand.
During this time, his pal will care for the property and its contents will be placed in a trust.
But this doesn't spell the end for Mr Tarrow and his fantastical house.
"I need to see what else is out there for me, but I can’t ever sell Talliston," said the author.
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