Children feared his house. But 'The Warlock of Westborough' had a soft spot for them

WESTBOROUGH — Nearly every town has that creepy house — the one that no kid wants to ride by on his bike unless he's dared.

In Westborough, that house used to be on Bowman Street and was owned by Theodore "Ted" Rabouin.

For those who don't recognize the name, Rabouin is famously known as "The Warlock of Westborough" — a local business owner, author and leader of the first state-recognized Wiccan Church.

Rabouin died in 2004 at age 70 due to complications from diabetes, but his story is still well known in the town, according to his nephew, Tony Paravano.

"All of the neighborhood kids would find other routes to get around his house, unless they were really brave and ride by it," said Paravano, 50. "He was really a sweet guy. People really loved him."

His nephew and niece had no idea Uncle Teddy was different than other uncles, according to the niece, Alison Paravano, 47.

"We'd go over their most weekends," she said. "He would baby-sit us most of the time and we thought nothing of it — he had the coffin table over here and a skull over there. We never knew it was different until later, when we realized he was the Warlock of Westborough."

Wanted to be a Catholic priest

Rabouin took a strange route to his fame. He grew up the oldest of five children and was "very religious." He wanted to become a Catholic priest.

"He had an altar set up in his house," said Tony Paravano. "He tried to follow up on this and they turned him away because he was gay, a homosexual, and didn't want anything (to do) with him."

The rejection made Rabouin angry. Combined with the fact that his parents had died and Rabouin was caring for four younger siblings, he strove to find a new religion, his nephew said. He converted to Wicca, a neo-pagan, nature-based religion.

"He was on the darker side of it — he was a dark witch," said Tony Paravano. "He was so upset that the Catholic church turned him away."

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In 1974, Rabouin moved to his house in Westborough — a small cottage that was painted to look like a gingerbread house. He later painted it over in black to give it a spooky aura.

He also developed a following, Alison Pavano said. Lines of cars parked outside his home, as people sought a chance to meet Rabouin and get a psychic reading. Rabouin's readings included tarot cards, tea leaves and numerology.

Rabouin also founded the first state-recognized Wiccan Church and was granted tax-exempt status.

"He had 2,000 witches under him," said Tony Paravano. "He was head of the coven. They would come over every Saturday and go into the woods and hold ceremonies."

Warlock goes Hollywood

At some point, Rabouin attracted a national following. He appeared on an episode of the 1960s and early '70s sitcom, "Bewitched," as himself. He also appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," "The Merv Griffin Show" and several other talk shows.

Rabouin, as he later told his family, had a visitor one night who helped turn him away from his dark ways.

"He said the devil appeared in his house," said Alison Paravano. "He was going through some hard times. One night, he (the devil) appeared in his house. That did it for him, and he turned back to Christianity."

Rabouin owned a Wiccan-themed store in Westborough called "Witch Way" and wrote a cookbook/spell book called "Witchery in the Kitchen."

He continued to do readings and lived with "many cats." Despite a lot of children being scared of his house, Rabouin was fond of children and would have an open-door policy for them to come by his house for readings.

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On Saturdays, Rabouin would set up a special treat for not only his niece and nephew, but the neighborhood children.

"He always talked about fairies and spirits and pixies," said Tony Paravano. "Right across the street from his house, there was a big forest. He would do these elaborate set-ups and take dollhouse chairs and furniture and find a stump and do it up to make it look like fairies and pixies live there. Every week, it really blew our mind."

Alison and Tony Paravano are each carrying on the family legacy.

Alison Paravano is an initiated witch and a member of the Temple of Witchcraft. She's in her second year working toward becoming a high priestess.

After Rabouin died, Tony Paravano kept his tarot cards. He does readings for friends and family, and has started doing them online for people, just for fun and to carry on the family tradition. He does readings on Instagram and TikTok under the name of @wayofthewarlock. He does not charge because he does not want to make money off his uncle's name.

He also started posting a "Warlock Wednesday" post in the Facebook group "Heart of Westborough," to help keep his uncle's memory alive. The response has been fantastic, he said.

"I was really surprised by how many people knew him, remembered him and had fond memories of him," said Tony Paravano. "He was really a good guy."

A good guy, who just happened to live in the creepy neighborhood house.

"Everyone would say, 'That's the witch's house,'" Alison Paravano said.

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date news, follow Norman Miller on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: A look back at the life of Ted Rabouin, the 'Warlock of Westborough'