Hollywood Gothique

Sinister Screenings, Macabre Museums, Ghoulish Graveyards, Ghastly Galleries, Terrifying Tours, Perilous Plays & Ectoplasmic Exhibitions

Also Check out: Master List of Halloween Haunts in Los Angeles - Theme Park Halloween Events in Los Angeles – Halloween Haunted Houses in Los Angeless – Halloween Yard Haunts in Los Angeless – Halloween Festivals and Community Haunts in Los Angeless – Los Angeles Halloween Haunts for Children -Los Angeles Halloween Parties & Carnevals – Halloween News – Halloween Photographs - Halloween Video

Here you will find macabre midnight ramblings among gravestones and historical landmarks. If you enjoy the spooky thrill of wandering through ominous outdoor locations and/or allegedly haunted premises, of if prefer actors on the other side of the proscenium arch (not jumping out at you), this is the place for you.

This grouping of performances and tours might at first seem odd, but there is a method to our madness: (1) There is a Los Angeles tradition of Halloween plays being staged in outdoor locations, requiring the audience to walk through cemeteries or the like, turning the experience into a tour of a kind; (2) Events like Haunted Midnights at the Comedy Store combine elements of performance and tour.

If you are looking for more conventional Halloween events in Los Angeles, check out Professional Halloween Haunted House. We also have listings for  Theme Park Halloween Attraction, Amateur Yard Haunt, Community Halloween Haunt, and Halloween Event for Children. If you are looking for something different, there are options on our page for Halloween Dance Parties, Costumes Contests & Street Fairs.

Get the latest information about Haunted Tours and Excursions by clicking here.

BEYOND THE GRAVE TOURS
Homestead Museum
15415 East Don Julian Road
City of Industry, California 91745
Website: www.homesteadmuseum.org

2012 Dates: October 20-21, 27-28  at 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm

Price: free

Archived Articles: Click here

Description: American attitudes toward death changed dramatically from the 1840s, when the Workman family built their home, through the 1920s, when the Temples built La Casa Nueva next door. This tour gives an overview of these changes as experienced by the two families and includes a visit to El Campo Santo, the private cemetery established by the Workman family in the 1850s.

This tour can accommodate visitors with limited mobility.

Reservations are recommended (space is limited for each tour).

DELUSION: Presented by Haunted Play
2218 S Harvard Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90018
Website: www.hauntedplay.com

Updates: click here

Description: This impressive, interactive experience made its debut in 2011, immediately establishing itself as one of the best Los Angeles Halloween events. A “haunted play,” Delusion mixes walk-through thrills and chills with a dramatic story, courtesy of Hollywood stunt coordinator Jon Braver. The tour through a turn-of-the-century mansion offers more than mere costumed actors jumping out to scare visitors. Instead, the story unfolds around you as you explore the 106-year-old house. Back for 2012.

Visit our page dedicated to this Halloween attraction.

DRAMA AFTER DARK: A Night of the Macabre with Poe & Gorey – Back in 2012!
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Library Website: www.huntington.org
Event Calendar: Click here

Date: October 20 at 6:30pm

Tickets: $40

This outdoor series of dramatic vignettes has not been seen since 2009 – maybe someone finally realized that Wicked Lit had cribbed their idea of setting plays in actual locations and having the audience follow the action as it unfolded? 2012 sees plays based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe and Edward Gorey, performed by the Guild of St. George. Titles include “The Pit and the Pendulum,” The Tell-Tale Heart,” and many more.

During the course of the evening, audience members see up to six out of the ten or more performances, which play simultaneously at various sites throughout the upper levels of the grounds. Most of the performances are outdoors (chairs provided), requiring the audience to walk to various sites. To enhance the mood of the evening, many of the lights on the grounds are dimmed or turned off completely.

The Huntington bookstore will be open until 6:30pm with Poe, Gorey, and other items. Complimentary light refreshments will be served.

No one under 18.

GHOST TOUR AT STRATHEARN PARK
Location: Strathearn Historical Park & Museum, 137 Strathearn Place, Simi Valley, CA 93065
Phone: 805-526-6453 (for group reservations of ten or more)
Website: www.simihistory.com/ghost

2012 Dates: October 12-14, 19-21, 26-28 (no show on Halloween night)

Hours: 7-10pm Fridays, 6-10pm Saturdays, 6-9pm Sundays

Admission: $10.00 (no charge for children under 5). Free parking is available along Strathearn Place. Please follow directions of Parking Attendants.

Description: Ghost Tour at Strathearn Park is a family friendly event. It is NOT a “Haunted House” type of event and is appropriate for children of all ages. It is the history of Simi Valley told in a very entertaining way by those who created it.

This is a walking-standing tour with limited seating at a few of the stops. The tour can accommodate wheelchairs and strollers. Tours are limited to 20-25 people. All tours are filled on a first come basis. Tours last approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes; a new Tour will start approximately every 10-15 minutes

No flashlights allowed inside the park. No photography or sound recording allowed within the park.

Reservations taken for groups of 10 or more.

Click here for the latest on the Strathearn Park Ghost Tour.

HALLOWEEN SILENT FILMS
Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
(323) 850-2000
Website Calendar: Click here

Date: Halloween night at 8pm

Article Archive: click here

Description: It has become an annual October tradition: on Halloween night every year, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles screens a silent horror movie with live musical accompaniment. Titles have ranged from NOSFERATU to DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE to THE CAT AND THE CANARY; the real appeal, however, is the chance to see the films back by a “soundtrack” on the concert hall’s house organ. The event’s official website encourages you to come experience “sonic thrills and visual thrills.”

HAUNTED ADVENTURE TOUR

Location: formerly in Stough Canyon Nature Center, now in the Starlight Bowl, Burbank

Website: www.burbankusa.com

Dates: October 19 & 20

Hours: Tickets sold 7-9pm

Tickets: $5. Proceeds benefit the Burbank Park, Recreation & Community Services Department’s Nature Program.

Description: The Burbank Park, Recreation and Community Services Department presents this this annual Halloween event, featuring a frightening tour designed for families with older. An adult must accompany children under 12 years old, and children under 6 years old are not allowed. Face painting and other activities will help participants start the fright night off right.

Note: For Halloween 2012, the Haunted Adventure Tour moved from Stough Canyon to the Starlight Bowl, 1249 Lockheed View Drive, Burbank, CA 91504.

Contact: Call (818) 238-5440 or visit www.burbankusa.com for more information.

HAUNTED HOLLYWOOD SCAVENGER HUNTS & TOURS
Hollywood, CA (Starting Location Revealed Upon Registration)
Phone: 323.799.1374
Website: www.outoftheboxevents.net

Archived Articles: click here

2012 Haunted Hollywood Scavenger Hunt Dates & Hours: October 20-21, 26-28, 6:00-8:30pm

Price: To Be Announced

Description: Every October, Out of the Box Events takes Los Angeles Halloween fans on spine tingling, unforgettable scavenger hunts. These excursions promise an unusual, fun and interactive way to tour different parts of the city. Hunters scour the streets of Hollywood to uncover ghoulish ghosts, terrifying tales and scandalous secrets. Hunters will uncover the lost souls that still roam the Roosevelt, The Knickerbocker and several old theatres.

No prior ghost hunting knowledge is required to solve the challenging clues, but a flashlight is helpful.

• Up to 6 people per team
• Starting location revealed upon registration
• Bring one flashlight for your team

Prizes go to the Top 3 teams.

2012 Haunts of Angelino Heights: On October 20 & 21, Out of the Box Events and the Los Angeles Conservancy this fright-filled Halloween tour through one of the city’s oldest, haunted Victorian neighborhoods, starting at 724 E. Edgeware Road, Los Angeles, CA 90026. Hours are 4:00pm to 6:30pm. Bring one digital camera and one flashlight per team, which may consist of up to 6 members. Tickets are $30.

Click here for our archive of Out of the Box Events.

HAUNTED MIDNIGHTS
The Comedy Store
8433 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: Click here

2012 Dates & Hours: Wednesdays – October 10, 17 & 24, starting at 11pm

Ticket Prices: To be announced

Description: Back in October 2010, The Comedy Store first threw open its doors for this Halloween-themed tour of its allegedly haunted premises. The venerable venue – which claims to be renowned as “one of the most haunted places in Hollywood” – promises a ghostly experience unlike any other in Los Angeles, with first-hand accounts of paranormal visitations, video footage of psychic investigations, and a behind the scenes flashlight tour through the spooky locations (such as the basement and other haunted spots where ghosts are said to have been seen) – all wrapped up in the standard stand-up comedy style, courtesy of a ghoulish master of ceremonies .

Click here for our Haunted Midnights archive

ANNUAL HISTORICAL TOUR
Long Beach Municipal Cemetery & Sunnyside Cemetery
1095 E. Willow Avenue, Long Beach 90806
Website:  www.hslb.org

2012 Date: October 27

Hours: first tour starts at 9am; last tour starts at noon

Description: The Historical Society of Long Beach conducts its 17 annual living history tour at the city’s two oldest – and conveniently adjacent – cemeteries, located on Willow Street between Orange and California. The 2-hour tours feature 10 stories of the lives and deaths of people from Long Beach’s past, recounted as graveside performances by actors in period costume. The Historical Cemetery Tour is appropriate for all ages – this is not a scary Halloween event. Wear comfortable shoes and layered clothing (mornings are chilly but the day heats up by afternoon).

HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY TOUR
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
6000 Santa Monica Blvd
Back-to-back with Paramount Studios
Hollywood, CA 90038
Phone: (323) 469-1181.
Art Deco Website: www.adsla.org
Cemetery Website: www.hollywoodforever.com

2012 Dates & Hours: October 6, from 10am to noon; tours depart every 20 minutes.

2012 Price: $20 general admission, free to ADSLA members.

Parking: Park inside the cemetery gates.

Information: Every Halloween season, the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles presents a tour of the famous cemetery, final resting place for many of Hollywood’s greatest stars. The Annual Hollywood Forever Cemetery Walking Tour provides a wonderful alternative to other Halloween events in Los Angeles: more historical than horrific (there are no monsters or ghosts lurking behind the tombstones), the lengthy stroll offers a fascinating overview of the cemetery and its most famous residents: Cecil B. Demille, Marion Davies, Tyrone Power, Rudolph Valentino, Vampira, John Huston, Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer, William Desmond Taylor, and many more.

The Art Deco Society’s Hollywood Forever Cemetery Walking Tour lasts approximately two-and-a-half hours. Wear comfortable shoes and a hat. Sunscreen or an umbrella might be advisable, depending on the weather. Bottled water is recommended.

Note: Although presented by the Art Deco Society, the tour is conducted by Karen Bible, who conducts various walking tours of Hollywood Forever Cemetery through the year. Check out www.cemeterytour.com for information.

There are other Hollywood Forever Cemetery events that take place year-round. Check out our news archive or get more information and updates on our page devoted to Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

HALLOWEEN AND MOURNING TOURS
Heritage Square Museum
3800 Homer Street, Los Angeles, CA
Phone: (323) 225-2700
Website:  www.heritagesquare.org

2012 Dates: October 27-28, noon to 4pm

Admission: free for museum members, $10.00 for Adults, $8.00 for Seniors over 65, $5.00 for Children 6 to 12 years, and free for Children under 6.

Updates: Click here.

Description: Heritage Square Museum invites you to join them for their annual Halloween and Mourning Tours. Visitors to the museum’s Victorian-era houses will find themselves immersed in the traditions surrounding death and mourning as they were practiced 100 years ago.

The Halloween and Mourning Tours are a living history program that puts guests in the middle of a superstitious Victorian-era society where death was never far behind. Witness a funeral procession as they bury a loved one, visit a fortune teller, learn about hair jewelry and mourning attire and even join two men in arguing the merits of spirit photography!

Halloween Movie Night & Safe Haven Trick-or-Treating: In celebration of the Spooky Season, Heritage Square usually offers a Halloween Movie Night toward the end of October and Safe Haven Trick-or-Treating for children on Halloween Night, 4-7pm.

The Heritage Square Museum is located off the 110 Arroyo Seco Parkway at Avenue 43, just north of downtown Los Angeles. Take the Metro Gold line to the Heritage Square Gold Line Stop and receive a free gift if you show your ticket!

Celebrating over 40 Years of Preservation and Interpretation of the History of Southern California, Heritage Square is a living history museum dedicated to telling the story of the development of Los Angeles during its first 100 years of statehood. Eight rescued historic structures at the museum tell this story like no place else.

Tours of the historic structures at Heritage Square are given regularly Friday through Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m. Regular admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, and $5 for children ages 6-12.

Click here for the archive of the Heritage Square Museum, including video.

OCTOBER SHADOWS
Mountain View Mausoleum
2300 North Marengo Avenue
Altadena, CA 91001

Website: CreatureFeatures.com

2012 Dates: Saturdays and Sundays, starting October 7 (private reception on October 6)

Hours: 11am to 5pm on Saturdays and 11am to 3pm Sundays

Description: This annual celebration of Halloween in art features contributions from artists and film industry professionals such as Rick Baker, William Stout, Stephen Chiodo, Peter Von Sholly, and many, many others.

2012: The location for this year’s exhibition is, once again, the art gallery within the Mountain View Mausoleum. Visitors can make purchases, but the artwork must remain on display for the first two weeks of the show’s run.

Click here for the archive of October Shadows articles, including video.

WICKED LIT HALLOWEEN THEATRE FESTIVAL
Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery
2300 Marengo Ave, Altadena, CA 91001
Phone: 818 242 7910
Website:  www.wickedlit.org

2012 Dates & Hours: October 12-14, 18-21, 25-28, 31, starting promptly at 7:30pm

Tickets: $39-55

Parking: ample free parking on the grounds. Guests are advised not to enter the cemetery from Fair Oaks (you may get lost).

Updates: click here

Description: Audiences should expect to get some exercise. These are “walking productions” staged at night on the grounds of the mausoleum and cememtery. The intention is to scare you.

2012 Information: Wicked Lit presents three new plays this Halloween season.

• Wake Not the Dead – Johann Ludwig Tieck’s vampire story. Adapted by Paul Millet. Directed by Douglas Clayton. Walter was willing to do anything to resurrect his first love, but some bargains should never be made. Now he must turn to the only person left who can help him confront his immortal creation ~ his wife.
• The Dead Smile by F. Marion Crawford. Adapted and directed by Jeff G. Rack. A horrible family curse, spirits from the past, and a disfigured, manipulative parent attempt to keep two young lovers apart in this classic chiller, guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
• Count Magnus by M.R. James. Adapted by Jonathan Josephson. Directed by Paul Millet. Mr. Wraxall is a British travel writer who has journeyed to the town of Vestergothland, Sweden in search of something captivating to report back to his readership. The only thing interesting about the village are the rumors of a long-dead nobleman who used to terrorize the countryside with his violent sense of justice. Mr. Wraxall is determined to satisfy his readers and his own personal curiosity about the haunting secrets that float about this strange little town – but will he lose (his) face in the process?

From the official website:

The scope of Wicked Literature: A Halloween Theatre Festival is to create and produce new stage plays based on classic gothic literature. Wicked Lit launched its inaugural production in 2009 at the haunted Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills and is thrilled to be spending the 2010 Halloween season in Altadena.

Check out our  archive for Haunted Tours and Excursions.