Halloween Yard Haunts
Theme Parks – Haunted Houses – Yard Haunts – Community Haunts – Haunts for Children – Other Halloween Events – Halloween News – Halloween Photographs - Halloween Video
Halloween in Los Angeles is a very special time, when haunted house enthusiasts create elaborate Yard Haunts (or, in some cases Garage Haunts) in order to terrify appreciative trick-or-treaters just for the love of doing it. Below is a listing of these Halloween Yard Haunts in Los Angeles and the surrounding area. These neighbborhood home haunts usually feature houses and lawns decorated to resemble graveyards; some offer walk-through haunted mazes (although few if any actually allow you inside their house). Most are open on Halloween and one or two nights before or after. All are free and open to the public; some accept donations, either to off-set their costs or to benefit local charities. Although we categorize these Halloween attractions as “amateur” because they are non-profit, at least some are operated by industry veterans and feature professional-looking special effects.
Note: Halloween Haunts with hyper-linked names lead to their own pages with more specific information, reviews, photographs, and video.
Looking for other ways to spend Halloween in Los Angeles? Check out our listings for Theme Park Halloween Attractions, Halloween Haunted Houses, Community Halloween Haunts, Halloween Events for Children, and Halloween Parties, Street Fairs, and Graveyard Tours.
ALIEN INFESTATION
2734 Annapolis Circle
San Bernadino, CA 92408
Website: www.aliennfestation.com
PRICE: Free
2009 DATE & TIMES:
- Saturday, October 24, 7-9pm
- Friday, October 30, 7-9pm
- Saturday, October 31, 7-10pm
INFORMATION: This yard haunt, new for 2009, is a bit out of our usual jurisdiciton, but we include it because it is created by Ryan Carter, who contributes to one of our favorite professional Halloween haunted houses, the Old Town Haunt in Pasadena. The effects for Alien Infestation are created by Carter’s special effects company, Hall of Shadows.
DESCRIPTION: In a scenario roughly akin to H.P Lovecraft’s “The Colour Out of Space,” Alien Infestation invites you to tour the impact of a meteor strike on San Bernadino, which has adversely affected the local environment and creating mutant creatures of every description. According to the official website:
“The five minute walk-through takes guests through a variety of sets and mazes filled with elaborate props, mechanical effects, and good old fashioned human scares. Though blood and depictions of dismembered limbs are present, the gore is not excessive. There are no age restrictions on the event, but parents are cautioned against bringing children that are easily frightened by the dark, graphic images, or startling events. The scare factor can be reduced upon request, but this will not eliminate all of the frightening elements. Regretfully, wheelchair access is not available at this time.”
HISTORY: Alien Infestation replaces Ryan Carter’s previous yard haunt, Bayou of Blood.
BONEY ISLAND - Halloween Yard Haunt – No Longer in Operation
This wonderful skeleton carnival, used to be the best way for families to spend Halloween in Los Angeles; unfortunately, this yard haunt is no longer in operation.
CLUB HOUSE OF HORRORS
1501 Palos Verdes Drive North, Harbor City, California 90710.
Email: lakers1123@yahoo.com
PRICE: Free but donations accepted to defray costs
2009 DATE & TIME: Halloween Night, October 31, 6:00pm to 10:00pm
2009 FEATURES: Located in the club house of a mobile home park, this amateur Halloween haunt – titled “Movie Maniacs” for 2009 - promises “nine rooms for fright, all horror movie themed,” including Freddy, Jason, Leatherface, and Michael Myers .
ETERNAL REST CEMETERY
414 Rose Avenue
Venice, California
Phone: (310) 755-1586
E-Mail: Bunchastuf@aol.com
2009 DATES & HOURS: Halloween Night, October 31 from approximately 6:30pm until…?
2009 PRICE: Free!
INFORMATION: This annual yard haunt is described as an “Professional outdoor haunted Halloween environement” that may “be too scary for very young children.” 2009 will feature a “small walk through area to the side of the house (not intended for kids) which is a winding walk through the dark hallways of the mortuary.”
FOREST OF MIRRORS
6124 Lederer Ave, Woodland Hills, CA 91367-1329
Phone: 818-932-9491
Email: internet@pbergeron.com
Website: www.forestofmirrors.com
2009 DATES & HOURS: October 31, 5:00pm to midnight
Description: Located in a house once owned by silent movie comedian Buster Keaton, this Halloween yard haunt features a cemetery that seems endlessly extended thanks to strategic use of mirrors.
FRIGHT GALLERY
This Burbank yard haunt and amateur musical show is a unique way to spend Halloween in Los Angeles – watching an all-singing, all-dancing spoof, performed on stage in a front yard decorated with tombstones. It was on hiatus for 2006 and 2007, then returned for 2008. Click name for more information.
FRIGHTMARE - NO LONGER IN OPERATION
Reseda, CA 91335
E-Mail: Pestariokid82@yahoo.com
Website: Frightmare
NOTE: This Halloween haunted house was apparently a one-shot deal, when some ambitious haunters took advantage of a rare opportunity: being asked to house sit for a friend. With an empty house at their disposal, they turned it into an excellent walk-through haunted house.
FEATURES: This completely amateur effort was one of the best Los Angeles yard haunts in 2004. Not really a “Yard Haunt,” it actually took you through a house with seven rooms of bone-chilling fear that promised to “scare the yell out of you,” including a 3D maze. Unfortunately, since then the haunters have been unable to secure a suitable location. With no news of a revival, this goes down in Halloween haunt history as a memorable one-shot wonder.
ALSO OF NOTE: Although free, the haunt did take donations. In 2004, all proceed went to benefit APLA (AIDS Project Los Angeles). Read about our 2004 Halloween Haunted House Odessey (including a trip to Frightmare, Grimmstone, Hallowed Haunting Grounds, Witch’s Castle, and other amateur haunts).
GHOSTS OF HALLOWEEN
Located in Pomona, not far from this Los Angeles County Fairgroundsd, this is an impressive Halloween yard haunt and walk-through maze with a few professional-looking gags. Click name for more information.
GRIMMSTONE CEMETERY – No Longer in Operation
This Van Nuys yard haunt, formerly one of the best in Los Angeles, is no longer in operation. Halloween in Los Angeles will never be the same! Click name for more information.
HALLOWED HAUNTING GROUNDS* - No Longer in Operation
This Studio City yard haunt, now deceased, was the best amateur Halloween event in Los Angeles for over thirty years. Click name for more information.
HALLOWEEN GRAVEYARD
Katherine Avenue, between Riverside Dr. and Huston St. Sherman Oaks, CA
DATES & HOURS: No new information. In past years, the haunt was open Halloween night from dusk until approximatley 9:00pm
ADMISSION & PARKING: FREE
INFORMATION: This small yard haunt is part of an effort to show support for the local neighborhood watch program. It is not as elaborate as some efforts, but it is worth seeing if you are in the area, especially if you have kids.
HART STREET HAUNT
19521 Hart St. in Reseda
2009 DATES & HOURS: Saturday, October 31. Usually, decorations are up and running by the second week of October, but the monsters haunt the sidewalk outside the yard only on Halloween night, from dusk till the trick-or-treaters disappear.
ADMISSION & PARKING: Free – but parking is difficult. This is a neighborhood that loves Halloween, and the curbs are crowded with cars.
DESCRIPTION: This yard haunt is situated in a Los Angeles neighborhood overflowing with Halloween spirit; many houses are decorated, and the sidewalks overflow with trick-or-treaters. The yard itself is loaded with mannequins of all shapes and sizes, many of them showing mechanical motions. There is no walk-through maze, but you do have to maneuver along a walkway between some fences to get to the front door for candy; the escape route takes you past a upright coffin that – surprise! – turns out to be occupied. As if that were not horror enough, a handful of monsters – a werewolf, Michael Myers, and others – lurk around the sidewalk, inflicting fear on unwary travellers. For 2009, the haunt promises even more live monsters than before.
HAUNTED GARAGE
Location: 3432 Karen Ave
Long Beach, CA 90808
Website: www.hauntedgaragelongbeach.com
2009 DATE & HOURS: Halloween Night, October 31, 6:30-10:30pm
ADMISSION: Free, but there is a suggested donation of $3
DESCRIPTION: Haunted Garage puts on a different theme each Halloween. The 2008 version conflated the Faust legend with an insane asylum, for “Dr. Uphir’s Sanitorium.”
THE HAUNTED SHACK
5112 Maricopa Street Torrance, CA 90503
Contact: info@thehauntedshack.com
Website: www.thehauntedshack.com
2009 DATES & HOURS: Halloween night, 7-10pm.
ADMISSION & PARKING: ALWAYS FREE
INFORMATION: In operation since 1997, the Haunted Shack has grown into a single effects-filled, 1500-square-foot walk-through maze that takes 3-4 minutes to walk through. The look of the maze changes from year to year, depending on the theme (2005 was killer klowns, for example).
NEW FOR 2008: This amateur Halloween Haunt was closed in 2007 due to time contraints, but they returned with a new website for 2008, promsing a bigger and better attraction.
THE HAUNT WITH NO NAME…YET
An atmospheric amateur yard haunt in Tarzana – one of the best ways to enjoy Halloween in Los Angeles. Click name for more information.
HORROR ON FRANKEL STREET - Halloween Yard & Garage Haunt
Cool combination of yard haunt and garage haunt in the Lakewood area of Los Angeles. Click name for more information.
HOUSE AT HAUNTED HILL
A great amateur Halloween attraction with a dramatic presentation, telling a story through narration, music, and professional-quality special effects, in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles. More than a decorated yard – it’s a haunted house extravaganza. Click name for more information.
HOUSE OF RESTLESS SPIRITS
Tremendously spooky haunted house in Santa Monica, west of Los Angeles, near the ocean, featuring incredible special effects. Both the front yard and the back yard are haunted; plus there are numerous manifestations peeking out the windows of the house. Click name for more information.
THE INFECTED
1401 N. Buena Vista, Burbank, CA 91505
Info: (818) 681-5605
2009 DATES & HOURS: To Be Announced
2008 DESCRIPTION: Previously known as “Massacre Manor,” this amateur Halloween haunt features a walk-through back yard path that portrays what happens when an urgent care medical facility is over-run by an infectious disease (shades of QUARANTINE).
INFORMATION: Free but accepts donations. Children under 10 should have an adult with them.
JACKSON MANOR
Very nice yard haunt in Burbank, located in the San Vernando Valley area of Los Angeles, sometimes featuring a walk-through maze. Click name for more information.
MARY AND MARC DOTEN’S SPOOKY HOUSE
1785 E. Orange Grove Boulevard Pasadena, CA 91104
DATES & HOURS: Starts at dusk on Halloween night of odd-numbered years. For those of you who flunked math, this means there should be a haunt in 2009.
DESCRIPTION: An expansive Halloween yard haunted loaded with tombstones and decorative lights. A few sound effects enhance the cemetery feel, but the tone is mostly jokey (with gravestone markers for Bush and Michael Bolton). Passing through an arch, you take the long walk toward the house, accompanied by a silent figure in a gas mask. The front of the house is even more elaborately decorated with bones, an angle skeleton, and wafts of fog. The costumes proprietors guard the door, scaring those who look strong enough to take it but receiving the children amiably enough. Before you take your candy and leave, don’t forget to glance through the front door: the inside of the house is just as haunted as the outside, including some lovely miniature pieces above the fireplace mantle.
NIGHTMARE JUNCTION - No Longer in Operation
2220 Chandler Blvd Burbank, CA
DATES & HOURS: Nevermore! It looks as if this Halloween event retired after 2006. Halloween in Los Angeles won’t be the same!
ADMISSION & PARKING: FREE
FEATURES: This residential yard haunt and walk-through maze, situated on a sidestreet intersection in a quiet neighborhood, was made up to look like a torture chamber, complete with dismembered bodies strung up above the fence that surrounds the property, plus various torture racks and other menacing devices. The grounds are patrolled by a hooded executioner, who pulls a cord to drop the guillotine on a dummy victim. Enterting the main gate leads you into a short, temporary maze structure, with a couple of gory scenes inside. A local attraction, this extravagant amateur effort can be very busy on Halloween night, unless you arrive very early. Although gruesome, the all tone is somewhat over-the-top and tongue-in-cheek, so this is proabably okay for all except the very youngest kids.
THE PIRATE CAVE
Nifty nautically-themed yard haunt located in Northridge, in the west San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. A gret way for kids to enjoy Halloween in Los Angeles. Click name for more information.
PIRATES OF EVERGREEN
1730 North Evergreen Street
Burbank, California
2009 DATES: October 30 & 31
INFORMATION: This pirate-themed yard haunt and party takes place on Halloween Night. The bulk of the display is up the night before, if you want to drive by and take a look, but the real fun is on October 31, when the yard is populated by pirates enjoying the festivities. The pirate-party has grown so popular that it has inspired neighbors to join in the Halloween fun, creating several other impressive displays nearby.
REALM OF TERROR
23125 Eriel Ave. Torrance CA, 90505
Website: www.therealmofterror.com
Email: information@therealmofterror.com
2009 Date & Hours: To Be Announced. Usually on Halloween night – from dusk till…?
INFORMATION: This Halloween yard haunt has been going since 2000. In the past, Realm of Terror has offered a walk-through maze, which grew in size and complexity each year. Unfortunately, in 2007 time considerations forced a switch to a simpler haunt – which will again by the case in 2008. Proprietor Daniel Wassenberg promises that he and his comrades will be haunting the front yard, and he hopes within a few years to go back to a more elaborate version of the haunt.
ROTTEN APPLE 907
More than just a decorated yard, this amatuer Halloween haunt features a walk-through maze with a different theme every year, located in Burbank, in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. Click name for more information.
SOUTH BAY MAZEMASTER Presents “Depths of Doom”
17019 Casimir Avene, Torrance, CA
Near Crenshaw and Artesia
Website: www.myspace.com/torrancemaze
2009 DATES & HOURS: October 28-31, 6-9pm
Price: Free but accepts $2 donations. For $20, six “victims” receive a “Zoom to Doom” pass that gets them to the front of the line.
2009 DETAILS: Previously announced as “Carniverous Cavern,” this 70-yard walk through “Haunted Mind Shaft” includes black lights, strobes, fog machines, music and monsters. The proprietor promises that the “mind-blowing sights and sounds will send you out of this world!”
HISTORY: Like Rotten Apple 907 and Horror on Frankel Street, this amateur Halloween attraction changes theme form year to year. Usually located in the Torrance area of Los Angeles, this haunted Halloween maze moved to 513 N Guadalupe Ave in Redondo Beach for 2008; that year’s theme was “Hell Shire Farms.”
THE 13th GATE ASYLUM
1798 Avenida Navidad
Camarillo, CA 92780
Website: http://www.the13thgateasylum.com/index.html
Email: info@the13thGateAsylum.com
2009 DATES: Halloween Night
2009 HOURS:
- 4:30 to 6:30pm: Child’s Play/Chicken Hour (no scaring)
- 6:30pm to midnight: Fair Game (anything goes)
2009 ADMISSION & PARKING: FREE. Donations accepted.
2009 INFORMATION: This year’s theme is Carn-Evil (yup, killer klowns).
BACKGROUND: The haunt features thirty cast member. The theme changes and thes walk-through maze is reconfigured every year.
THE TUSTIN HAUNT
13151 Brittany Woods Drive Tustin, CA 92780
See listing under Community Halloween Haunts
WHITECLIFF MANOR
Formerly the Van Noord Street Haunted House
1077 Whitecliff Road Thousand Oaks, CA (818) 681-3750
Website: whitecliffhaunt.tripod.com
2009 DATES & HOURS:
- Friday, October 30, 6-11pm
- Saturday, October 31, 5-11pm
ADMISSION & PARKING: FREE. However, the haunt has in the past accepted charitable donations (for Make-a-Wish Foundation in 2006, for example).
NEWS FOR 2009: The walk-through maze will not be in operation this year. The proprietors are taking a year off to visit other Halloween haunts, but they do expect to decorate their yard.
NEWS FOR 2008: After putting on a down-sized version of the haunt (without maze) for 2007, Whitecliff Manor promises to return to its full glory in 2008 with “lots of new things and an awesome tunnel.” The haunt is accepting donations for the local elementary school this year, and they will be giving away SAW 5 promotional items on their preview nights (the 24th and 25th).
NEWS FOR 2007: Due to time constraints, the haunt will not offer their walk through maze. They do promise “a large display with a few surprises to scare you.”
FEATURES: At their previous location on Van Noord Street in Los Angeles, this amateur Halloween yard haunt (put on by some genuine Halloween enthusiasts) featured a front yard decorated as a pet cemetery and a short, walk-through tunnel with some nice black-light decorations and a brief, surprise scare at the end. Since then, they have moved to their current location, expanded their pet cemetery, and added an electric chair and a haunted foyer with a dead butler to guide guests through a 42-foot walk-through maze.
WITCH’S CASTLE
A spooky, fun, kid-friendly yard haunt in Studio City – the best way for families to spend Halloween in Los Angeles. Click name for more information.
YARD HAUNT VIDEOS
Check out our archive of posts for Yard Haunts.
- 4 December 2009 : Halloween Haunt Odyssey 2009, Final Chapter: Vampyr Inn’s Bloody Ball – Review & Video
Finally, after an unforgivably long delay, we are back to wrap up this year's edition of our annual Halloween Haunt Odyssey. Previous posts in this series detailed our visits to [More...]
- 24 November 2009 : Halloween Haunt Odyssey 2009, Part 4: Rotten Apple 907’s Burbank Underground, with Video
On October 31, Hollywood Gothique's Halloween Haunt Odyssey 2009 - our annual tour of amateur yard haunts in and around Los Angeles - ran the gamut from the Forest of [More...]
- 11 November 2009 : Fright Gallery 2008: Dead of the Class – Video
Our first encounter with the Fright Gallery was back in 2003, when they presented a professional haunted house attraction titled "Experiment in Terror." This turns out to have been an anomaly in [More...]
- 27 October 2009 : Horror on Frankel Street 2009: Dark Carnival – Video
Here is our video walk-through of Horror on Frankel Street's 2009 haunt, "Dark Carnival." In the past, we have expressed some reservations about the proliferation of clown mazes during the [More...]
- 25 October 2009 : Forest of Mirrors back for Halloween 2009
Our biggest disappointment of Halloween 2008 is that we did not make it out to this unique yard haunt, located in a house once owned by silent movie comedian Buster [More...]
