House at Haunted Hill
Halloween Yard Haunt
4400 Saltillo Streeet
Woodland Hills, CA
Contact: info@houseathauntedhill.com
Website: www.houseathauntedhill.com
Excellent elaborate haunted house with a spooky Hollywood story enacted with special effects timed to recorded dialogue and music – one of the best ways to enjoy Halloween in Los Angeles!
2009 HOUSE AT HAUNTED HILL DATES: October 27-31 (weather permitting – show will not go on if it is raining)
2009 HOUSE AT HAUNTED HILL HOURS: 7:00pm utnil 10:00pm on weekdays; 7:00pm until midnight on Friday & Saturday.
2009 HOUSE AT HAUNTED HILL ADMISSION & PARKING: FREE – but can be difficult to find on the winding residential hillside road
2009 HOUSE AT HAUNTED HILL INFORMATION: This elaborate yard haunt features an impressive array of mechanical and lighting effects timed to a pre-recorded dramatic show, complete with narration, dialogue, and music. The story, reprised from the 2007 and 2008 haunts, tells the story of young Hollywood hopeful who marries the wrong man – his vengeful late wife returns from the grave to ruin the wedding night. NOTE: You do not have to arrive at the exact scheduled start times in order to see the show, but it helps.
2007 HOUSE AT HAUNTED HILL INFORMATION: For this year, the House on Haunted Hill took a quantuum leap forward, offering a 20-minute scripted show (written by playwright Ed Valentine), complete with a musical score by Emmy-nominated Christopher Hoag. Other entertainment industry professionals have chipped in, and even Tim Doggett (of Hallowed Haunting Grounds) and Nathan Hamilton (Turbidite Manor) lent a hand, in an effort to create something truly spectacular. The basic props and effects were familiar from previous years (moving skeletons, talking statues, a ghostly see-saw, shadowy figures on the hill behind the house), but they were integrated into the story, no longer turning on and off apparently at random, but timed to go off at specific moments in the narrative.
HOUSE AT HAUNTED HILL HISTORY: Since the demise of the late, lamented Hallowed Haunting Grounds, this haunt takes the crown for the best amateur Halloween attraction in the Los Angeles area. In operation since 1999, the two-story house is loaded with black-lit drapes fluttering in the wind, with skeletal figures and floating ghosts peeking out the windows. There is a skeleton on the porch and a phantom bride around the corner toward the back. A tombstone in front of the main entrance slides back and forth as something tries to get out. But what’s really impressive is the use of the yard space, which stretches up the hill to the back of the house. You’ll see two childish skeletons on a teeter-totter, singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” A bust of Beethoven opens and closes its eyes. Another skeleton swings above a whistling well. Another statue head comes to life and speaks an invocation that rouses the spirits. Farther back, you can see a ghost on the hill, accompanied by phantom shadows flitting across the ground. And the silhouette of some figure with an ax chops…chops…chops away at something unseen.
NOTE: This house really is on a hill – on a twisting sidestreet that is hard to spot in the dark. Please note the directions: from the 101 Freeway, take Canoga Avenue south; pass Dumetz, pass the golf course, and turn left onto Saltillo Street. You will glimpse the spooky lights up the road, near a bend. Just keep your eyes peeled and try not to miss the sign for the cross street in the dark.
HOUSE AT HAUNTED HILL VIDEO: Check out Hollywood Gothique’s video visit to the 2006 incarnation of House at Haunted Hill.
