Hollywood Gothique

Los Angeles Halloween harvest festivals, family-friendly yard haunts, kid-safe matinees at professional haunted houses, children’s sideshow events at zoos and wildlife centers

I just wanted to take a moment to offer a brief, belated review of this year’s Halloween & Mourning Tour at the Heritage Square Museum this weekend. Heritage Square, which preserves Victorian mansions built in Los Angeles near the turn of the previous century, has offered this self-guided tour every Halloween for the past eight [...]

The final installment of our 2011 Halloween Yard Haunt Odyssey takes us to a pair of old favorites, both restless and eternal, and also ventures into previously uncharted realms of mishaps and darkness. The wide spectrum of approaches – from shivers to shocks, from simple to sophisticated – is a remarkable testament to the impressive variety [...]

After Burbank, Tarzana, and Woodland Hills, the next leg of Hollywood Gothique’s 2011 Halloween Yard Haunt Odyssey takes us from Los Angeles all the way to Simi Valley. The little bedroom community seems quiet and safe, but you never know what sort of hidden terror lies just beneath the placid surface – until now…

The House at Haunted Hill
The previous installment of our annual Halloween Yard Haunt Odyssey took us through two terrifying mazes in Burbank, The Backwoods Maze and Rotten Apple 907’s Space Oddessey. Moving on to Tarzana and Woodland Hills, we encounter a trio of Halloween Yard Haunts that are less interested in shocks and surprise than [...]

Dates: October 14-16, 21-23, 28-30
The Ghost Tour at Stathearn Park brings to life the history of Simi Valley, told by dead souls from the past. The experience is not intended to be frightening, but it does hit the right mood for Halloween. People interested in history and/or in enjoying Halloween without being assaulted by costumed maniacs, will find this event to be a pleasant and educational diversion.

Dates: October 21-31
Hours: 6-9pm Sunday-Thursday; 6-10pm Friday-Saturday
Location: 4602 Morse Avenue Sherman Oaks, CA 91432
After a three-year hiatus, Boney Island is back, and it’s even better than before! The Halloween yard haunt’s skeleton crew has morphed from a carnival into a magic show, but the familiar, whimsical aura still pervades the grounds, making this one of the best Los Angeles Halloween haunts for children.

The caretaker at Fallen Angel Cemetery sent us this video, showcasing the souls of the damned who have been cast down to the nether regions. We don’t usually post videos from outside sources, but this one does a good job of conveying the atmosphere and look of this nifty little yard haunt. The only aspect [...]

Dates: October 15-31, 7pm to 1am
Location: 2821 S. Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90018

Description: This amateur Halloween yard haunt – which has been in operation several years now – features scary decorations with a few animatronics, music and sound effects.
On Halloween Night, there are treats for the kids and a few costumed characters delivering a [...]

Jamie Lee Curtis at last year's Dream Halloween Evening.
Title: October 29, 5-8pm
Location: Barker Hangar 3021 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405-6101
Link out: Click here
Description: Come on down for this magical evening, benefitting the Chidlren Affected by AIDS Foundation. Guests include founder Jake Koberdanz and actors James Lee Curtis, DOris Roberts, and Josh Duhamel.
From the website:
Los [...]

Date: October 29, 6-9pm
Location: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro, CA 90731
Link out: Click here
Description: The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium presents its 6th annual Halloween event, transforming into a world of chills, thrills and gills. We have never been, so you will have to judge for yourself, based on the description from [...]

Date: October 28, 4-10pm
Location: Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum‎ 1419 North Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Topanga Canyon, CA 90290-4275
Link out: Click here
Description: Come on down for a haunted house, ghost stories, pumpkin carving, costume contest and games as the Bucolic Theatricum Botanicum transforms into the haunted BOO-tanicum for the theater company’s first annual Halloween extravaganza. Wander [...]

Dates: October 8 through 31
Location: 702 North Doheny Drive, West Hollywood
Link out: Click here
Description: Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch offers a variety of kid-friendly activities. Hours are Sunday 9-7; Monday – Thursday 9-7; Friday – Saturday 9-8.
From the website:
Since 1986, our family has traveled from Oregon bringing the spirit of the farm and exuberant joy of [...]

Here at Hollywood Gothique, we occasionally receive requests to cover Halloween events that lie outside our usual domain (that is, Los Angeles and the surrounding Southland). This year, we finally took this advice, travelling up north to visit two haunts in the East Bay Area, near San Francisco: “The Candle Lighters Ghost House – Haunted [...]

Date: October 31, 6-11pm
Location: 1547 Garden St., Glendale 91201
Link out: Click here
Description: Mishap Manor is a family-friendly yard haunt depicting an old decrepit haunted house, infested with crows, and with a graveyard in front. Apparently, a few mishaps have befallen some of the past residents. There are a few animated props, lighting effects, [...]

After a three-year hiatus, the Boney Island Yard Haunt reopens this Halloween. Those of you who never attended the old skeleton carnival may be wondering what the big deal is, exactly. Well, take a look at our video, recorded in 2007, of the final appearance of the old Boney Island. Don’t expect this year’s version [...]

Dates: October 18 through February 2
Location: The Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90049
Description: The Getty Museum has a spooky new audio tour just in time for Halloween: “Demons, Angels and Monsters: The Supernatural in Art” – which was created by kids, for kids.

Dates: October 1-31
Hours: 10am to 9pm (longer hours as Halloween approaches, extending until midnight the last few days of the month)
Location: 10601 Riverside Drive, North Hollywood, CA 91602
Link out: Click here

Description: The Toluca Lake Florist turns into the Toluca Lake Pumpkin Patch during the month of October, offering a petting zoo and a haunted maze. [...]

Date & Hours: October 31, 6-10pm
Location: 2125 Punta Del Este St. in Hacienda Heights, CA
Description: Date: Halloween night, 6-10pm
This yard haunt, in existence for ten years starts, as a maze in the front yard, wraps all the way around the house, through the garage, and then an additional maze is built on the end. The [...]

Date: Oct. 31st, 6:30-9:30pm
Location: 6824 Motz Street, Paramount CA 90723
Link out: Click here
Description: This amateur yard haunt features a combination of store-bought and home-made decorations, with a walk-through maze filled with scares, including nine or ten live actors in costume.
Price: free (accepts donations to purchase more supplyies for next year )
For more info, call (562) [...]

Dates: Saturday, October 22, 12-3pm; Monday, October 31, 4-10pm
Location: Old Town Pasadena
Link out: Click here
Description: Old Town invites families to come on down and enjoy some frightfully fun activities at their annual Halloween celebration. The free events takes place on two separate days, a week apart. On Day 1 – Saturday, October 22 – there will [...]

Date: Halloween Night Only
Hours: 6-7pm Child’s Play; 7:30-10:30pm Fair Game
Location: 1798 Avenida Navidad, Camarillo, CA 92780
Description: Camarrillo’s very scary yard haunt returns with a new theme for 2011: “Nightmares – A Haunted Dwelling.” As always, the walk-through maze is reconfigured, and the cast of character (numbering approximately 30) changed, to accommodate the theme.

[ October 28, 2011; 7:00 pm; ] Location: 4400 Saltillo Streeet Woodland Hills, CA

Description: The elaborate yard haunt – featuring elaborate mechanical effects synchronized to recorded music and narration – returns for another Halloween. This is one of the best.

Dates & Hours: These dates are tentative and subject to change; check out the haunt’s official website for confirmation.

Friday and Saturday, October 28 [...]

[ October 29, 2011; 7:00 pm; ] Location: 5112 Maricopa Street, Torrance, CA 90503

Dates & Hours: October 29 & 31, 7-10pm (no show Sunday, October 30)

Link out: Click here

Description: The best little yard haunt in Torrance is back, this time with a “Dia De Los Muertos” theme. Actually, “yard haunt” is a bit of a misnomer in this case. The Haunted Shack [...]