Hollywood Gothique

Haunted Houses, Hayrides, Yard Haunts & Other Halloween Attractions in Ventura County

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…

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 7-8, 14-15, 21-22, 28-31
Reign of Terror continues to house new terrors within its ever expanding walls. The growth from last Halloween to now may not be dramatic, but it is vividly clear to even the most casual haunt-goer. There are more scares than ever before, many of them quite startling.

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.

Dates: October 1-31
Location: 5250 Aurelia St., Simi Valley
Hours: Dusk till 11pm
Link out: Click here
Description: As usual, this decorated yard haunt gets a jump on the competition: whereas most amateur Halloween haunts start-up during the last few days of October, this one runs the entire month, from the 1st all the way until Halloween night.
Judging from the [...]

Location: 2134 Elizondo Avenue, Simi Valley, CA 93065
Dates & Hours: October 30 & 31 (Halloween night) from dusk till…?
Link out: Click here
Description: This elaborate yard haunt and walk-through maze – loaded with custom-made props and decorations – opens its doors for another Halloween of mirth and terror. This year’s theme, Rasputin’s Carnival of Risk, promises [...]

Dates: Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays from October 7 to 31
Location: 1016 Beechwood Street Camarillo, CA 93010
Hours: 7:30-10pm
Description: After making its debut last year, the Hanover Hall yard haunt returns with a new theme for 2011: The October Country! The manager promises a forest setting walkthrough featuring witches and goblins. There are no scare actors, [...]

Dates: October 7-8, 14-15, 21-22, 28-31
Hours: 7-10pm except Saturdays, which are 7-11pm
Location: Janss Marketplace, 197 North Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks, CA
Link out: Click here
Description: The Reign of Terror haunted house once more opens its doors to unwary visitors foolish enough to wander inside. This year, the premier Halloween haunt in Thousand Oaks offers not only its [...]

Dates: September 16-18, 23-25, 30, October 1-2, 6-9, 13-16, 20-31.
Location: 961 North Rice Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93030-8900
Link out: Click here
Description: The Forbidden Haunt, which made its debut in 2010 with Haunted Carnevil in Sherman Oaks, relocates to Oxnard and changes its name to Fears Gate. Judging from the new website, much of the old Halloween [...]

Here are some last-minute additions that you will not find listed on our Halloween Yard Haunts page. We have not visited any of these attractions, so we cannot vouch for them personally; if you happen to encounter any of their spooky spirits, drop us a line and let us know what you think about the Haunted House on Punta Del Este Street, Mourning Rose Manor, and/or A Nightmare on Leaf Street.

Well, not necessarily new – they might simply be yard haunts of which we were unaware until now – but “Previously Unlisted Yard Haunts” is not a very snappy headline, is it? Anyway, as the Halloween season draws near its conclusion, some Happy Home Haunters are crawling out of their graves and proclaiming their living-dead status to the world – or at least to Hollywood Gothique, which certainly qualifies as a macabre microcosm of the world when it comes to Halloween horror. At any rate, here is information on two new yard haunts – which should be a baneful boon to those of you who write in, lamenting, “I have seen everything you listed! Is there nothing more?”

Dates: October 15-16, 22-24, 28-31
Location: Janss Marketplace, 215 North Moorpark Road in Thousand Oaks
In the past, we ranked Reign of Terror among our “Must-See Halloween Haunts for 2009,” but we never quite pinpointed exactly where it ranked in that exalted upper echelon of delightfully horrible Halloween entertainment. Well, the fence-sitting finally ends here. For 2010, we feel confident in declaring that Reign of Terror is the best walk-through attraction we have encountered this Halloween.

13 Nights of Terror is a new Halloween event for 2010: a walk-through haunted house at the Lost Canyons Golf Course in Simi Valley. The attraction also features live music and DJs, and on October 30 there will be a day-long Halloween Family Festival We reviewed the haunt’s debut weekend here, but if you don’t [...]

Location: Lost Canyons Golf Course, 3301 Lost Canyons Drive, Simi Valley, CA 93063
Link out: Click here
Date: October 30, 11am to 7pm
Description: This all-day festival climaxes the three-week-long Golftoberfest at Lost Canyons Golf Course, which is raising money to benefit the Gull Wings Children’s Museum. Golftoberfest also included the 13 Nights of Terror haunted house, presented [...]

Dates: October 14-17, 21-24, 27-31
This new Halloween event features a scary walk-through haunted house from Shipwreck Productions, DJs, live music, and other entertainment, Proceeds raise money to benefit the Gull Wings Children’s Museum.

The Reign of Terror – a wonderful Halloween attraction in Thousand Oaks – has been growing from year to year, beginning as a yard haunt, expanding to a community haunt at the Conejo Recreation Center, and finally moving to Janss Marketplace in 2009, where it returns for 2010 (although in a different, even larger space, [...]

[ October 29, 2010; 6:00 pm; ] Title: Whitecliff Road Haunted Manor 2010
Location: 1077 Whitecliff Road Thousand Oaks, CA
Link out: Click here

Description: For their 16th year of operation, the Whitecliff Road Haunted Manor promises to resurrect their walk-through maze, although due to time constraints it will not be as long as in past years.

Dates: Friday, October 29, 6-11pm; Saturday, October 30, 6-11pm; [...]

Title: Reign of Terror
Location: 215 North Morpark Road, Thousand Oaks, California
Link out: Click here
Description: Nine nights of terror begin on October 15. This used to be an Amateru/Community Haunt, but it made the transition to pro-status last year with great results. Runs October 15-16, 22-24, 28-31 from 6-10pm, with a 1-4 Kid show on Sunday [...]

After beginning our 2009 Halloween Haunt Odyssey – an annual night-time tour of amatuer haunted houses  – with a visit to the Forest of Mirrors in Woodland Hills, we moved on to the Reign of Terror in Thousand Oaks. This attraction is a bit of an anamoly in the Haunt Odyssey, which focuses on amateur [...]

Here is a video shot on Halloween night last year of the final performance of Seaside Haunted Theme Park. Formerly known as “Seaside Haunt,” this Halloween attraction was under new management in 2008; unfortunately, it failed to live up to its formerly glory. Part part of the Spooky House family of haunted houses (which also included Fearplex and Old Town Haunt), it featured some familiar sets and decorations that used to be part of the three separate mazes that Spooky House ran back when they were located in a mall parking lot on Topanga Canyon Boulevard. It was nice to see them hauled out of the mothballs and put back to good use, but along with them came an unfortunate handicap that the Spooky House haunts had overcome in recent years: a tendency to feature lengthy elaborate sets with few actual scares. The result was a bit like walking through a spooky museum – fun but not always as frightening as it should be.

NOTE: Hollywood Gothique’s annual Halloween Haunt Odyssey is a sort of unofficial tour of yard haunts in Los Angeles, many of which are open only on October 31st. Each year, we hit a few old favorites and search for some new discoveries.
Yesterday, in Part 1, we laid to rest our impression of the local yard haunts that [...]

It is never wise to divine too much from isolated reports, but I did want to mention that one or two people have contacted me to say they were disappointed with this year’s version of Seaside Haunt. We have not attended this year, so we cannot confirm; all we know is that the haunt is [...]

We have been busy updating our Calendar of Events with several attractions that will take place during the Halloween season in October. Many of these haunted events have been mentioned before, but some have only recently confirmed their dates and hours of operation for 2008. You can find more information on our Halloween Haunts page.
Below [...]