Hollywood Gothique

Every October 31, our annual Halloween Haunt Odyssey offers a round-up of the best amateur yard haunts in Los Angeles and the surrounding area.

The final installment of Hollywood Gothique’s 2012 Halloween Haunt Odyssey finds us retracing our steps over previously explored territory, as we head out on October 31, seeking those ephemeral haunts open only on All Hallow’s Eve. From Glendale to Sherman Oaks to Northridge and finally back to Woodland Hills (again!), we wander through the ghost-infested [...]

Part 3 of Hollywood Gothique’s 2012 Halloween Haunt Odyssey returns to a land we visit every October: Woodland Hills, with stops in Tarzana and Encino along the way. Since we have reviewed most of these yard haunts before, we will not delve deeply into details here; instead we will note what new tricks and treats [...]

This installment of the annual Halloween Haunt Odyssey is a bit of a geographical jumble, exploring the paranormal activities lurking inside two amateur Halloween events separated by miles of freeways. Divergent in location they may be, but Pumkin Jack’s Haunted House and Rotten Apple 907’s Wilsley Manor share certain salient traits: both of them are [...]

As usual, Hollywood Gothique began its annual Halloween Haunt Odyssey a little early this year. This ritual trek began back in 2005, when we tried to hit as many Los Angeles yard haunts as possible on Halloween Night. However, as more and more of these amateur extravaganzas have appeared on our radar, October 31 no [...]

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 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 in spooky shivers.
The House [...]

Our exploration of 2011’s Halloween Yard Haunts began last week with our trip to Boney Island (reviewed here). Next, we move on to Burbank for a pair of Amateur Halloween Events that display enough skill and imagination to rank along side professional Halloween Haunted Houses & Hayrides in Los Angeles.
The Backwoods Maze Yard Haunt (1912 [...]

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 fourth and final installment of Hollywood Gothique’s 2010 Halloween Haunt Odyssey traverses Torrance, where we visit Revenge of the Ninja and the Haunted Shack. We had long dreamed of extending our annual tour of yard haunts and amateur Halloween attractions to the South Bay area of Los Angeles, and we are glad we finally made it this year; unfortunately, several that we hoped to see were not in operation this October. The Realm of Terror in Torrance, after skipping 2009, had promised to return for 2001; alas, the promise proved false. The Beacon Street House in San Pedro, which had offered a street fair and walk-through maze for the past few Halloweens, scaled back this year to a dance party, held on October 30 – the day before we made the trip down South. We certainly hope these events will be resurrected next Halloween. Despite their absence, our 2010 sojourn to the South Bay yielded tricks and treats a’plenty, and we anticipate a return visit next year. Click through for the details

Part 3 of Hollywood Gothique’s yard haunt tour includes visits to CrestaFallen Cemetery in West Los Angeles, the Eternal Rest Cemetery in Venice, and the House of Restless Spirits in Santa Monica. The combination of atmosphere and just plain fear makes for a fascinating variety of Halloween horror.

Part 2 of Hollywood Gothique’s 2010 Halloween Haunt Odyssey offers a trio of atmospheric yard haunts in Woodland Hills and Tarzana: Fallen Angel Cemetery, the Haunt with No Name, and the House at Haunted Hill.

Hollywood Gothique’s 2010’s Halloween Haunt Odyssey – an annual tour of amateur yard haunts – begins in Burbank, which seems to have become the bleeding, beating heart of Halloween in the San Fernando valley. Within an easily drivable distance are no less than four worthwhile haunts, with several other decorated yards also in the area: Spider-Lights, the Backwoods Maze, Nightmare Junction, and Rotten Apple 907’s Nightmare at the Museum. Click through for details.