Halloween 2013: Weekend Recommendations for October 24-27

It’s the final weekend of October. Which remaining Los Angeles Halloween Haunts are worth seeing? Read on to find out…if you dare!

Hey there, haunt-chasers! It’s time for another round-up of weekend recommendations. What’s that, you say? The weekend doesn’t start until Friday, October 25? Oh, how wonderfully naive you are! With only seven days left in October, many of this year’s Halloween events are getting a jump on the competition by starting on Thursday, October 24. Heed their example! Wait now, and live to regret the terrible terrors you never savored.

Hopefully, you have already attended the season’s major Halloween Haunted Houses and Hayrides, not to mention the famous Halloween Theme Park Attractions; these events have been running for weeks. What’s left for the last seven days of the month? Mostly Halloween Yard Haunts and Halloween Shows and Tours, along with some Halloween screenings and parties.  Most Halloween Haunts for Children are getting started this weekend, but we covered those in a separate article here.

Most of the events listed below will open this weekend. A few are leftovers from earlier in the season, which we did not attend in time to laud in our previous 2013 Halloween Recommendations.

RECOMMENDED

The Afflicted

Location: The NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA 91601

Dates: October 25-26, 31; November 1-2, 8-9, 15-16

Hours: 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays, 10pm on Halloween Night

Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

Website: Click here

Description: It’s not the  Theatre 68 Haunted House that we have come to know and love over the past few years, but it’s about as a good a substitute as one could hope for. At their new venue, the NoHo Arts Center, instead of presenting their familiar walk-through attraction, the 68 Cent Crew is staging this revised version of Leif E. Gantvoort’s clever 2006 play (formerly known as “They’re Not Zombies”).  The Afflicted is a wild combination of horror and comedy, both hilarious and horrific. The staging is tight; the performances are electric; and you will need a poncho if you sit in the front row – unless you want your clothes dyed red (blood red, that is).

An Evening with the Makers of An American Werewolf in London

Location: Billy Wilder Theater, Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90024

Date: Saturday, October 26

Time: 7:30pm

Tickets: $10

Phone: (310) 206-8013

Website: Click here

Description: The UCLA Film & Television Archive presents a 35mm screening of the 1982 horror comedy (noted for its ground-breaking werewolf transformation effects), along with a round table of the crew who worked on the film: director John Landis, makeup supervisor Rick Baker, producer George Folsey Jr, and Deborah Nadoolman Landis.

There will also be a screening of the music video, MICHAEL JACKSON’S THRILLER, which Landis directed.

Hollywood Haunter: Grave Rock Gulch

Location: 1547 Garden Street, Glendale 91201

Dates: October 25-31

Admission: Free but accepting food donations for charity

Website: Click here

Description: The sets for this home haunt have actually been up since mid-September, but the proprietor promises to have full lighting, music and effects up and running by Friday. Definitely worth a look.

Pumkin Jack’s Haunted House

Location: 28603 Natalie Lane, Saugus, California 91390

Dates: October 25, 26 & 31

Hours: 7-11pm on Friday and Saturday, 8pm to midnight on Halloween night

Admission: free

Website: Click here

Description: Situated on a corner in a quiet Santa Clarita neighborhood, this amateur yard haunt features outdoor decorations and a walk-through maze inside the garage. There is some plastic tarp, but for the most part the construction effectively creates the illusion that you are inside a haunted house, and though short, the 600-foot labyrinth is impressively dense with scares.

Note: Hollywood Gothique’s GPS insists that the address for Pumkin Jack’s Haunted House is located in Santa Clarita, not Saugus.

Halloween and Mourning Tours at Heritage Square

Location: Heritage Square Museum, 3800 Homer Street, Los Angeles, CA

Dates:  Saturday and Sunday, October 26 & 27

Hours: noon to 4pm

Tickets: $20 for Adults, $10 for Seniors over 65, $7 for Children 6 to 12 years. Children under 6 – free.

Website: Click here

Description: Interested in how people of the Victorian Era viewed the Halloween season? Or perhaps you would care to espy the traditions surrounding funerals and mourning back around the turn of the century? Or do you have an interest in the Spiritualism movement of the time? If any of these appeal to you, then check out this annual event, which is set in authentic Victorian Era buildings, preserved in the Heritage Square Museum.

The Annual Halloween & Mourning Tours usually includes a funeral procession and some kind of dramatic presentation (e.g., spirit photography or a seance). Guides in period costume will be on hand to explain the customs on view.

Sunday will be more family-friendly, with period games for children, harvest crafts, and spooky stories.

The Haunted Shack

Location: 5112 Maricopa Street, Torrance, CA 90503

Dates: Saturday, October 26 and Thursday, October 31

Hours: 7-10pm both nights

Admission: Free, but donations are accepted for Breast Cancer Research.

Website: Click here

Description: This excellent home haunt offers a 3-4 minute walk-through scares and effects that are very impressive for an amateur effort. There are some good pop-scares and some clever illusions, making this well worth the trip to Torrance.

Los Angeles Live Steamers Ghost Train in Griffith Park

Location: Griffith Park, 5202 Zoo Drive – Los Angeles, CA 90027

Dates: October 25-27, 30-31

Hours: 7-10pm nightly

Tickets are $10 per person.

Phone: (323) 662-8030

Website: Click here

Description: The Los Angeles Live Steamers Ghost Train has been running for the past two weekends, but we only recently took another trip aboard the miniature railroad – our first in five years – and what we saw elevated the attraction to must-see territory. The twenty-minute tour used to feel like driving past a few dozen yard haunts; now it more resembles a trip through a demented version of Disneyland. Still, it’s all in good fun and quite safe for young trick-or-treaters (who must be at least 34-inches tall to ride). It’s full of Halloween holiday cheer but none of the menace (no chainsaws, no actors in costume).

In the past, we have recommended the Ghost Train for families with children, seeking a safer form of Halloween horror. This year, we think any haunt-chaser worth his bone marrow will want to check it out.

Revenge of the Ninja

Location: The Way of the Shadow Martial Arts Academy, 18727 Crenshaw Boulevard, Torrance CA 90504

Dates: October 26-27 (maze only) & 31 (maze and block party)

Hours:  maze from 7pm to 10pm every night; block party from 6-9pm on Halloween Night only

Admission: $5 suggested donation for the maze; block party is free of charge

Website: Click here

Description: The Way of the Shadow Martial Arts Academy presents its annual Halloween-themed maze, which is open to all but not recommended for younger children. The ninja theme lends this effort its own unique aura; though essentially staged for the local community, the event is worth checking out if you can make the drive down to Torrance. On Halloween night, The Revenge of the Ninja Maze and Block Party provides food, games, and fun for all ages.

Rotten Apple 907’s Haunted Wilsley Manor II

Location: 907 North California Street, Burbank, CA 91505

Dates: October 25-27 & 31

Hours: 7-10pm nightly

Admission: free but donations are accepted for charitable foundations

Phone: (818) 841-3140

Website: Click here

Description: Rotten Apple 907 reopens the creaky door to the Wilsley Manor – the traditional haunted house theme introduced in Halloween 2012. Wilsley Manor ranked as 907’s finest achievement to date – so much so that we fully approve their decision to resurrected it for Halloween 2013, instead of inventing an entirely new theme (as they had done for the past few seasons).

Over the years, Rotten Apple 907 has established itself as a fun, sometimes whimsical yard haunt (featuring themes that spoofed Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz), but ever since their Burbank Underground production in 2009, they have been operating at a professional level of quality, and the scare quotient has been going steadily up, firmly placing them in our annual list of must-see yard haunts.

Urban Death: Tour of Terror Haunted Theatre Attraction

Location: 4850 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood, California 91601

Dates: October 25-26, and November 1-2

Hours: 8:30p to 11:30pm.

Tickets: $12.

Phone: (818) 202 – 4120 for reservations.

Website: Click here

Description: Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group a condensed version of their Urban Death stage show, tailored specifically to the Halloween season, with a walk-through maze you must navigate in the dark in order to reach the performance area. This is one unusual and unique Halloween event – one that we recommend highly (as you can tell from reading our Urban Death Haunted Theatre Review here).

There is plenty of street parking at the location, but allow five minutes for seat. No food or drink allowed inside.

The Voices of Pioneer Cemetery present Almas: Day of the Dead

Location: Pioneer Cemetery, 14451 Bledsoe Street Sylmar, CA 91342

Dates: October 25-26 and November 1-2

Performance Times: every hour 8pm, 9pm, 10pm, 11pm, and midnight.

Tickets: $15. The admission price may be tax deductible; this is a charitable event.

Phone: 818-970-1286

Website: Click here

Description: After sitting out 2011 and 2012, the Voices of Pioneer Cemetery Flashlight Ghost Tour rises from the grave for Halloween 2013, with an all-new presentation: Almas: A Day of the Dead Celebration. The San Fernando Valley Historical Society and the Los Angeles Mission College Drama Club take you on a night-time tour through the actual Pioneer Cemetery, with actors portraying the ghosts of the past. The emphasis is on history rather than horror, but there is an undeniably spooky atmosphere as you wander past graves and see mysterious figures flitting in and out of shadows before stepping forward to recount their personal history.

Please note: Bring your own flashlight. Walking required; wear sturdy shoes. Shows performed rain or shine. No one under age 7. No photos.

The Voices of Pioneer Cemetery is a fundraiser put on by the San Fernando Valley Historical Society, a non-profit organization that raises money to maintain the historical cemetery.

ALSO THIS WEEKEND

Alone: An Existential Haunting

Location: Downtown Los Angeles (exact address emailed to those with tickets)

Dates: October 24-27, 30-31, and November 1-2.

Hours: ranging from 5pm to midnight, depending on the date

Tickets: $40 for general admission, $55 for front-of-the-line privileges.

Website: Click here

Description: A new attraction opens in Los Angeles this Halloween. Alone: An Existential Haunt offers a 30-minute walk-through experience, which each visitor must accomplish on his own, with only a flashlight. The experience – which is described as one part interactive theatre and one part psychological haunting – sounds similar to the Blackout Haunted House: you to fill out a waiver and then follow the instructions given to you inside the haunt; refusal to comply will result in your removal, without a refund.

18 and over only (bring photo i.d.). Wear comfortable shoes, and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty.

Beyond the Grave Tours

Location: Homestead Museum, 15415 East Don Julian Road, City of Industry, California 91745

Dates: October 25 and 26

Hours: tours at 5pm, 5:30pm, 6pm, 6:30pm, and 7pm

Tickets: $5 for adults, $3 for students and seniors (55+). Space is limited, so advance purchases are recommended.

Phone: 626-968-8492 for more information.

Website: Click here

Description: The Homestead Museum resurrects its annual Halloween historical tour, which illustrates the changes in American attitudes towards death and memorialization from teh 1840s to the 1920s. Visitors will get a glimpse of these different perspectives through two families, represented by costumed living history characters.

Dream Halloween

Location: Barker Hangar, Santa Monica Airport, 3021 Airport Avenue #203, Sasntiah MTca, CA

Phone: (310) 390-9071

Date: October 26 at 5pm

Tickets: $250 for children, $300 for adults

Website: Click here

Description: This yearly fundraiser – which bills itself as the premiere family-friendly Halloween event in Los Angeles – benefits children and families affected by AIDS in Africa and India. Presented by Keep A Child Alive, the 20th Annual Dream Halloween Los Angeles features live performances by Zendaya and Tori Kelly, a trick-or-treat lane, kid-safe haunted houses, arts & crafts, gourmet food from some of LA’s finest restaurants, and more.

In addition, Dream Halloween offers sponsorships that include Valet parking, early admission, a VIP reception, and tickets donated in your name to a local charity that helps children. Family Sponsorships are $2,500; Friend Sponsorships are $5,000.

All guests under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Drama After Dark

Location: The Huntington Library, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA 91108

Date: October 26

Hours: from 6:30pm to 9:30pm

Tickets: $45 per person. SOLD OUT!

Website: Click here

Description: The  Huntington Library presents its annual outdoor series of dramatic Halloween vignettes. The concept is similar to the Wicked Lit Halloween Theatre Festival (although, to be fair, Drama After Dark was doing it first): audiences follow the actors around the upper grounds of the library gardens, where they see up to six short plays performed, incudling “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Pit and the Pendulum.” (There are actually ten performances presented simultaneously through the location, so you will have to come back next year to catch the ones you miss.)

To enhance the mood of the evening, many of the lights on the grounds are dimmed or turned off completely. Chairs are provided. The Huntington bookstore will be open until 6:30pm with Poe, Gorey, and other items. Complimentary light refreshments will be served.

Infants, babies, and children under 12 are not allowed; no one under 18 without adult supervision. No one under 12 is admitted, no one under 18 without adult supervision.

Ghost Walk at Riverside

Location: Main Street Pedestrian Mall, Main Street and 10th Street, Riverside, CA

Dates: October 25 and 26

Tickets: $15

Website: Click here

Description: Now in its 22nd year, the Ghost Walk Riverside family event offers ghost stories featuring local high school drama groups and noted community speakers. The event includes live entertainment, a kids carnival, souvenir stands, food vendors, Tombstone Trolley, and an all-new attraction called Dark Dreams Doorway.

Ghost Walk Riverside offers five tour options: two are family-friendly; three are creepier: Spellbound Night- Rated G; Skull Walk- Rated G; Dark Dreams- PG-13; Blood Springs Road- PG-13; Black Shadows- PG-13.

Note: This is a rain-or-shine event.

The Haunted Diary: Dark Carnival

Location: 603 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90004

Dates: October 26 & 31

Hours: 7-10pm

Admission: free, donations accepted

Website: Click here

Description: The Haunted Diary opens its pages for Halloween 2013, this time to an entry regarding a Dark Carnival Haunted House. Besides its walk-through maze, the home haunt also promises a death-defying sword-swallowing ventriloquist, performing nightly.

Haunted Hollywood Scavenger Hunt

Location: Hawthorne and Highland, Hollywood, CA 90028

Date & Hours:  Saturday, October 26 at 5:00pm on

Tickets: $22.00

Website: Click here

Description: Tired of the same old haunted house events? Here’s a different way to enjoy the Halloween season: go on a scavenger hunt that takes you to allegedly haunted locations in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles.

Note: This is not the same “Haunted Hollywood Scavenger Hunt” that we listed in previous years. That Scavenger Hunt was presented by Out of the Box Events, which seems to have gone out of business (their website is down, and emails sent to them bounce back).

Haunted Midnights at the Comedy Store

Location: The Comedy Store, 8433 Sunset Boulevard West Hollywood, CA 90069

Date & Hours: October 24, starting at 11pm

Tickets: $10

Phone: (323) 650-6268 for more information.

Facebook page: Click here

Description: The Comedy Store presents its fourth annual Haunted Midnights show, a combo of comedy and history, including video clips and tales of allegedly real hauntings on the premises. Besides the $10 admission price, there is a two-drink minimum. 21 and over.

Historical Cemetery Tour in Long Beach

Location: Long Beach Municipal Cemetery & Sunnyside Cemetery, 1095 E. Willow Avenue, Long Beach 90806

Date:  Saturday, October 26.

Times: Performances run continuously from 9am until 2:30pm.

Admission: $20 for general audiences; $15 for members of the Historical Society of Long Beach; $5 for students 8-18; free for anyone under 8.

Discounts: If you click through the link, you can get $3-off by printing out the card and bringing it with you.

Website: Click here

Description: The Historical Society of Long Beach conducts its 18th annual living history tour at the city’s two oldest – and conveniently adjacent – cemeteries, “where every plot has a story…and the dead do tell tales.”

Appropriate for all ages, the Historical Cemetery Tour is this is not a scary Halloween event. The 2-hour trek feature 10 stories of the lives and deaths of people from Long Beach’s past, recounted as graveside performances by actors in period costume.

Wear comfortable shoes and layered clothing (mornings are chilly but the day heats up by afternoon). A free hot-dog lunch will be served from 11:30am to 1:30pm.

Monrovia Canyon Park Haunted Hike

Location: Monrovia Community Center, 119 W. Palm Avenue Monrovia, CA 91016

Dates: October 24-26

Hours: Hikes begin at 6:15 pm each night and take place at approximately fifteen-minute intervals (6:30. 6:45, etc) until the last one at 9:15. Each hike lasts from 45 minutes to one hour.

Tickets: $20, available only at the Monrovia Community Center during regular business hours, Monday through Friday

Phone: (626) 256-8246

Website: Click here

Description: Monrovia Canyon Park resurrects its annual fundraiser, which apparently had been on hiatus a few years. We have never attended, but it sounds spooky, thanks to the outdoor setting, which will be populated by scare-actors (some with chainsaws).

The hikes take place in Monrovia Canyon. A “Ghost Bus” will take visitors from the the Library Park to the canyon and back. Parking is limited.

Night of the Living Zoo

Location: Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens, 5333 Zoo Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Date & Hours: October 25, 7:00pm to midnight

Tickets: $45 in advance and $50 at the door. GLAZA members get $5 off either purchase price.

Phone: (323) 644-4200

Webpage: Click here

Description: The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens debuts a new adults-only Halloween event for 2013: Night of the Living Zoo. Unlike their annual child-friendly Boo at the Zoo, Night of the Living Zoo promises decorations, special effects, fortunate tellers, music, and ghouls roaming the pathways. Food and drinks will be available from food trucks.

Westchester Haunted Park: House of Pain

Location: 7000 West Manchester, Los Angeles, CA 90045

Dates: October 25, 26, 30, and 31.

Hours: 7-11pm.

Tickets: $5 per entry (includes both mazes).

Web Page: Click here

Description: For over two decades, the Westchester Recreation Park has offered this annual Halloween event – which probably is a record for longevity among community center haunts.’

Halloween 2013 features two mazes, recommended for children eight and over. On October 31, from 4pm to 8pm, there will be a Halloween Kids Zone, with games, candy, a costumes contest, a bounce house, scary stories, face painting, and arts and crafts.

Still don’t see anything you like? Check out our master list of Halloween Haunts here!