Halloween 2014: One-Night-Only Events on October 31
Since Halloween has turned into a season – and a rather lengthy season at that, running nearly two months – it is easy to forget that the holiday began as a one-night event taking place on October 31, starting at dusk, when costumed children would wander their local streets, blackmailing neighbors with threats of tricks if treats were not forthcoming.
Despite the weeks of Halloween theme park attractions, haunted houses, cemetery tours, horror film festivals, and scary plays, the tradition of trick-or-treating continues, and many home haunts operate only on Halloween Night. There are also many costume parties and other seasonal events that take place only on October 31.
With that in mind, Hollywood Gothique offers this list of Halloween-Night-Only Events in Los Angeles for October 31, 2014. Many other attractions will continue through the first weekend of November, and even beyond; these are the ones you must visit tonight, or not at all.
BALIAN MANSION OF HALLOWEEN
Location: 1640 Braeburn Road, Altadena
Description:
Scaring neighbor hood since 2000, this home haunt reportedly draws a crowd of 3,500 trick-or-treaters every October 31. An article at Altadenablog.com describes “dead bodies, zombies, and monsters…creatures, inflatable displays, doorways, coffins, and even a real hearse,” along with a walk-through “tunnel of darkness.” Opinions seem to vary on whether the Balian Mansion of Halloween is too intense for youngsters: some parents describe it as R-rated, others as a PG-13.
Open Dusk until 10pm.
BUTLER’S AREA 52
Location: 3040 Moonstone Avenue, Simi Valley, CA 93065
Description:
Though we have never been to this home haunt, the proprietor informs us that, for Halloween 2014, Butler’s Zombie Estate has been transformed into Area 52. Martians have crashed, and more are on the way; can the army stop them? The walk-through maze, featuring animatronics and actors, leans toward “the scary side of the spectrum.”
Open Dusk till 10pm
CURSE OF THE DEVIL SWAMP
Location: 775 South Fircroft Avenue, Covina, California
Website: Click here
Description:
The Curse of the Devil Swamp Haunted Attraction materializes on Halloween Night to haunt neighborhood trick-or-treaters. Hollywood Gothique has never made the trek out to Covina for this amateur yard haunt; however, theirs was the best mini-maze we sampled at this year’s ScareLA Halloween convention. As the name suggests, Curse of the Devil Swamp depicts a journey through a haunted swamp; if the full-scale version lives up to the sample we experienced, this one is worth the trip.
Admission is free, but donations are accepted.
Hours are from 7pm to 11pm on October 31.
ELI ROTH’S HALLOWEEN ALL NIGHT MARATHON
Location: The New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Link out: Click here
Description:
Quentin Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema presents a trilogy of films directed by Eli Roth: CABIN FEVER, HOSTEL, and HOSTEL II. Also on the bill are some surprises and films selected by Roth himself, who will host the evening.
Starts at 7:30pm
EVIL DEAD 2 AT ARCLIGHT HOLLYWOOD
Location: The Arclight Hollywood, 6360 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood CA
Link out: Click here
Description:
Arclight Cinemas wraps up its month-long series of horror film screenings with Sam Raimi’s 1987 gorefest, which details the trials and tribulations of a Ash (Bruce Campbell) who makes the mistake of reading a passage from an old book that resurrects the titular malefactors.
Unlike its predecessor, which went straight for the jugular – and just about any other vulnerable spot – The Evil Dead 2 aims more for the funny bone, sending the geysers of blood so far over the top that you have to scream – with laughter.
Film screens at 11:30pm
FOREST OF MIRRORS
Location: 6124 Lederer Ave, Woodland Hills, CA 91367-1329
Website: www.forestofmirrors.com
Description:
Located in a house once owned by silent movie comedian Buster Keaton, this Halloween yard haunt features a cemetery that seems endlessly extended thanks to strategic use of mirrors. That may not terribly terrifying when you read it, but in person the illusion is startling and remarkable.
We have not heard a direct confirmation from the proprietor of the Forest of Mirrors, but we have been told second-hand that the haunt will be open as usual, on Halloween night from 6pm until 10:30pm.
HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL
Location: McCambridge Recreation Center, 1515 North Glenoaks Boulevard, Burbank
Link out: Click here
Description:
The city of Burbank presents its annual Halloween Carnival, intended exclusively for elementary school children. There will be games, candy, and prizes.
Admission is free.
The event takes place on Halloween night from 6:30pm to 8:30pm.
HALLOWEEN HOP
Location: Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA, 90403
Link out: Click here
Description: Montana Avenue Merchants Association presents its annual Halloween Hop, with fun for kids of all ages! Costumed trick-or-treaters are invited to safely stroll Montana from 6th to 17th Streets, where numerous merchants will offer candy and other treats.
Email montana.santamonica@gmail.com for more information.
The event takes place on Halloween evening from 3pm to 6pm.
HALLOWEEN PARTY FOR DOWNTOWN L.A. KIDS
Location: Grand Hope Park at FIDM, South Hope Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015
Link out: Click here
Description: The Downtown Center Business Improvement District of Los Angeles presents its 7th annual Halloween Party for Downtown L.A. Kids. Family living in the area are invited to bring their children out for a night of fun and games, including trick-or-treat doors; inflatable bounce house; video game truck; fun face painting and crafts; balloon animals and jugglers; marionettes; and hot dogs, cotton candy & popcorn.
Costumes are required for children and suggested for adults. Remember to bring a candy bucket or bag!
Tickets are $5 in advance, $8 at the door. Children under 2 are free.
The Halloween Party for Downtown L.A. Kids is intended for children who live in the following Los Angeles ZIP Codes: 90012, 90013, 90014, 90015, 90017, 90021, and 90071.
The party runs from 5pm to 8pm on Halloween Night.
HART STREET HAUNT – Neighborhood Yard Haunt
Location: 19521 Hart St. in Reseda
DESCRIPTION:
This yard haunt is situated in a Los Angeles neighborhood overflowing with Halloween spirit; many houses are decorated, and the sidewalks overflow with trick-or-treaters. The yard itself is loaded with mannequins of all shapes and sizes, many of them showing mechanical motions.
There is no walk-through maze, but you do have to maneuver along a walkway between some fences to get to the front door for candy; the escape route takes you past a upright coffin that – surprise! – turns out to be occupied.
Although the display is up for most of October, live monsters haunt the yard on Halloween Night only, starting at dusk and lasting as long as trick-or-treaters show up.
HAUNTED HOTEL BASH
Location: Ace Hotel and Theatre, 929 S Broadway, Los Angeles, California 90015
Link out: Click here
Description:
Cinespia, FYF and Ace present their first Halloween bash at the allegedly haunted 1920s movie palace. The event includes a screening of a restored print of John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN, followed by live entertainment on stage, then a costume dance party begins at midnight. Guests are invited to visit the “Haunted Hallway” upstairs and view the theatre’s ghostly past in a Halloween experience designed by Cinespia.
Takes place Halloween Nigh at 8pm
HAUNTED HOUSE ON PUNTA DEL ESTE STREET
Location: 2125 Punta Del Este St. in Hacienda Heights, CA
Description:
Haunting since 2002, this amateur effort in the Hacienda Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles promises a bigger and scarier Halloween every year. Starting in the front yard, a walk-through labyrinth wraps around the house, through the garage, and then an additional maze is built on the end.
The scares are reportedly too intense for younger children; however, if a child enters, the monsters are alerted on a radio to tone down their act.
Runs on Halloween Night from 6-10pm
A HAUNTING IN SYLMAR
Location: 12929 Aztec St., Sylmar, CA 91342
Description: Here is a new addition to the Hollywood Gothique’s list of Halloween Home Haunts: A Haunting in Sylmar. We have never visited, but the photos look intriguing, and the proprietor offers this description:
“A large number of intricately-carved jack-o-lanterns (sometimes 20-plus) mixed in with a graveyard scene, which is decorated with skeletons, masks, tombstones, lighting, mist, and electronics. Music plays in the background. Although atmospheric and generally spooky, it is family friendly. There have been instances where really, really young kids have run off crying, although most are fascinated, and their parents love it. We also give out full-sized candy bars rather than the ‘fun size’ candies. Although the family members wear costumes, there aren’t any actors in makeup or masks. The decorations are confined to the front yard and a hillside on our property.”
Runs on Halloween Night from sunset until 10pm.
Location: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Link out: Click here
Description:
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art invites you to dress as a work of art for their 11th-annual Costume Ball: The Living Museum. Entertainment includes music, dancing, and a costume contest judged by Hollywood costume designers. Prizes include $200 of costume rental credit at Western Costume, a year of LACMA membership, and more. Afterward, take a late-night tour of LACMA’s exhibits, including The Haunted Screens: German Cinema in the 1920s. Cash bars and food will be available until 1 am.
Call 323 857-6010 for tickets, or reserve online. Prices area:
- $60 LACMA Muse members
- $80 LACMA members
- $100 General Admission
The LACMA Costume Ball is a 21-and-over event.
Starts at 9pm on Halloween Night.
LITTLE MONSTERS BALL
Location: The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway Long Beach, CA 90802 Queen Mary
Website: Click here
Description:
For Halloween 2014, the Queen Mary offers the 3rd annual Little Monsters Ball, including a costume contes. Activities include:
Trick-or-Treating: Let your kids roam through Dark Harbor Village for fun and safe trick-or-treating!
Face Painting: Turn your little angel into a frightful ghoul for the evening!
Special Entertainment: Live music that is fun and appropriate for the entire family.
Kid’s Costume Contest: Bring the little ones dressed in their Halloween costumes and compete for terrific prizes! Each contestant must bring in the costume entry form to participate.
The Little Monsters Ball is a separate admission from the Queen Mary Dark Harbor. Tickets are $10 for adults and children over 11. Children under 11 and under are free with a paying adult, but you need to reserve tickets ahead of time.
Takes place on October 31, from 4pm to 6pm.
THE NIGHTMARE IN WHITING WOODS
Location: 413 Whiting Woods, Glendale, 91028
Facebook Page: click here
Note: The Facebook Page is for a realty company owned by the person who puts on the haunt; you may find some limited information there. There is also a Facebook event page for 2014.
Description:
This amateur effort has been haunting since 2002, sometimes at different locations. They launched a Kickstarted campaign to upgrade their props and effects for 2013 but fell short of their goal. Fortunately, the haunt took place anyway, continuing into 2014.
Run on Halloween Night, from 6-11:30pm.
NOSFERATU AT WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
Location: Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Phone: (323) 850-2000
Link out: Click here
Description:
Clark Wilson performs a live accompaniment for the 1922 silent film NOSFERATU, directed by F.W. Murnau and based on Bram Stoker’s DRACULA.
The film screens at 8pm on Halloween night.
OLD PASADENA HALLOWEEN CELEBRATION & SCREENING OF MAD MONSTER PARTY
Location: 41 Hugus Alley, Old Pasadena, CA
Link out: Click here
Description:
This October, Old Town Pasadena cuts back from its usual two-day celebration of Halloween to a single night of trick-or-treating on October 31. Starting at 5pm, families are invited to bring their costumed kiddies and canines to One Colorado for a family portrait and store-to-store Trick-or-Treating, receiving a variety of treats from participating merchants.
There is also a screening of a family-friendly spook show, the 1967 monster mash-up, Mad Monster Party, featuring stop-motion versions all of your favorite classic monsters.
Trick-or-treating runs from 5pm until 8pm. Film screens at 7:30pm.
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW at the Nuart
Location: The Nuart Theatre, 11272 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Los Angeles, CA 90025
Link out: Click here
Description:
As part of its Cine Insomnia series of midnight movies, the Nuart screens the long-running cult film on Friday, October 31.
ZOMBIE CRAWL & WOK-ING DEAD PARTY
Locations: Santa Monica Pier; Wokcano, 1415 5th Street in Santa Monica
Link out: Click here
Description:
Zombies take over Santa Monica for two terrifying events on Halloween Night: the 2nd Annual Zombie Crawl and the Wok-ing Dead 2 Halloween Party.
The Zombie Crawl offers a pub crawl for the living dead from Santa Monica Pier to 5th Street, stopping at participating locations along the way. For $15 ($12 in advance) participants get a wristband entitling them to drink special at five local bars. Makeup artists will be on hand to transform participants, who will be required to act like zombies (arms extended, dragging a leg and moaning).
The Wok-ing Dead Halloween Party offers DJ music, food and drink specials, a costume contest, and other seasonal amusements at Wokano on 5th Street. A separate ticket is required: Admission is $15 in advance and $20 at the door; VIP front-of-the-line tickets are an extra $5.
These events run from 7pm until 2am on Halloween Night. Zombie Crawl begins at 7pm (check in at 6:30pm). Wok-ing Dead 2 Halloween Party starts at 8pm.
THE WESTERN HOUSE OF DARKNESS
Location: 2821 S. Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90018
Facebook Page: Click here
Description:
This amateur Halloween yard haunt – which has been in operation several years – features scary decorations with a few animatronics, music and sound effects.
Decorations are usually on display by mid-October. On Halloween Night, the owners throw a neighborhood potluck party, offer treats for the local kids, and dress in costume to deliver a scare or two.
The front yard display has been up for weeks, but the monster will be haunting on Halloween Night only, 7pm until…?
