Halloween Haunt Awards 2016: The Winners

As you can see from the photo above, the Halloween Haunt Awards After-Party is typically honored more in the breach than the observance.

For easy reference, here is a complete list of the 2016 Halloween Haunt Award winners. In each category, the winner is at top, followed by a list of nominees (if any). Explanations and praise for the selections can be found in the articles linked at the bottom.

• Note on Eligibility: Haunts that previously won in a category are not eligible to win in the same category unless they have been substantially revised. They are eligible to win in other categories.

Best Non-Haunt Halloween Event

Winner: Santa Monica Zombie Crawl

Nominees:

• Halloween & Mourning Tours at Heritage Square Museum
• Long Beach Zombie Fest
• Paramount After Dark Tour at Paramount Studios

Best Stage Presentation/Play

Winner: The Turn of the Screw at Actors Co-op Crossley Theatre

Nominees:

• Dracula: Blood Before Dawn at the Loft Ensemble
• Urban Death: Tour of Terror at Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre

Best Play in Non-Theatrical Setting

Winner: Delusion, His Crimson Queen

Nominees:

• Drama After Dark
• The Wicked Lit Halloween Theatre Festival

Best Short Play/Performance

Winner: The Tell Tale Heart at Drama After Dark

Nominee:

• From Beyond at Wicked Lit

Best Home Haunt Yard Display

Winner: The House at Haunted Hill

Nominees:

• Boot Hill
• Coffinwood Cemetery
• The Haunt with No Name Yet
• Haunted by Memories Manor
• Haunted Groundz

Note: previous winner Boney Island (2014) not eligible this year.

Best Amateur Haunted House Walk-Through

Winner: Rotten Apple 907’s Not So Enchanted Forest

Nominees:

• Beware the Dark Realm
• Burbank Haunted Adventure: The Uncanny
• The Braeburn Haunt
• Gothic Hills Cemetery
• Higgins Manor
• Pumkin Jack’s Haunted House
• Restless Souls Manor
• Spooky Hollows

Note: previous winner The Backwoods Maze (2013) not eligible this year.

Best Scare Zone

Winner: The Purge, Gauntlet of Fear at Halloween Horror Nights

Nominee:

• The Hollows at Knotts Scary Farm

Best Monster

Winner: Scary Mary at Dark Harbor

Nominees:

• Captain Howdy at Halloween Horror Nights
• The Dragon at Rotten Apple 907
• The Headless Horseman at Knotts Scary Farm
• Krampus at Halloween Horror Nights
• The Tree Monster at Spooky Hollows

Best Addition to an Existing Haunt

Winner: Infected at the Reign of Terror Haunted House

• No Nominees

Honorable Mention

Winner: Skeleton Key Rooms at Knotts Scary Farm

• No Nominees

Best Professional Display, Ride, or Simulation

Winner: FearVR

• No Nominees

Best Professional Haunted House Walk-Through

Winner: Shadowlands at Knotts Scary Farm

Nominees:

• Aftermath 2 at Fright Fest
• The Exorcist at Halloween Horror Nights
• Lullaby at Dark Harbor
• Motel 6 Feet Under
• Paranormal Inc. at Knotts Scary Farm
• Sinister Pointe
• The Walking Dead at Halloween Horror Nights

Note: previous winner Reign of Terror (2013) not eligible this year.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Winner: The Hallowed Haunting Grounds

• No Nominees

Best Halloween Theme Park

Winner: None

Nominees:

• Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood
• Knotts Berry Farm Halloween Haunt
• Queen Mary Dark Harbor
• Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest

Best Halloween Attraction of 2016

Winner: Reign of Terror Haunted House (photo at top)