Hollywood Gothique
The Vault

Halloween in Hollywood, featuring Yours Truly

Here’s an interesting tidbit: a year ago, Hollywood Gothique was interviewed by a reporter for a German wire service on the subject of Halloween in Los Angeles. Since the article was offered for syndication through the service, there was no telling which, if any, outlets would actually publish it, and I never heard back from the reporter, Valerie Hamilton, about its ultimate fate. Well, it turns out that the article appeared in the Bangkok Post, under the title “Halloween in Hollywood; Oscar Hopefuls.”

Though only a few snippets from me appear in the text, I rather give myself credit for the “Oscar Hopefuls” part of the title. Hamilton’s initial thesis was that Halloween was a big deal in Hollywood because of all the professional makeup and special effects technicians working in horror movies; I steered her toward the idea that many of the best home haunts were the work of aspiring talents hoping to break into the industry. Though that quote didn’t make the final cut, the article does include a good example of what I was talking about:

“Non-professionals get in on the game too, constructing elaborate haunts that at times have opened doors to the film industry. The towering ghostly pirate ship artist Duane Aamot built around his bungalow one year drew 10,000 visitors, and a job offer from a prestigious Hollywood film school teaching set design to aspiring filmmakers.”

Boney Island and The House at Haunted Hill also get mentioned, along with costume parties thrown by Kate Hudson and Heidi Klum. Read the entire article here.

Steve Biodrowski, Administrator

A graduate of USC film school, Steve Biodrowski has worked as a film critic, journalist, and editor at Movieline, Premiere, Le Cinephage, The Dark Side., Cinefantastique magazine, Fandom.com, and Cinescape Online. He is currently Managing Editor of Cinefantastique Online and owner-operator of Hollywood Gothique.