Halloween Odyssey 2018: Toluca Lake, Van Nuys & Northridge

Okay so we went a little crazy this weekend. We compiled a list and ultimately through a team effort; we were able to get through to everything before closing. While Webmaster Steve was busy covering a once a year only event, Warren was able to fill in and hit some in the valley. Here were the destinations from 10/27/18 in order:

Toluca Lake Pumpkin Patch
10601 Riverside Drive, North Hollywood, CA 91602
10am to 9pm

This Pumpkin Patch has been here for as long as we’ve remembered. Though we don’t generally mention Pumpkin Patches and we’ve been here a couple of times before; we figured we added this to the route since it was near where we were headed anyway. They offer a petting zoo, pumpkins of all shapes and variations, a haunted maze with a surcharge, and a neat art gallery in the back! For more info: http://tolucalake-pumpkins-christmastrees.com/

Van Nuys Yard Haunt: Spooky Hollows
16418 Gilmore Street, Van Nuys, CA
Oct 26-28, 31, 7-11p

It was a cold and chilly night, an ominous soundtrack played in the background as the Gravedigger guided us through the foggy cemetery with the infamous graveyard with the Bob Kortizke mausoleum and the skeleton rider on his skeleton horse. He lead us toward an opening in the fence before disappearing into the mist. We approach a private swamp where a woman asked what we were doing there before introducing us to her hungry pet gators and showing us the end of result of what happens if we try to feed them; she pointed to her husband who is reduced to rotted skeletal remains.

We then followed her into a sewer set which had strange markings and an occult figure on the walls. A scare actress counted the number of new friends she has, which is reflected by the party in your group plus one. That plus one? It was a monster that we did not expect or see coming. She let us through to meet the rest of her friends.

We passed by a few impressive electronic props and animatronics such as: piranas swimming, running water, a skeleton popping up from inside a toxic bin,and then inside a greenhouse set a little Audrey plant from “Rocky Horror Picture Show” before encounter another pop-up scare actor. We survived the walkthrough and parted with a sight of the Spooky Hollows pumpkin display!

Northridge Yard Haunt: Steamtown Gotham
18717 Schoenborn Street, Northridge, CA
Oct. 27, 31, 6-10p

We missed last year’s theme of Steampunk Gotham but we made it for this years’ Steamtown Gotham theme. The yard display has a mini walkthrough with an electronic prop scare. As an avid fan of Batman, this was on our must-see list. The proprieter, who was dressed up as a steampunk Batman of the future has told us that people did not quite understand that Steampunk Gotham hybrid so he decided to call this one Steamtown. Guests enter a little makeshift Gotham town in an alternate universe: equipped with a clock tower, a garage titled Gotham Garage, the Joker’s Depot, a Catwoman prop, and of course the Arkham Asylum. This set reminds us of the old Batman stunt show from Six Flags; it was a nice little nostalgic throwback. On Halloween night, you may receive a treat from prisoners inside Arkham Asylum; so add this to your route