Hollywood Gothique
The Vault

More Los Angeles Halloween Horror events open this weekend

We certainly hope you followed our advice and got a jump on the Halloween season by attending the Knotts Berry Halloween Haunt, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood, and the Queen Mary Dark Harbor. If you failed to heed our sound suggestion, it may already be too late to catch up, because even more Halloween events are opening in Los Angeles this weekend – perhaps too many too cram into a few weeks time, especially if you have already fallen behind.

The biggest event opening this weekend is Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest. Fright Fest is not our favorite theme park Halloween attraction, but it does have one advantage over most: if you order advance tickets, the price is very reasonable, and you get to attend the park all day, not just at night, so you have plenty of time to ride the roller-coasters before walking through the haunted mazes. Unfortunately, there is an extra fee to purchase a wrist-band that grants access to the Halloween attractions. Fright Fest runs Fridays through Sundays for the rest of October. Please note: Only children under twelve are allowed to wear costumes to the event; gory costumes are not allowed. Magic Mountain only recently revealed info about what they have in store for this Halloween, so we are including the details at the bottom of this post.

We are of course excited about the return of the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, which made such an impressive debut in 2009. It is back in a brand new, much more convenient location: Griffith Park in Los Angeles instead of King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas. We only hope that the terrain provides as much opportunity for fright as we saw last year.

Forbidden Haunt is a new Halloween attraction in Los Angeles, not far from the Sherman Oaks Galleria. The debut them is Haunted Carnevil. There has been trouble securing permits, which resulted in a delayed opening for this event (originally scheduled to being late in September). Hopefully, the show will be worth the wait now that the red tape has been taken care of. Read more here.

Diner of the Dead is another new Halloween attraction, this one located in Garden Grove. Some of the crew responsible for the much-admired Sinister Pointe in Brea contributed to this one, so it should be worth catching, if you can make the drive. The diner is open for business on weekends throughout the rest of the month, till midnights on Fridays and Saturdays, till 10pm on Sundays. Read more here

Castle Dark is a family-friendly theme park that puts on “Fun by Day” and “Fright by Night” in October. The daylight festivities have been going since the first of the month. This weekend represents the beginning of the night-time scare tactics. The park (which is renamed from Castle Park during the Halloween season) is open till 8pm on weekdays, 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 9pm on Sundays. Read more here.

On October 8 at midnight, Haunted Midnights begins a series of four Friday night shows. This presentation takes you behind the scenes of the allegedly haunted Comedy Store in West Hollywood, in search of real ghosts. We will check it out and let you know. Subsequent shows are on October 17, 22, and 29.

Three stars from this weekend’s new horror movie MY SOUL TO TAKE – Nick Lashaway, Denzel Whitaker and Paulina Olszynski – will appear at Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights on Friday, October 8 at 8:45pm to sign autographs. Read more here.

If you are sick of haunted houses, how about some horror movies? Screamfest – Hollywood’s biggest horror film festival – begins this weekend and continues through to next Sunday, loaded with feature films and short subjects, all on few at the Mann Chinese 6 Theatres in the Highland Complex in Hollywood. Read more here.

The Silent Movie Theatre’s month-long series of horror movies continues with a double bill of MUTANT GIRLS and ALIENS VS. NINJAS on Friday, October 8, followed by a midnight screening of DREAM CATCHER. THE CRAFT and TEEN WITCH arrive on Saturday, and PET SEMATARY on Sunday. Read more here.

If you’re down south, you may want to check out GHOSTBUSTERS in Seal Beach’s Bay Theatre. The comedy-horror film screens on October 8, 10-11, 13. Read more here.

SIX FLAGS MAGIC MOUNTAIN FRIGHT FEST DETAILS:

HAUNTED MAZES & RIDE HAUNTINGS (additional fee/wristband required):

  • NEW! BITE II. The sexy and sinister are out for a BITE in this recently uncovered nest of the undead. Will you be the one to get bit? (Not intended for children under 10, ages 13 and under must be accompanied by an adult.)
  • LECTER’S SLAUGHTERHOUSE/ Step on these deadly docks and enter the world of the celebrity butcher taking wretched revenge on the bowels of society. (Not intended for children under 10, ages 13 and under must be accompanied by an adult.)
  • WILLOUGHBY’S HAUNTED MANSION. Horror awaits you at the Granddaddy of all Six Flags Magic Mountain mazes … there’s hair-raising terror around each nightmarish turn and dreadful screams down the long twisting hallways. (This attraction is not intended for children.)
  • JOKESTER’S HIDEOUT 3D. Sneak through an all black-light hideout and catch a 3D peek of the funny projects on which the Jokester and his crew are working. But watch your back…sideshow clowns run amuck!
  • ESCAPE OF THE ZOMBIES. The dumping ground for failed experiments, some of these creations have returned and await those that tread down the dark, unassuming path. Beware of those you may meet along the way because their “people skills” are not what is normally expected. Not recommended for children under 12.
  • WAREHOUSE 13. The ultimate test of bravery is at the toxic warehouse where employees are less than happy about seeing visitors. Be forewarned, work is mandatory and escape impossible. Not recommended for children under 12.
  • THE ASYLUM. Enter at your own risk and make sure you keep the chain link fence between you and the menacing characters. Follow the light to the end of the maze … but only until the lights go out.

SHOWS

  • NEW! HIGH SIERRA HYPNOTIST SUZY HANER & MARK YUZUIK. This amusing show stars the members of the audience. Guests who are chosen to be put “under hypnosis” will perform hysterical exploits never to be imitated “under consciousness.”
  • NEW! DR. FRIGHT’S ROC ZOMBIE. Rock and Roll on the dark side. Performances of your favorite songs by the Six Flags ghoul patrol.
  • SPOOKTACULAR STREET PARTY. Dust off your thriller moves and join the fun as these dancing ghouls travel the Park in the Fright Fest hearse.
  • HECKLES AND TWITCH SHOW. Infamously popular, these two irreverent and off-beat clowns perform their menacing dark humor in GOTHAM CITY Backlot three times a night.
  • gRAVE. Dance, trance, resurrection! This is the gRAVE everyone is dying for.
  • SIX-FOOT UNDER CLUB. Feel it in your bones! Dance to the hottest night club tunes … spun by our very own DJ.
  • DEAD & LOCAL. Celebrate Halloween as local bands revive to perform live at the Carousel Bandstand in Six Flags Plaza.

THRILLS BY NIGHT

  • NEW! X2: AREA 19. Get launched on a high-speed, heart-pounding journey through an abandoned facility taken over by aliens.
  • COLOSSUS—BACKWARDS! (A Fright Fest Exclusive). Experience one of the largest, most celebrated coasters in the world – BACKWARDS! That’s right, back by popular demand. Travel nearly one mile on this dual track wooden coaster all while sitting completely backwards!
  • SPINNING THUMPER BUMPERS. Pulsating sounds rock the craziest bumper cars into a totally new and extreme driving experience.
  • RIDES IN THE DARK! Face your fears with the lights off! Your favorite thrills in the dark on Terminator® SalvationTM: The Ride, Tatsu, BATMAN The Ride, Viper, THE RIDDLER’s Revenge and Goliath. Something so “twisted” would only happen during Fright Fest.
  • MEET RIP MORGUE. Document your Six Flags Fright Fest memories with a photo of our Willoughby’s chauffer, RIP, and his “wheels.”

SCARE ZONES:

  • NEW! CAMP GONNAGETCHA. For what lurks beyond the fog, no one knows …
  • CITY UNDER SIEGE. The insane and unruly run rampant in the streets of GOTHAM CITY Backlot. Prepare to feel really uncomfortable with these comic-like characters running amuck.
  • EXILE HILL. Banished from mortality, this hillside taunts creatures haunting the grounds as caretakers of the Willoughby estate.

ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN AND PARENTS:

  • A LOONEY TUNES TRICK OR TREAT ADVENTURE Presented by Walgreens. Kids (under 48”) and parents walk with Looney Tunes friends through Bugs Bunny World where they will find tantalizing treats along the way.
  • KID SCARYOKE. Be a star in this very rockin’ Halloween party! Sing, play or dance, either way all eyes are on you in this moment of fame.
  • LOONEY TUNES HARVEST FESTIVAL. Crafted especially for our younger guests to stretch their imaginations.
  • LOONEY TUNES CHARACTERS. Grab your camera and meet your favorite Looney Tunes characters in their Halloween costumes.