Best Halloween Attractions: Great Ways to Get Scared in L.A.!

For those seeking the Best Halloween Attractions in Los Angeles, we present this eclectic selection of creepy mazes, haunted hayrides, scary movies, terrifying theatrical experiences, and more.

The Best Halloween Attractions in Los Angeles can be divided into two groups. The first are what might be called “Perennials,” which have established a reputation and maintain a level of quality that makes them worth revisiting year after year. The second group are “One-Shot Wonders,” Halloween Attractions that pop up for a single year and then disappear, either because they were not profitable or because they could not secure a location; also included in this group are plays, which usually appear for only a single season.

Perennial Halloween Haunts have pages dedicated to them on our website, housing reviews, videos, and photographs spanning their careers; these will be linked below. One-Shot Wonders do not usually receive this treatment; instead, they are reviewed on the blog section of our website. You will find links to both types of events below.

Updates, Reviews & Videos includes the most recent posts about the Best Halloween Haunts in the Greater Los Angeles Area. Here you can find One-Shot Wonders that never lasted long enough to enter our permanent listings.
Categories itemizes the different kinds of Best Halloween Haunts in Los Angeles, followed by links in each category.

Note: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the Best Halloween Attractions were closed in 2020, so our assessments are based on their work in previous years. We will update our selections as we visit Halloween 2021 events.

Best Halloween Attractions: Updates, Reviews & Videos

Find reviews and videos of our favorite Los Angeles haunts and one-shot wonders in our archive of Halloween Recommendations.

Best Halloween Attractions: Categories

The Best Halloween Attractions come in various forms, and we try to avoid comparing rotten apples to bloody oranges. To help haunt-seekers navigate the labyrinth of choices, we have divided our favorite Halloween events and attractions into categories, according to where they are normally listed on our website:

We have selected most of these events as the Best Halloween Attractions in Los Angeles, because they maintain consistently excellent quality from year to year, frequently earning nominations and wins in our annual Halloween Haunt Awards. Consequently, you will find few if any one-off events, such as plays or exhibitions that ran during only a single season; those can be found by scrolling through Updates, Reviews & Videos above. Nor will you find attractions on hiatus or defunct below – those are listed in the Hollywood Gothique Hall of Fame or Graveyard of Halloween Haunts.

Click the links below to get more information on each Halloween attraction.

Best Halloween Attractions: Theme Parks

Halloween Theme Parks are year-round venues refashioned for the scary season, typically offering rides, shows, and other entertainment besides walk-through mazes.

The quality of these events remains fairly consistent from year to year, so you can get a good sense of what to expect by checking out these two articles, which compare the major theme park Halloween events in the Greater Los Angeles area:

Unfortunately, one of our favorite theme park-type haunts did not survive the 2020 pandemic: Dark Harbor is no more, since the Queen Mary is closed till further notice for repairs. However, a new event is taking on the surrounding grounds, Shaqtoberfest.

Below are listed the three Halloween Theme Park Attractions that are consistently worth seeing every October.

Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood

2022 Dates: Select nights from September 8 through October 31. Updates: This Halloween's attractions include The Weekend: After Hours Nightmare, Halloween, The Horrors of Blumhouse, Universal Monsters: Legends Collide, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, La Llorona: The Weeping Woman, Scarecrow: The Reaping, Universal Horror Hotel, and The Terror Tram (featuring ...
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Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest

2022 Dates & Hours: Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays from September 10 through October 30, plus Halloween Night, with scary activities from dusk till closing time. New this Halloween: There is a new maze titled Truth or Dare, plus two new scare zones, Devil's Triangle and CarnivHELL. Also new is Spirits ...
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Knott’s Berry Farm Halloween Haunt

2022 Dates: Thursdays through Sundays, from September 22 to October 30, plus Halloween Night. Tickets: General admission is $109 at the gate, with discounts for advance purchases starting $54 for season pass holders and $59 for non-pass holders. A Fright & Fast Lane pass is available for an additional cost ...
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Best Halloween Attractions: Festivals & Fun

Halloween Festivities is a broad category, including block parties, street scenes, pub crawls, and immersive experiences. These events do not get as much attention as the scary haunted houses, but many are worth of ranking among the Best Halloween Attractions in Los Angeles.

Dia De Los Muertos Festival

2022 Date & Hours: October 29. Dia De Los Muertos runs 9am-3pm, Noche de los Muertos 5pm-midnight. Update: Hollywood Forever's annual Day of the Dead celebration returns with a new theme, MAYAHUEL – THE MAGUEY GODDES. Like last year, there will be separately ticketed daytime and nighttime versions of the event, Dia ...
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Haunt O’ Ween L.A.

2022 Dates: nightly from September 30 to October 31 Hours: Admission is in half-hour timed blocks from 4pm to 9pm. Tickets: $40 for General Admission, $65 for VIP. There is a Group Bundle general admission discount of $36 per person for parties of 10 or more. Haunt O' Ween L.A. Articles Read ...
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Haunted Little Tokyo

Block Party Dates & Hours: Saturday, October 29, 6pm-midnight. Location: Check in at Brunswig Square (360 E. 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012) to learn the secret location in Little Tokyo. Age Restriction: 21 and over. Haunted Little Tokyo's annual Block Party invites ghosts and ghouls to explore the historic ...
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Best Halloween Attractions: Museums, Galleries & Tours

Halloween Museums, Galleries, and Tours have some advantage over the other Best Halloween Attractions in Los Angeles: they are well-suited to timed entry, which can keep crowd levels low and allow for the social distancing necessary during a pandemic.

Haunted Haddonfield

Halloween 2022 Update: SugarMynt's 8th annual Halloween exhibition is title “Welcome to Haddonfield 8: You Can’t Kill the Boogeyman.” Once again, the emphasis is on artwork and photographs from John Carpenter's Halloween and its progeny, along with other seasonal topics. You Can’t Kill the Boogeyman Dates & Hours: Opening night ...
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Icons of Darkness Exhibition

2022 Status: The engagement remains open, with no fixed closing date. Tickets are sold up to a month in advance. Because the available space is limited, exhibits are rotated in and out over time, meaning you may see something different if you go back months later. The proprietors are looking ...
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Best Halloween Attractions: Haunted Houses, Mazes & Rides

Halloween Mazes and Rides typically “pop up” in October, running for a few weeks. These stand-alone events may feature only a single attraction, though some are more like mini-theme parks, with multiple mazes and rides.

All Saints Lunatic Asylum

2022 Dates: After cancelling its 2020 haunts due to Covid-19, All Saints Lunatic Asylum haunted house is back, operating on these dates: Valentine's Day, Feburary 11-12 Easter, April 8-9 Friday the 13th, May 13 Halloween: Fridays & Saturdays in October Christmas at the Asylum: December 9-11 Hours: 7-10pm. Tickets: $13 ...
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Dark Harvest Haunted Corn Maze

2022 Dates: October 7-9, -14-16, 20-23, 27-31. Hours: 7-11pm on Fridays & Saturdays, 7-10pm on Thursdays & Sundays. Update: This Halloween Dark Harvest returns this its former location in Anaheim and teams up with Pirate's Cave Productions to present Shady Pines Asylum. The Anaheim location, a vacant lot sometimes used as ...
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Haunted Rose

2022 Dates & Hours: October 28-30, 6-11pm. No show on Monday, October 31. Update: The Haunted Rose returns to the Whittier Historical Society. Titled Beyond the Gates of Turnbull, this Halloween's presentation focuses on the The Hidden Hills Asylum, where vile experiments were performed on the criminally insane until a fire ...
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House of Spirits: A Haunted Cocktail Soirée

2022 Dates: October 15-16, 20-23, 27-31. Hours: Entry is in two-hour timed slots: 6:30pm & 9:15pm on Thursdays & Fridays; 4:30pm, 6:450pm & 9:30pm on Saturdays; 6pm & 8:45pm on Sundays with an additional 3:15pm show on October 30; and 6:15pm & 9pm on Halloween Night. Update: House of Spirits: A ...
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Los Angeles Haunted Hayride

2022 Dates: September 23-24, 30, October 1-2, 6-9, 12-16, 19-31. Hours: Timed entry in 15-minute intervals from 7pm to 10:15pm most nights, earlier and later on weekends. Tickets: $29.99 for one-time access to Hayride general admission, $39.99 for one-time access to Hayride and Mazes general admission, $54.99 for one-time VIP access ...
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Reign of Terror Haunted House

2022 Dates: Halloween: Fridays & Saturdays - September 24 to November 5, plus October 23, 27, 30 & 31. Kid-friendly Lights-On event noon-3pm on October 15. Lights Out on November 5. Ho Ho Ho Horror: December 9-10. Hours: 7-11pm on Fridays & Saturdays; 7-10pm on other nights, including Halloween. Update: ...
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Best Halloween Attractions: Theatre

Halloween Theatre, particularly immersive/interactive productions, were hard-hit by the 2020 pandemic. Fortunately, most are coming back for Halloween 2021.

Delusion: Interactive Theatre

2022 Dates: Thursday-through-Sundays in starting September 15 and running through November 20, with additional shows on Wednesdays in October. No show scheduled for Halloween Night. Update: Delusion returns with Valley of Hollows, a follow-up to last Halloween's Reaper's Remorse, this time set in the 1970s and focusing on a deadly cult. Tickets: Start ...
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Covid Halloween: Drama After Dark Interview

Drama After Dark: A Night of the Macabre

2022 Status: On hiatus due to inability to secure a suitable location. Drama After Dark Articles Discover more in the Drama After Dark Archive: History of Drama After Dark: A Night of the Macabre with Poe and Gorey In 2003, Drama After Dark began offering this series of half-hour vignettes, ...
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Urban Death: Tour of Terror

2022 Dates & Hours: Adult Show: Fridays & Saturdays from September 30 to October 29, plus Sunday & Monday, October 30-31. 8pm, 9pm, 10pm, 10:45pm, 11:30pm. All Ages Show: October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29-31 at 7pm. Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at the door Note: Advertisements have been disabled on ...
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Best Halloween Attractions: Home Haunts

Halloween Home Haunts, though non-profit amateur events, often showcase professional quality work that ranks them among the Best Halloween Attractions in Los Angeles. Distinctions are fluid, but “yard haunts” are typically decorated displays; “home haunts” and “garage haunts” often include walk-through mazes with actors in costume, for a stronger scare experience. After a turn toward front yard displays during the 2020 pandemic, we expect a return toward walk-through mazes this Halloween. These amateur efforts usually operate only for a few days at the end of October.

Beware The Dark Realm

2022 Update: This Halloween, Beware the Dark Realm joins forces with fellow home haunts Restless Souls Manor and The Farm Haunt to create Bones Gulch, a non-profit haunt benefiting the L.A. Sheriffs Department's Sheriff's Museum. For more information visit bonesgulch.com. Dates & Hours: October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29-30, 6-10pm ...
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Gothic Hills Cemetery

2022 Dates: October 15-31 6-10pm nightly. After first indicating that they would resurrect their walkthrough and later announcing they would remain dark, Gothic Hills instead presents another kid-safe yard display this Halloween. Gothic Hills Cemetery Articles Discover more in the Gothic Hills Archive: Gothic Hills Cemetery History When located in ...
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Haunt at Hellizondo

2022 Dates & Hours: October 29-31, 7-10pm. Update: The Haunt at Hellizondo resurrects Lost Sprits of the Bayou, a prohibition speakeasy theme previously seen at its original location in Simi Valley. Haunt at Hellizondo Articles Discover more in the Hellizondo archive: The Haunt at Hellizondo History After several seasons as ...
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Haunted Shack Home Haunt

2022 Dates & Hours: October 28, 29, 31, 7-10pm. Admission & Parking: Free, but donations accepted The Haunted Shack Articles Learn more in the Haunted Shack Archive: The Haunted Shack Info In operation since 1997, this amateur haunted house has grown into an effects-filled, 1500-square-foot walk-through maze that takes 6-8 minutes ...
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Holiday Fantasies: Pirates of the Caribbean 2019

Holiday Fantasies Come To Life

2022 Dates: Opens October 10 and continues through November 3. Admission: Free Holiday Fantasies Come to Life: Overview Holiday Fantasies Come To Life is, as the name suggests, not limited to Halloween. Rather, proprietors Tina Schaefer and Arnulfo Padilla decorate their home for both October and December, utilizing a different ...
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Reichland Asylum Home Haunt

2022 Dates & Hours: October 13-31, 7-10pm. Updates: This Halloween Reichland Asylum is billing its presentation as "Crawford Gardens," an immersive display featuring new construction, including an expanded facade. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. Reichland Asylum Information Reichland offers a lengthy walk-through, which begins with new "patients" being ...
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Rotten Apple 907

2022 Dates & Hours: Octorber 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, 7-10pm. Update: This year’s haunt takes visitors into the Amazon jungle. Admission: Free, but donations are accepted to benefit the Volunteers of Burbank Animal Shelter. Rotten Apple 907 Haunts Articles Check out articles from our Rotten Apple Archive: Rotten Apple 907 ...
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Spooky Hollows Home Haunt

2022 Dates: October 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, 31. The display is viewable during the final weeks of October (some effects may not be running). Full show runs on the final two weekends (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), plus Halloween Night. Update: This Halloween, Spooky Hollows presents a new themed sidewalk ...
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Best Halloween Attractions: Cinema

Halloween Cinema was a bit of a split decision during the 2020 pandemic, when drive-ins replaced indoor seating as the safe way to enjoy a good horror movie. Outdoor events such as Halloween. Street Food Cinema should be back in action for Halloween 2021, along with other events that had to cancel last year, such as the annual Halloween Film with Organ at Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Montalban’s Roofstop Screams.

Still can’t find what you want? Time Out lists some of the Best Halloween Attractions in Los Angeles.