NO LONGER IN OPERATION
Hollywood Gothique Says:
The block party was fun for the neighborhood, but the real attraction of this annual Halloween event was the Revenge of the Ninja maze, which used a few clever effects gags and lots of stealth appearances by ninja ghosts to create something truly special.
The Way of the Shadow Martial Arts Academy
18727 Crenshaw Boulevard, Torrance CA 90504
revengeoftheninja.com
facebook.com/RevengeoftheNinja
Status: Closed. The last time we heard from the proprietors, they were seeking a new, permanent location for their maze while continuing their annual Halloween block party. Since then, the event went dark during the 2020 pandemic, and their website is down.
Revenge of the Ninja Block Party & Maze Articles and Updates
Learn more in the Revenge of the Ninja Archive:
Revenge of the Ninja Block Party & Maze: Information
Every year, the Way of the Shadow Martial Arts Academy presents Revenge of the Ninja, a themed maze for three evenings, with a block party on Halloween night, featuring a snack shack, carnival style games, prizes, drawings, and more. What truly distinguishes this Halloween event from others in Los Angeles is the community atmosphere, which provides an invitingly convivial opportunity for neighborhood families to hang out, even after braving the terrors of the ghostly ninja assassins. All ages were welcome, but the maze was not recommended for children under 10.
The walk-through maze features a labyrinth of corridors inside the martial arts academy. The sets are mostly simple walls, but there are appropriately Asian touches like gongs and bamboo, and the ninja theme adds its own special flavor, unlike any other haunt in Los Angeles. The back story is that every October 31 the martial arts academy is haunted by spirits of Ninja slaughtered in a sneak attack, who rise from the dead to take revenge against unworthy trespassers. Thus the corridors are filled with black-clad masked assassins popping out from every corner. There are also some effectively frightening gore, including one unfortunate victim who appears to have a leg sawed off on a table. Even more amazing is scene of a live actor, vomiting blood, who appears to be a torso impaled on a bamboo pole – a truly great shock effect.
After several years of haunting, Revenge of the Ninja presented its annual Halloween block party in 2018 & 2019, without the scary maze, which was officially “on hiatus” while the owners searched for a new “permanent situation.” The block party cancelled its annual event in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the event did not return the following year.
Revenge of the Ninja Block Party & Maze: Photo Gallery
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