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Photo Galleries: West Valley Yard Haunts

Halloween yard displays & shows in Woodland Hills, Tarzana, Northridge, Van Nuys: Factory Defect, Welcome Foolish Mortals, Steamtown Gotham, Haunt with No Name Yet & House at Haunted Hill

The West Valley officially includes Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Chatsworth, Reseda, Tarzana, Warner Center, West Hills, Winnetka, and Woodland Hills. For our purposes, however, we are including any San Fernando Valley yard haunts west of the San Diego Freeway.

Consequently, the following list includes some Halloween home haunts from Northridge and Van Nuys. For the most part, we have tried to organize them by geographical proximity, many of these haunts have appeared in previous Halloween Haunt Odyssey posts, we will begin by highlighting some first encounters…

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West San Fernando Valley Halloween Yard Haunts: First Encounters

Our first pair of yard haunts, which we had never before encountered, were located in Van Nuys, a neighborhood usually designated as part of the central San Fernando Valley; however, these two addresses are located west of the 405 Freeway. We will cover other Van Nuys yard haunts in a subsequent post.


Factory Defect
Halloween Yard Display
7057 Lasaine Avenue, Van Nuys, 91406

Factory Defect offered a yard display with lots of eclectic decorations: skeletons, maniacs, corpses, monsters, mad scientists. There was no a specific theme, but there was a lot of creepy ambiance to enjoy. It was available nightly for the last third of October, so if you have a chance next year, check it out on a weekday to stay in the Halloween spirit.

-Capsule Comment by Marie Deloups


Welcome Foolish Mortals
Halloween Yard Display
7132 Forbes Ave, Van Nuys, 91406

Welcome Foolish Mortals presented a small haunt that stuck to it’s enticing theme very well. If you love Disney’s Haunted Mansion this is a destination you won’t want to miss. If it manifests again next year, be sure to get a selfie with the hitchhiking ghosts. With it’s very central location, it should be easy to add this short stop to your own Halloween Yard Haunt Odyssey.

-Capsule Comment by Marie Deloups

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West San Fernando Valley Yard Haunts 2019: Northridge

Northwest of Van Nuys is Northridge, where we revisited a yard haunt we first encountered last Halloween.


Steamtown Gotham
Halloween Yard Display
18717 Schoenborn Street, Northridge

As you can probably infer from the name, Steamtown Gotham presented a steampunk version of Batman’s home town, complete with a bat-signal and an imposing facade for Arkham Asylum. Though mostly a hard display, the set pieces formed a short path past one or two surprises that delivered mild scares to the unwary.

 

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West San Fernando Valley Yard Haunts 2019: Tarzana

Southwest of Northridge is Tarzana, home of a venerable favorite…


The Haunt…With No Name Yet
Halloween Yard Display
19351 Hatteras Street, Tarzana
hauntwithnoname.com

The Haunt with No Name…Yet changes incrementally from one Halloween to the next, but there are so many nice touches hiding in the shadows that it is easy to notice something you overlooked before, like the little Ghost Cat who appears and disappears, accompanied by an ethereal “Meow!” As we have mentioned before, the atmosphere is low-key, but as sinister as some of the set pieces are, the overall impact is strangely welcoming – less like a haunted house and more like a fascinating, mystical realm that has revealed itself on this special occasion.

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West San Fernando Valley Yard Haunts 2019: Woodland Hills

Our final West San Fernando Valley yard haunt for Halloween 2019 had been on hiatus last year…


The House at Haunted Hill
Haunted Halloween Show
4400 Saltillo Street, Woodland Hills
houseathauntedhill.com

A returning favorite, this home haunt/theatrical experience went dark for a season that felt like it was way too long.  Located in a community in Woodland Hills, the sloped streets may be a tight squeeze for vehicles, and one of the cross streets was blocked when we arrived. Though parking was scarce and scary, this attraction was completely worth it.

First time visitors to the House At Haunted Hill can expect much more than a static display with sound and lighting effects. This yard haunt utilized seemingly every square inch of its property. We are talking about the front yard, side yard, garage door (used as a projection screen), all visible windows, and even the hills behind the yard. Sounds unbelievable? You’ll have to visit next year and see for yourself.

With a creepy old Hollywood-esque storyline enhanced with theatrical-grade motion props, lighting effects, and sound, this experience had us walking from one yard to another to watch the next scene. The mixture of projections and motion-controlled props added some realism into the experience and definitely provided an authentically ‘haunted’ feel. The House At Haunted Hill vows to return for 2020. See you there if you dare.

-Capsule Comment by Warren So

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West San Fernando Valley Yard Haunts 2019: Conclusion
The Haunt with No Name Yet 2019
Closing the crypt on 2019’s West Valley yard haunts

Hollywood Gothique did not make it to Spooky Hollows, which presented only a yard display this Halloween instead of their usual walk-through experience. There were several other West San Ferndando Valley yard haunts that we were unable to squeeze into our schedule, including Hamlin Street Horror in Lake Balboa and several farther west in Agoura Hills: Agoura Horror Story, Old Scarriage Court, and Spider House Horrorween. Hopefully, they will return next Halloween.

Note: A previous version of this article posted on Oct 21, 2019. The text has been updated to include West San Ferndando Valley yard haunts that were subsequently visited.

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.