Haunts of L.A.

REVIEW: Fillmore Graves' Jack-O-Lantern Farm On its eighth year as a Halloween yard display, Fillmore Graves’ Jack-O-Lantern Farm in Sherman Oaks has been bringing Disney quality charm to an otherwise quiet, suburban street. And we literally mean Disney because the creator of this display is Scott Goddard, who is an Imagineer by day. Scott possesses a visionary talent, as exemplified by his work on one of our favorite attractions of all time: the Phantom Manor at Disneyland P...aris. Due to Covid, this display has been slightly minimized. However, there is still plenty to see in the form of robotics, illusions, and motion sensor surprises. The yard is filled with beautifully hand-crafted decorations, including numerous unique jack-o'-lanterns and wonderfully creepy graves. The focal point of this visual feast is Goddard’s signature scarecrow and windmill, which immediately capture your attention thanks to their looming height. This year there is a new addition between them - a demonic tractor whose motion sensors set off different sounds that enhance an already fun and engaging experience. Our favorite part of the display is the haunted shack which features a jack-o’-lantern relaxing while seated in a moving rocking chair. The shack is illuminated by festive orange lights and has an active moonshine distillery to its side. The furnace of the distillery has a really cool vapor and lighting effect that we could stare at all night. There are so many details to take in, including one we really love - the jars containing flickering fireflies that line the porch of the shack. Fillmore Graves’ Jack-O-Lantern Farm is a fantastic yard display that showcases Halloween creativity at its best, thanks to the brilliant Scott Goddard. This is a haunt that leaves us in awe every single season. If you are planning to visit, keep in mind that Goddard doesn’t use social media and he isn’t on any haunt lists. Therefore, you might run the risk of the display being dark - but it’s still worth a visit! VC October 23, 2020 Hauntsofla.com #fillmoregravesjackolanternfarm #hauntedhouse #hauntedmaze #haunted #maze #house #display #haunteddisplay #losangeles #la #shermanoaks #hauntsofla #halloween #socalhaunter

REVIEW: The Grey Phantom Ernie Veloz grew up immersed in a world of haunts. He would help his dad with their annual community haunted house, and then he went on to work for legendary large scale haunts including Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor. (He was the manager for their murderous maze: B340.) With that history, it is no surprise that we were totally amazed by his own haunt creation: The Grey Phantom. This yard display is spectacularly breathtaking in both its scale and design. S...omehow Veloz has built a massive, turn of the century ghost ship in his Norwalk front yard. There are three large, rotting holes in the shipwreck’s hull; and each opening reveals a room within the ship’s interior. Visitors can look at these rooms and observe haunting scenes achieved through superb craftsmanship, high quality effects, and clever light projections. The first room you see is the ship's boiler room. Inside there are impressive effects, like the projected electrical sparks that pop out around the ship's circuit breaker (in tribute to the Tower of Terror). The second room reveals the phantom of a child - who is reminiscent of the protagonist of Queen Mary’s most infamous ghost story which inspired Dark Harbor’s Scary Mary. This tribute to the spectral ocean liner extends to such details as the faithful reproduction of the ship’s floors. The third and final room contains a skeleton enshrouded by a beautiful ghost projection/effect. Behind the skeleton are projections of stormy seas which enhance the ship’s eerie and foreboding environment. The Grey Phantom is a truly unique and incredible yard display. We encourage everyone to visit this wonderful addition to the 2020 haunt season. Veloz isn’t sure if he is ever going to do this again, so this may be your only chance to experience The Grey Phantom..if you dare! VC October 22, 2020 Hauntsofla.com #thegreyphantom #hauntedhouse #hauntedmaze #haunted #maze #house #display #haunteddisplay #losangeles #la #norwalk #hauntsofla #halloween #socalhaunter

REVIEW: Holiday Fantasies Come to Life Burbank’s Holiday Fantasies Come to Life is one of those very rare yard displays that completely engulfs you in a world of magic and wonder. For years they have been working tirelessly to create intricately detailed and beautiful yard exhibits for every season. Each holiday they somehow manage to add more props, lights, and other amazing details to their displays - creating new and unique experiences for their adoring visitors. Throughou...t the year the family works on transforming themes, bringing different Disney tributes to life (past themes have included Pirates of the Caribbean, Fantasia, and the Jungle Cruise). For this Halloween they focused on a Disney villains theme which showcases the life size figures of the Evil Queen, Ursula, and Cruella de Vil. These central characters are spread throughout the yard among floating broomsticks, a fire-breathing dragon, jack-o’-lanterns, and plenty of hidden Mickeys. Impressively, their entire home has been transformed into a haunted castle - complete with hand-painted bricks that must have taken weeks to finish. We have been going to Holiday Fantasies Come to Life for years and we are thrilled every time we see a new creation. The team behind this work of art should be commended for their intense dedication and DIY talent - consistently creating one of L.A.’s most captivating and ongoing holiday yard displays. (Be sure to check out how they transform into a Christmas yard display later in the year.) VC October 21, 2020 Hauntsofla.com #holidayfantasiescometolife #hauntedhouse #hauntedmaze #haunted #maze #house #display #haunteddisplay #losangeles #la #burbank #hauntsofla #halloween #socalhaunter

REVIEW: Rock & Roll Haunt House Near South Pasadena’s infamous Diamond Street is a home haunt whose name we are unsure of - however the locals refer to it as the Rock & Roll Haunt House. This haunt is very entertaining and features a skeleton band ("The Rolling Bones" starring skeleton Eddie Van Halen) rocking out on the rooftop for the enjoyment of their boney fans down below in the cemetery. There’s even a stage diving skeleton who’s getting ready to join his bad to the b...one buddies (including one screaming skeleton in a Nirvana shirt) in the cemetery mosh pit. The cemetery’s tombstones push the absurdity even further with epitaphs like: Here lies an atheist- all dressed up and no place to go. Rock & Roll Haunt House is a thoroughly enjoyable experience and well worth a visit if you are haunting in Pasadena. This haunt is located a few houses up on Orange Grove Ave off Monterey Rd. VC October 20, 2020 Hauntsofla.com #rocknroll #skeleton #bones #hauntedhouse #hauntedmaze #haunted #maze #house #display #haunteddisplay #losangeles #la #pasadena #hauntsofla #halloween #socalhaunter

REVIEW: 1870 Haunt Manor One of the best parts of every Halloween season is when you witness the new generations of innovative haunt builders who actualize worlds that you never imagined were possible. We saw this a few years ago with the talents of Murder House Productions, The Opechee Haunt, Twisted Minds Productions, and Rosehill Haunt - all who gained popularity around the same time for pushing home haunts into wonderful, new territories. And while 2020 has been a year in... which safety precautions have shut down most of the legacy haunts (HHN, Knott’s Scary Farm, Sinister Pointe, Reign of Terror, etc), it was very refreshing to see 16-year-old Michael Fernandez come up with an extremely well crafted, original haunt with his 1870 Haunt Manor. Located in a suburban neighborhood in Anaheim, 1870 Haunt Manor is massive in scale. The manor’s architecture is reminiscent of a decaying frontier ghost town, with a looming tower as its focal point. Inside the tower are the ghosts of three murdered men who return from the dead when they sense the presence of visitors. You might even see one of the ghosts pop out of the top window of the tower to greet any observers below. The sounds of 1870 are intense, the structure is immense, and the scare actors (who hail from both Dark Harbor and Sinister Pointe) are very talented and perfectly enhance the haunted atmosphere. Fernandez has proven that there is a new generation of haunters coming up this season - and 1870 Haunt Manor shows great promise of incredible things to come. This type of new talent only appears every few years, so we highly encourage everyone to make it to the OC to experience this magnificent haunt. VC October 19, 2020 Hauntsofla.com #1870hauntmanor #hauntedhouse #hauntedmaze #haunted #maze #house #display #haunteddisplay #losangeles #la #burbank #hauntsofla #halloween #socalhaunter

REVIEW: Toluca Lake Pumpkin Festival Years ago, by a random stroke of luck, we happened to stumble upon the Toluca Lake Pumpkin Festival. This annual attraction is a great, old school throwback to the classic roadside pumpkin stand. Visitors can pick out the perfect pumpkin for their home, pet cute animals at the petting zoo, feast their eyes on the dozens of beautifully painted Halloween flats, and yes - enjoy a spooky walkthrough maze. The maze has unintentionally adapted t...o these weird times. Visitors walk along a path lined with strange characters engaged in eerie activities. Typically, the man from the flower shop next door runs in and sets himself up as one of the mannequins in order to surprise/scare visitors. This year, however, only the mannequins inhabit the maze. The design of this haunt changes every year but always contains a cast of various creepy characters - such as the group of monkeys who have escaped from the mental institution, the old man who menacingly looks out from his shack, and the ghoul who is gaping at a beheading. The maze also contains unique, motion activated animatronics and beautifully embellished caskets. There are also dramatic sound effects and a healthy amount of hay spread throughout the maze’s paths. The Toluca Lake Pumpkin Festival is a great place to get you into the Halloween spirit. While you’re there say hello to the owner Steve - he’s a really friendly man and he’ll tell you the fascinating history of his wonderful, hand-painted Halloween signs. VC October 18, 2020 Hauntsofla.com #tolucalakepumpkinpatch #hauntedhouse #hauntedmaze #haunted #maze #house #display #haunteddisplay #losangeles #la #burbank #hauntsofla #halloween #socalhaunter

REVIEW: Rotting Hill Cemetery There is nothing better than a haunt that comes alive as you watch it. A great example of this is the legendary (and now defunct) House of Restless Spirits - a haunt which featured timed effects like ghost fish swimming in a pail of water and a slowly breathing grave mound. These elements of surprise and wonder are difficult to achieve, however some very special haunts have succeeded in doing so. Rotting Hill Cemetery is one of these special expe...riences, and we are thrilled to witness their first year as a high caliber home haunt. Rotting Hill Cemetery runs on a timed loop that incorporates synched animatronics, special effects, and theatrical sound and lighting. Visitors will enjoy watching a cemetery that comes to life in the darkest hours of the night. The cemetery’s three protagonists include a ghost floating above its grave, a skeleton who can’t escape its casket, and the bust of a woman (Marie) whose slit neck pours out green blood. These characters exchange very clever quips and puns, creating an atmosphere that combines the spectral melancholy of the Haunted Mansion with the hijinks of the Enchanted Tiki Room. There is also a very impressive effect worth noting in which the cemetery’s sign, Notting Hill, transforms into Rotting Hill during a flash of lightning. The creator of Rotting Hill Cemetery has brought to life a truly magical experience. We hope that you can take the time to pay Marie and her friends a visit and enjoy their wickedness and wit! VC October 17, 2020 Hauntsofla.com #rottinghillcemetery #hauntedhouse #hauntedmaze #haunted #maze #house #display #haunteddisplay #losangeles #la #northhollywood #hauntsofla #halloween #socalhaunter

REVIEW: Clybourn Manor It's been over half a year since Disneyland shut down and most of us local annual pass holders have been really missing our regular visits to the world's most influential theme park. Whether it's the birthplace of Mickey Mouse in Los Feliz or one of the original sites of Walt Disney studios (now a Gelson’s Market) in Silverlake, Los Angeles is saturated with Disney landmarks and folklore - offering constant inspiration for artists in all creative fields.... This brings us to Burbank’s Clybourn Manor - a very fun, family-friendly yard display that takes inspiration from one of the greatest rides of all time: The Pirates of the Caribbean. Clybourn Manor is a place where the ancient skeletons of pirates haunt the seven seas, battling the giant kraken; as their crewmates ashore enjoy bottles of rum among the shipwrecks and treasure chests. The inspiration from Disneyland doesn’t end there as this haunt was created by a Disney cast member and also takes place on the former property of the legendary Disney co-founder himself: Roy Disney! This haunt is a thrilling visit for adults and kids alike. The inspiration from Disney has been transformed into a Halloween display that is exceptionally creative and very engaging. This is a haunt where, as Davy Jones put it, dead men DO TELL TALES! VC October 16, 2020 Hauntsofla.com #clybournmanor #hauntedhouse #hauntedmaze #haunted #maze #house #display #haunteddisplay #losangeles #la #burbank #hauntsofla #halloween #socalhaunter

REVIEW: Albert Reyes presents 7812 For around 16 years, East LA artist Albert Reyes has been running a private haunted house out of the backyard of his family's El Sereno home. This haunt, like his artwork, is unique and highly imaginative. The haunted maze is built with boarded-up walls that look like they were pulled off of a shipwrecked pirate galleon. Strange mannequins meet you at every corner as AM radios crackle through Japanese and Mexican talk radio stations. In a no...rmal year, Albert’s scare actors would be played by his immediate family (including his grandmother), who would grab and tug at your feet as you turn a corner or while you are distracted by a blood-soaked mannequin. But as we know, everything is different in 2020, and Albert has replaced his maze with an incredible, evolving yard display. This year’s unique yard display is named 7812, and it’s a two story house in which dim orange and purple lights reveal the creepy residents within: clowns, skeletons, dolls, and more. These disturbing inhabitants peer out at everyone who dares to walk by. The design of this haunt possesses Reyes’ signature artistic vision and includes features like weathered pieces of wood that form geometrically unsettling layouts. The paint is peeling off of the structure - giving it the feeling of a place lost in time. There are even recycled medicine bottles that Albert’s mom used as colored filters over an old set of Christmas lights. 7812 is a wonderful Halloween yard display, and Reyes has promised us that he will be adding more features in the upcoming weeks. We are definitely going to make a second trip to see the newest additions. If you are one of the lucky visitors, Albert may even give you a walkthrough of his backyard maze (minus the characters of course). VC October 15, 2020 Hauntsofla.com #albertreyes #hauntedhouse #hauntedmaze #haunted #maze #house #display #haunteddisplay #losangeles #la #elsereno #hauntsofla #halloween #socalhaunter

REVIEW: THE DOLLHOUSE Santa Clarita is home to the most concentrated area of thriving haunts in Los Angeles. In this year’s version of Halloween, many Santa Clarita haunts have traded their traditional mazes for socially distanced yard displays (The Farm Haunt, Beware the Dark Realm, Coffinwood, Clown Town) or have gone dark this season (Pumpkin Jacks and Shiver Haunt). The Dollhouse is therefore a great addition to its neighboring Santa Clarita yard displays. (Thanks to Shiv...er Haunt for spreading the word about them!) The Dollhouse is centered around a large collection of ghoulish vintage dolls that adorn the home's yard. Surrounding them are tombstones, eerie lights, lifeless babies in cobweb enshrouded birdcages, and a large tree decorated with moss and dozens of creepy white masks. The atmosphere is truly unsettling and bizarre. The creative mind/s behind this haunt are unknown to us - but we greatly admire their work. We highly suggest that anyone in the Santa Clarita area this season make a quick stop to enjoy this wonderfully strange Halloween display. VC October 14, 2020 Hauntsofla.com #haunteddisplay #santaclarita #halloween #hauntsofla

REVIEW: BEWARE THE DARK REALM Beware the Dark Realm is a legendary haunt. For decades, this Santa Clarita family has transformed their front yard into a medieval world filled with ghouls and evil knights. Visitors are transported back in time to a haunted castle inhabited by wicked villagers, demonic jesters, mutated knights, and animatronic dragons. The horror of this haunt is balanced by the beauty and superb craftsmanship of the sets - making Beware the Dark Realm one of t...he most enjoyable experiences of the Halloween season. This year, Beware the Dark Realm has traded their signature enclosed maze for an open-air walk around their haunted castle. Visitors will enjoy a covid-safe interactive yard display, complete with ghoulish characters (played by founder Scott Sivley’s family) who interact with you from a distance. We were pleasantly surprised to see new set pieces this season and also noticed that the castle has grown in size - adding an extra layer of looming fear to the experience. Beware the Dark Realm has maintained its reputation as one of the finest Halloween attractions in LA County. It is, without a doubt, one of the best designed and most thematically cohesive Halloween yard displays in existence. If you are out haunting in Santa Clarita - Beware the Dark Realm is a mandatory visit along your Halloween pilgrimage. VC October 13, 2020 Hauntsofla.com #bewarethedarkrealm #hauntedhouse #hauntedmaze #haunted #maze #house #display #haunteddisplay #losangeles #la #santaclarita #hauntsofla #halloween #socalhaunter

REVIEW: GREENWITCH CEMETERY Located in the Inland Empire, Ontario’s Greenwitch Cemetery is an impressive, interactive haunted yard display created on the foundation of a modest front yard. The protagonist of this cemetery is the Green Witch herself, who looms over her cauldron, slowly stirring her sinister brew. Surrounding her are anthropomorphic jack-o’-lantern ghouls and cobweb infested trees. Close by, an animatronic skeleton waves its lantern to illuminate graves as its ...dead horse companion lurks in the background. Greenwitch Cemetery has created a world that exceeds the limitations of a front yard - conjuring a rich visual feast for all Halloween enthusiasts. This haunted display feels like it’s in the same spooky family as Burbank’s Grimwood Hollow (which is sadly dark for 2020). Greenwitch Cemetery is an essential stop for Angelino haunters who are on their way to visit Rancho Cucamonga’s Samhain’s Lot and Hellsir. VC October 12, 2020 Hauntsofla.com #greenwitchcemetery #hauntedhouse #hauntedmaze #haunted #maze #house #display #haunteddisplay #losangeles #la #ranchocucamonga #hauntsofla #halloween #socalhaunter

REVIEW: THE FARM HAUNT The Farm Haunt is one of our favorite haunts! This spooky Western-themed yard display (and sometimes maze) consistently showcases excellent craftsmanship with hundreds of intricate details. Visiting this haunt makes it easy to imagine what it would be like to visit a pioneer ghost town on Halloween and witness a supernatural world come to life. Since its relocation to Castaic from Glendale, The Farm Haunt continues to be an evolving yard display centere...d around Dr. Diablo’s Caskets And Curiosities - a spooky Western shoppe filled with creepy dolls, jack-o’-lanterns, and various sinister oddities. From behind the front door, a fiendish, grinning man (picture Lon Chaney in London After Midnight) leers out at the yard’s plethora of caskets and skeletons. From within the building, a dim purple light illuminates the vintage wallpaper while red lights highlight the details of the exterior. For the 2020 Halloween season, The Farm Haunt team has handcrafted a gothic funeral carriage and parked it in front of Dr. Diablo’s shoppe. The ominous coachman of this carriage is a hooded, cadaverous character who sits silently reading among glowing jack-o’-lanterns. The Farm Haunt recreates itself every year - always evolving and always offering new surprises. This year’s presentation is one of the best yet. The props, sound, and lighting are terrific and create a tenebrous world that transports you to a ghoulish version of the Old West. The Farm Haunt is truly a celebration of Halloween and definitely worth the trip to Santa Clarita. VC October 12, 2020 Hauntsofla.com #thefarmhaunt #hauntedhouse #hauntedmaze #haunted #maze #house #display #haunteddisplay #losangeles #la #santaclarita #hauntsofla #halloween #socalhaunter