Creepy L.A. - the Los Angeles Halloween blog

Memo to LAPD: Please take a peek inside Charles Phoenix’s fridge

Krumpus Claus — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:19:34 +0000

For a peek at the meatloaf, before and after 717 days in his fridge, click Charles Phoenix's photo above.

“YES, I DID THE UNTHINKABLE,” Charles Phoenix wrote in his most recent weekly newsetter. “I left my turkey tiki in the fridge for two years! …I know, IT’S SHOCKING! Did he smell? You would think so, but no.”

After you get past the fact that “The King of Retro” made a turkey meatload in the shape of a tiki head for Thanksgiving two years ago, give some consideration to how proud he is that he managed to keep it from stinking up his fridge ever since. For 717 days, exactly. And he’s proud of this.

I’m not suggesting he’s turned from collecting vintage slides to human body parts or anything, I just think LA’s finest may want to check out Charles’ kitchen.

For everyone else, if you want to see Charles in public, he’ll be presenting his Retro Holiday Slideshow around Los Angeles on the following dates:

Pasadena, CA – Sat 12/5 Neighborhood Church 8pm
Pomona, CA – Sat 12/12 National Hot Rod Museum 8pm
Hollywood, CA – Sun 12/20 Egyptian Theater 2pm

Foodies note: Charles’ recipe for a tiki turkey loaf can be found here.

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Meet fellow ghost enthusiasts tonight on Olvera Street!

Creepy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:43:16 +0000

GHOULA (the Ghost Hunters of Urban Los Angeles) holds it’s monthly meetup tonight at the La Golondrina Cafe on Overa Street in downtown L.A. Of course, its haunted – why else would they be going there? Click here for the story, or join them at the restaurant at 7pm.

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A Taste for the Organ: Nosferatu at Disney Hall

Dashiell Arkenstone — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:00:42 +0000

A baleful band of costumed guests congregated for the viewing of a classic.

The 6th annual silent film on the organ series at Disney Hall enchanted the chamber Halloween night with the return of Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror. A crowd of zombies, witches, cowboys, Strarfleet Captains, Medusas, and the obligatory naughty nurse, lion, and policewoman nearly filled the 2,265 capacity concert hall to behold the black and white horror classic.

Count Orlock lurked the big screen on Halloween

After a brief monologue and warnings of plague-bearing rats at the feet of the frightful ghouls in attendance, organist Clark Wilson took to the bench at the portable console on the floor–connected to the towering pipe organ–and bestowed a most ominous and skull-shattering accompaniment arranged from a cauldron of favorites, opening with Saint-Saëns’ “Danse Macbre,” and instantly established a menacing, yet good-humored atmosphere with it’s dark waltz.

Menacing indeed–with 6,134 pipes, the organ at Disney Hall weighs over 40 metric tons and looms a colossal three stories from its perch on the back terrace. Projected onto a backdrop not quite as tall, the timeless silent flick by F.W. Murnau lit the theater for over an hour with traditional 20’s era vignettes, darkened dialogue boards, and a death toll of just fewer than fifteen–surely not as common in those days.

The score itself, as Wilson described, was compiled from a myriad of popular compositions (some more than others) including a particularly sinister variation of Chopin’s “Marche funèbre” and about twenty seconds of the life-changing “Vocalise” by Rachmaninov. The organ compliment was a merciless assault of demonic drones and torturous barbarism at the core, beautifully executed by Wilson, who brought the patrons of the event to their feet while he drowned their raucous uproar with his finale.

Watching a silent horror classic with live organ accompaniment is the perfect way to get hyped for a night of ghastly activity, and the organ at WDCH does not disappoint. The Plus, Halloween night is probably the only time at Disney Hall where you can see a dominatrix with her slave at leash-length discussing vampire eating habits with Cookie Monster. Although, the award for best costume definitely goes to the five-year-old Charlie Chaplin–adorable.

Not solely used to accompany silent film, the organ will present a number of promising recitals and concerts this season featuring works from Bach, Mendelssohn, and Mussorgsky (to name a few), some of the original masters of darkness.

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Share your Halloween photos with us!

Creepy — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 05:46:43 +0000

Join the CreepyLA Flickr group and add your Halloween and other creepy picturess to our photo pool. See the current batch below:

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Dia de los Muertos roundup!

Creepy — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:13:06 +0000

The biggest benefit of Halloween taking place on a Saturday? It means November 1st, the traditional Dia de los Muertos, falls on a Sunday, making for the ultimate weekend. To celebrate, visit LA Eastside’s ultimate guide to Day of the Dead events around Los Angeles.

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Creepy Questions for Felicia Day and the cast of “The Guild”

RichardABecker — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:13:10 +0000

Actress/series creator Felicia Day as Codex in THE GUILD HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

Ever wonder what the people playing all those hack-and-slash heroes in your favorite online fantasy game were actually like? The hilarious characters in THE GUILD may just be the answer. We took a little time out from the hectic horrors of Halloween week to visit with the cast and crew of the hit web series, THE GUILD, and interview some of the stars – Felicia Day (Codex), Sandeep Parikh (Zaboo), Vincent Caso (Bladezz) – and ace director Greg Benson. With the debut of their own epic GUILD HALLOWEEN SPECIAL this month, what are their thoughts about the darkest holiday of the year?

* What’s your favorite horror movie?

FELICIA DAY: Not really a horror fan, so I don’t have a lot to compare. Playing RESIDENT EVIL and LEFT FOR DEAD made me have nightmares for weeks. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN I saw recently and still haunts me.

SANDEEP PARIKH: I don’t know if this counts but ARMY OF DARKNESS. If not, I’ll go with anything with the Olsen twins, they’re creepy as hell.

VINCENT CASO (BLADEZZ): I usually like movies that have a sort of “subtle scary” to them, the ones that get under your skin. I very much enjoyed BELOW, as a good example, and am looking forward to PARANORMAL ACTIVITY.

GREG BENSON: I still love THE EXORCIST best. Just freaked me out as a kid, and still does.

Sandeep Parikh as Zaboo in THE GUILD HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

* Any costume or party plans for Halloween this year?

FELICIA: My costume strategy is always the same: Go to the kid’s section on the 31st in the afternoon and get whatever will fit me to “make it work”. One year I went as Zac Efron.

SANDEEP: Probably going to hit up the West [Hollywood] parade. I’m thinking of dressing up as an extremely stereotpyical Indian guy with an outrageous turban, holding a slushee, and breaking out into random Bollywood dances.

* What do you love about Halloween in L.A.?

FELICIA: I love the fact that adults enjoy it even more than kids it seems. And it’s the home of movies so there are always incredible costumes, especially in West Hollywood!

GREG: I love that people go to great expense and trouble to dress their homes up for Halloween, and there have been some great houses that sadly no longer decorate. Luckily, we got one of our favorites, [Noah "Bats Day" Korda's] Grimmstone Cemetery, on film for our short NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIE a couple years ago, right before it closed for good.

* Have you ever had a paranormal experience you’d like to share with us?

Greg Benson, director of THE GUILD HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

FELICIA: Not really, I wish. I’ve used a Ouija board a few times and it seemed convincing, but I’m really really gullible.

VINCENT: We’ve all had our little spooks and scares. I’ve seen a thing or two that I couldn’t explain. But when it comes right down to it, whether you believe in it or not, the subject of the paranormal is always intriguing and really gets your mind working.

GREG: Nope, but I do have a new paranormal Halloween video I’d like to share with you…

* Describe your perfect Halloween.

FELICIA: Lots of adorably costumed children begging me for candy, and I force them to do something to earn their keep. No free graft on my watch.

Ryan Smith and Julie Wittner in THE GUILD HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

SANDEEP: A really kickass homemade haunted house. I used to build them in my basement as a kid, I used lots of spaghetti for entrails. Love that stuff.

Thanks, guys! And happy Halloween!

Ready to watch the special right now? Here you go!

THE GUILD HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

All photos by Brian Kameoka, courtesy of Knights of Good Productions.

Behind the scenes of THE GUILD HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

Sandeep Parikh and Jeff Lewis (Vork) in THE GUILD HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

Vincent Caso as Bladezz in THE GUILD HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

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Listen to “Thriller” before it was “Thriller”

Creepy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:03:38 +0000

Diehard “Thriller” fans should run out and see This Is It if only for the all too brief sequence showing the making of a 3D zombie sequence being made for the concert. In addition to the cool visuals, you’ll also hear some additional lyrics to Vincent Price’s rap that don’t appear on the album or the original music video.

But here’s something I just recently ran across – Michael Jackson’s recording of “Starlight,” the song that would eventually become “Thriller” with completely new lyrics. This is pretty mindblowing… take a listen:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The legend is that songwriter Rod Templeton woke up with a vision of the word “Thriller” at the top of Billboard’s charts, changes were made, and the rest is history.

Can you imagine the “Thriller” album, let alone this song, with any other title? Goes to show that zombies and a lil creepiness make everything better.

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The “How Creepy Is Your L.A.?” quiz

Creepy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:22:34 +0000

For those of you who missed last Sunday’s “Haunted Speakeasy” (and shame on you if you did), here’s the 13 questions (plus a bonus one for extra credit) attendees were challenged with upon entry. Feel free to leave your answers in the comments, along with your own creepy LA trivia. I’ll post the answers on Friday.

1. What letter of the Hollywoodland sign did Peg Entwistle jump to her death from in 1923? __________

2. The crypt just above this legendary star is now on eBay with a starting bid of $500,000. __________

3. In 1976, the crew of “The Six Million Dollar Man” discovered what inside a Long Beach funhouse?
a. the only known complete print of the film, “London After Midnight.”
b. the mummified body of outlaw Elmer J. McCurdy
c. a replica of Walt Disney’s frozen head

4. On Charles Phoenix’s Disneyland tour of Downtown Los Angeles, what neighborhood does he compare to the Haunted Mansion? _________

5. The ghost of which classic horror star has been seen at bus bench at Hollywood and Vine? __________

6. A few minutes before sunset, partial apparitions of men and women dressed in Depression era clothing, including a girl in a white dress, appear near the center fountain of which Los Angeles garden:
a. L.A. County Arboretum
b. Huntington Gardens
c. Exposition Park Rose Garden

7. Orson Welles, who reportedly holds the record for eating the most hot dogs ever in one sitting at Pinks, has had his ghost spotted at what Melrose dessert shop? __________

8. The Manson Family murders at the Polanski/Tate residence occurred on, August 9th, 1969, which was also opening day for what Southern California amusement park ride? __________

9. At every stroke of midnight, a ghostly black carriage pulled by white horses, careens past the intersection of __________ & ___________, only hundreds of feet away from where Houdini’s ghost has been spotted.

10. True or False: a race of lizard people live in a network of tunnels underneath downtown Los Angeles. _________

11. At least five victims of this comedy club’s previous mobster owners haunt the labyrinthian complex. Ask any comedian in town who’s performed here and they likely have a story to tell. What is the name of the club? _________

12. “Ghost bikes,” bicycles painted in all white, are erected around Los Angeles as a tribute to what? _____________________

13. The Lady of the Light is often seen as a “wispy, partial apparition” near the cliffs of the coastal landmark where she fell to her death. Name the landmark. __________

Bonus question: Some parents in Spanish speaking cultures warn their children not to misbehave or stay outside after dark, lest they be stolen by the disembodied spirit known as ____________, whose name translates in English to “The Weeping Woman.”

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Free screening of TOP SECRET horror film tomorrow night at the Montalban Theatre

Creepy — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:40:47 +0000

Free is good. And the have a good track record. And they descibe this as” a screening so frightening that we are not announcing the title of the film.”

But top secret means the whole night could go either way. Here’s the details for you to decide:

Flux’s CINEMA TUESDAYS at Nike Sportswear at The Montalbán will scare you out of your seat with a surprise screening event entitled FRIGHT NIGHT on Tuesday, October 27, 2009.

We wouldn’t want to scare you too much in advance so be prepared for the unexpected and a macabre night at The Montalbán. Since opening in 1927, the Hollywood Beaux Arts Theatre has been plagued with a series of terrifying incidents, and with Halloween approaching who knows what could happen next. Guests are encouraged to dress turn-of-the-century attire (blacks, whites and reds), and the evening will include a Q&A with the director and a post-screening reception featuring cocktails by Belvedere Vodka.

They encourage moviegoers to dress up in “turn-of-the-century attire (blacks, whites and reds),” which may or may not be a clue to film.

Doors at 7:15, film at 8pm. Keep reading for info on previous screenings and how to RSVP.

Curated by Flux, the highly successful film series has featured premieres and advance screenings of some of the most-talked about films including Carlos Cuarón’s Rudo y Cursi, George Tillman Jr’s Notorious, Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York, Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla and Justice documentary A Cross The Universe, and celebrated guests have included Michel Gondry, Thomas Campbell, Seth Rogen, Patricia Arquette, Elijah Wood, Spike Jonze, Wayne Coyne, Busy P and Shirley Manson. Always free with invitation, 2009 shines with monthly screenings of CINEMA TUESDAYS at The Montalbán, Nike Sportswear’s unique retail and special events theatre in Hollywood.

Please join us for an unforgettable CINEMA TUESDAYS experience and a screening so frightening that we are not announcing the title of the film. We wouldn’t want to scare you too much in advance so be prepared for the unexpected and a macabre night at The Montalbán. Since opening in 1927, the Hollywood Beaux Arts Theatre has been plagued with a series of terrifying incidents, and with Halloween approaching who knows what could happen next. Guests are encouraged to dress turn-of-the-century attire (blacks, whites and reds), and the evening will include a Q&A with the director and a post-screening reception featuring cocktails by Belvedere Vodka. All members of the press are invited to cover this special event at The Montalbán.

Los Angeles Surprise Screening Tuesday, October 27, 2009
7:15 PM: Doors Open
8PM: Screening
Followed by a reception + Q&A with a special guest filmmaker

Public RSVP: www.flux.net/666

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Free the Robots with Beatmo at the Paramount – Halloween Night!

Ramona Pilar Gonzales — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:18:41 +0000

Halloween night is closing in and with it are tons of concerts, events, parties, masquerade balls and bar options galore where you can go and get your creep on all over the massive LA sprawl.

For those of you hanging out on the east side of the LA River, Viva LA Puppet will be presenting Halloween at the Paramount. The Paramount has been host to such music luminaries from Benny Goodman to X and is a mere heartbeat away from Evergreen Cemetery, LA’s oldest necropolis.

Free the Robots with Beatmo on the Eastside

Hosted by Fidel Gomez, Halloween at the Paramount will feature the electro-jazz-beat of Free the Robots, and sexy, experimental, indie rock madness from local favorites Beatmo. DJ House of Lords will be spinning everyone’s favorite Halloween classics. There will also be a photo booth, costume contest, drinks, snacks and last, but not least, shadow puppets to boot!

Expect a bit of Masterpiece Theater married to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and the illegitimate spawn of The Black Rider for your Halloween perusal.

Tickets are $13 pre-sale, $15 at the door. You can buy tickets online at www.vlplab.com

Halloween at the Paramount

2708 E. Cesar Chavez Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90033

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The Midwest comes to Woodland Hills: A review of Pierce College’s Fright Fair and Halloween Festival

alexanderg — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:23:14 +0000

Cornfields, haunted houses, and thousands of pumpkins in every size. No, you’re not in the midwest – you’re in Woodland Hills!

Living in the valley you’d think you would know about a mile long corn field that’s grown each year specifically that’s turned into a giant maze come October — guess I must have missed that one. This event is located at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, just 15 past Sherman Oaks coming from Los Angeles. It’s pretty convenient, yet somehow driving down Winnetka St. the farther you get from the 101 FWY the more secluded you feel from civilization (it’s only 5 min off the FWY which is so bizarre).

The location is fantastic, it feels like your at a Pumpkin Patch somewhere on a farm in Ohio (I know there’s not alot in Ohio, but from what Ive gathered- cornfields and hayrides are about as common in the midwest (esp. Ohio) as Coffee Beans and Starbucks are in L.a-just sayin). After parking on a really dusty lot you walk yourself to the entrance of the festival which is disguised as a farmers market (mini pumpkins, snacks, and all). Most of the employees appeared to be local students (gives that “mom & pop” vibe), which felt very right at an event like this!

OK-so let me break it down- there are two events advertised: The first is the FRIGHT FAIR, and the second is the HALLOWEEN HARVEST FESTIVAL. I was asked to review the FRIGHT FAIR and ended up coming back for a second night to enjoy both individually. How do I describe the FRIGHT FAIR? Well it’s pretty simple, A-W-E-S-O-M-E! For the FRIGHT FAIR they have 3 attractions billed, the first is The Factory of Nightmares haunted house.

FEAR FACTORY FACADE

It’s located in the back of the complex in a rather large and intimidating structure disguised as a run-down warehouse. There are no lines, just a door with a greeter anticipating your arrival. After getting your ticket stamped and the greeter whispering a few words into her microphone you are quickly ushered inside.

Ok so when visiting this house I had no exceptions, especially since 3 days prior to visiting, you would have mentioned corn field or Pierce College to me and I’d say “huh?” (My friends from Woodland Hills couldn’t believe me—they’ve been coming since they were kids).

Back to the house – it blew me away (and they don’t always I swear) ! Through the beginning of the maze you are guided through a few rooms and halls (packed with really high octane-motion detected scares and air-blasts) by a really creepy man with an accent and ghoul makeup (he was actually pretty funny), all leading you to the ELEVATOR.

THIS GUY CAN'T WAIT TO MEET YOU-REGARDLESS IF YOU WANT TOO OR NOT

Ok this was the coolest thing ever-they managed to lock you in a elevator that simulates plummeting to the depths of hell.It shakes you to the point where you almost lose your balance (I have never seen anything like this in a haunted house). The second the lights drop is when I got most paranoid- You’re just waiting for someone to come for you-but the doors open only to reveal a new portion of the maze (another sick effect).

I don’t want to reveal every portion but WOW do they turn up the notch on scares and shocks. They seemed to stick to the LOUDEST “scares” possible!

You have to experience it to see what I mean, but let’s just say if you don’t drop to the ground at least once then you are an emotionless bore! A few other notes- the maze is long, long, long….. It takes you back outside into an actual labyrinth filled with scare-actors that pray you make it to their “dead end”. This house is remnant of the “Murder Ride” from Mr. Zombies House of 1000 Corpses. You feel something could happen to you and nobody would find out! I also can’t stress how much value you get for your buck, you easily spend 15 min. minimum in there.

The Second attraction is Creatures of the Corn Haunted Trail. It is located in the same corn field used for the Corn Maze. Again, this does not disappoint. This was such a new experience for me – never before in Los Angeles have you been able to enter actual Corn Field with 12 ft. Stocks so thick and dense you can never see more the 5 ft. in front of you.

This attraction is an actual cut path that takes you far into the field. Before entering you are held in a corral as you wait for your turn to cross the dirt road into the black hole that is the entrance to the attraction. They also incorporated a larger than life bat-creature that looms high into the sky- as you enter the field It springs into life roaring loudly into the sky. The animatronic alone was enough to scare you away.

But if that doesn’t scare you away- the piercing screams followed by the loudest chainsaws you hear coming from deep in the field will. The amount of anticipation for those chainsaws will have you scared out of your mind! Universal Studios does a sick job of bringing chainsaws into their events (knott’s doesn’t usually incorporate them) , but for some reason it doesn’t really scare me. But when your alone in a corn field and out of nowhere a chainsaw rig is ripped and you know it’s set on you –it is pretty god damn terrifying, I can happily say I ran my butt out through the maze screaming my head off!

CREATURES OF THE CORN

The 3rd and final attraction for Fright Fair is the night time version of the corn maze. This is not intended to be scary. It is approximately a mile long and each year they grow out the field and come up with a new theme for the layout. This year it was a “green” recycling theme (not very Halloween but didn’t really matter) . You are given a map with the locations of 8 pinpoints you must discover. The idea is simple and fun. While it only took us 25 minutes to complete, I’ve heard 1 hour is the usually the average amount of time it takes to complete this maze. Oh and please guys don’t cut through the grass, I made the mistake of crossing through ONE (only one i swear ) dead end and let’s say I had a slight allergic reaction-STAY ON THE PATH!

AN OVERVIEW OF THE CORN MAZE (LAST YEARS THEME PICTURED)-ITS MASSIVE!

NSIDE CREATURES OF THE CORN- LIKE THIS - ONLY MUCH DARKER AND WITH CHAINSAWS

It’s hard to persuade alot of you guys to do all these events because there are soooo many of them in L.A.( and they all seem to be kickin ass this year–which makes it harder for all of us to visit on a budget) -but it’s only $20 to do all 3 attractions and it’s a new kind of haunted house that you have yet to experience! Deff worth it!

As for the fairgrounds that contain the Fright Fair- they could not be any more family friendly! Your welcomed free of charge to roam the complex and there are plenty of places and activities for your friends and children who are easily scared to enjoy the festival. From a pumpkin patch that consists of literally thousands and thousands of pumpkins in every size and shape, to an endless array of kiddies rides, Hayrides, gold-panning, stage-shows, and delicious fresh concession stands ( lemonade, funnel cakes, kettle corn, etc.) there is so much for you and everyone in your family to do. Everything about the complex seems authentic and homegrown. you could easily spend several hours here and leave wanting to bring back your friends and family! Oh and did I mention a petting zoo stocked with adorable mini-ponies and goats ( shoot me! I love the farm animals)!

I would love to thank the owner of the event Robert Mcbroom for allowing me to come and visit! For him this is a never ending process- he explained some ideas to me for next year and I admit I can’t even wait to see some of his new concepts come to life. Also he will send me in the following months links to his workshops he will be giving for prosthetics and makeup lessons. Also thanks to Tracy Hernandez for setting this all up! I don’t know what she looks like, and apparently we did meet-I got an email from her saying “thanks for letting me scare you in the Factory of Nightmares”– Again, AWESOME!!!!

*Theres plenty of time to come and do this before Halloween-Don’t miss your chance!!!!!

http://www.halloweenharvestfestival.com/

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Griffith Park Night Time Halloween Train Ride

alexanderg — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:02:12 +0000

Campy, cheesy, cute, funny, and 100% awesome (and less than $5). A Halloween event that kids and the easily scared can enjoy.

GHOSTS THAT SIMPLY WAN'T TO HAVE FUN MATERIALIZE IN A PASSING FIELD

There are so many “haunted” attractions in L.A, yet they all seem to include chainsaws, gore, & a mayhem! There’s nothing wrong with that, in fact that’s what we haunt-goers crave. But lots of us have kids and girlfriends that aren’t too fond of rotting corpses jumping out at you with machetes in the dark – I know right?

A few years back there seemed to be more attractions in L.A. area that were considered family friendly. Two amazing ones were Boney Island (shut down by angry neighbors even though they closed every night at 9pm!) and one of the best home haunts ever, The Halloween Haunting Grounds GROUNDS (made the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland look mediocre).

So thank God Griffith Park- known for it’s day-time kid friendly array of museums, carousels, and pony rides- has acknowledged this lack of wholesome fun! You don’t need to drive all the way to Disneyland or leave the house with more then $5 a person, because this event is right in L.A’s backyard!

Since 2001 Griffith Park has transformed their miniature train rides into a night time Halloween extravaganza. Griffith park operates three separate train rides throughout the year, for Halloween they overtook the miniature train rides located adjacent to Travel Town. Located in between the Forest Lawn Dr. exit and the Victory exit off of the 134 FWY on Zoo Dr. is the Halloween Train. This attraction is perfect for everyone. It’s intention is not to be scary, just fun and creepy. The entire ride takes about 15-20 min. to complete.

Once you have found the entrance you make your way to the ticket booth where a $5 suggested donation is asked of you.

The courtyard is filled with fun things to look at while you wait -from a giant cage filled with laughing zombie babies, to giant haunted mansion-style changing portraits, and even a life size talking skeleton that interacts with guests as you wait-it’s a sensory overload.

The trains you board look like something from Walt Disney’s private train collection- you sit aboard a scale replica with one leg hanging over each side, you can’t help but crack a smile.

So onto the actual ride. You know when you go to the Halloween stores and you see all the fun decorations and you wonder what it would be like to own and put them all to use? No worries, because that’s exactly what Griffith Park has done. It’s as if they took all the Halloween decorations from years back and assembled them into something amazing.

The train ride takes you through cramped fog and light filled tunnels, over bridges, through trees, and along the mountainsides. At points, the ride becomes so dark you wonder if your engineer is still aboard! I have to admit-I was a little weary of hillside stranglers and coyotes , c’mon were in the hills -but alas the scariest thing was the farting skeletons.

You encounter miniature ghost towns, aliens, spiders, skeletons, witches, pumpkins, pirates, clowns, cannibals , and any other Halloween related creature or theme you can think of. The best part is the flock of ghost’s riding their bicycles in the middle of a far away field- something that’s worth seeing by itself!

It’s campy, cheesy, cute, funny, and 100% awesome. This attraction is something of a nostalgic tradition. It’s something you could bring your kids to or your significant other and have a great time- and for the price there’s no excuse to miss this!

2009 GHOST TRAIN DATES: October 16-18, 23-25, 29-31

GHOST TRAIN HOURS: 7:00 to 10:00pm nightly.

$5 suggested donation

PARKING: Free

Website: www.lals.org

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Psst… here’s your password to CreepyLA’s Haunted Speakeasy, October 25th

Creepy — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:34:26 +0000

“I fear to remember, but I dare not forget.”

Shhh… keep this a secret among only die hard Halloween and supernatural afficionados. Use this password (and $15, cash or check) for entry to the Haunted Speakeasy inside the covert Mt. Hollywood Underground, 7pm, Sunday, October 25th.

CreepyLA was invited by Smartgals.org to curate a night of storytellers to share a true tale of the supernatural, and we enthusiastically obliged.

The lineup includes the legendary Will Campbell of Metblogs fame, Joe Oesterle, infamous for Weird California, Drew Daywalt, the award winning writer/director of some of the creepiest short films you’ll ever find, and Michael Imlay, writer of Dateline>City of Angels, who may present a convincing case that there really is a curse over Griffith Park.

More speakers to be added, and I dare anyone who attends to step up with a scarier story! (or if you’re feeling really confident, email me now to secure a spot to share your eeriest tale: creepyla@gmail.com)

Attendees will also be among the first to be able to play Jamie Antonisse’s new interactive video game, Spectre. Music will be provided Odious Ari. And there will be snacks.

Admission is $15, which includes an original commemorative bookmark designed by artist and architect Sarah Heller. RSVP on Facebook, or simply scare us upon arrival!

Mt. Hollywood Underground, 4607 Prospect Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027

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Cannibals Take Over Burbank: A review of Burbank’s “Backwoods Maze”

alexanderg — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:58:04 +0000

Insane, packed with monsters, and best of all, free!

So when there’s any kind of Halloween attraction, driving out of my way to get to it is no big deal (like driving 1 hr to Sinister Pointe from Burbank in rush hour traffic, yikes!) Because the end result is that they all usually end up being awesome. So obviously when the attraction is within walking distance of my own home it’s a clear given that I must visit it!

On Friday Oct. 16, the opening night of THE BACKWOODS maze in Burbank, CA I visited with a friend and we ended up leaving because it looked like all the talent was just hanging out in front (found out they were just on a break). I tried visiting again on Saturday only to find out I had food poisoning and couldn’t stand up for more than 10 min without wanting to…ugh well you can guess! SO ON SUNDAY I WAS DETERMINED TO MAKE IT! I grabbed my friends and I made my 3rd attempt and might I say that the 3rd time was definitely a charm!

BACKWOODS was insane!

The maze is located behind an average appearing suburban home. I hate to use the term “backyard haunt” because it felt more like a “theme-park haunt”.

They set up a small queue and a very impressive maze entrance (for all you haunt nerds it was like a mash up of Blood Bayou and the Doll Factory). They let you enter with only your group which is always awesome and waiting behind the rope we could hear piercing screams from far beyond the house. So when it was our turn to enter the maze we finally made our way through the hanging intestines to the back of the house- that’s when the chaos ensued!

This maze was perhaps one of my all time faves. It’s long, claustrophobic, detailed, packed with monsters, and surpasses all expectations. I didn’t have a chance to take pictures inside but let me tell you the level of detail was on par with the likes of Universal. I have no idea how they fit this maze behind some body’s home.

You walk across bridges, maneuver through endless gut-soaked sheets, in and out of butcher shops, all leading up to the frozen meat locker (cold air and all). It’s so cramped at points you don’t even know where to go, and the talent was always in your face. The layout made it impossible not to encounter them even when there’s nothing but centimeters separating you and them. Everything felt original and unsettling, their costumes alone were scary enough to keep you from entering. It was like a catacomb of rural cannibalistic madness! It’s pure horror and gore from start to finish.

The best part about THE BACKWOODS is that it is a FREE attraction. The friends that I brought along were all saying that they felt guilty not paying. I will definitely be back next weekend.

THE BACKWOODS is located at 1912 N Pepper St. Burbank, CA and will be operating OCT. 23, 24, 25, 29,30, & 31 from 6.30 to 10pm (11pm on Halloween).

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Combs is incandescent in “Nevermore”

RichardABecker — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 06:59:08 +0000

Jeffrey Combs disappears into the humor, pathos and morbidity of Edgar Allan Poe in "Nevermore"

This last Friday night, I caught Jeffrey Combs’ performance in “Nevermore,” a one-man show based on the life of Edgar Allan Poe written by Dennis Paoli and directed by Stuart (FROM BEYOND) Gordon. And nothing could have prepared me for the delightful shock in store for me.

There are a number of ways to measure the caliber of an actor. Among them: You can consider the sheer power of the emotions they convey. You can look at their craft and the technical points of how they carry out their performance. You can take into account the degree to which they vanish into their character, taking you on a journey into another world and showing someone that they manifestly are not.

In Jeffrey Combs’ case, he apparently chose to ace “all of the above” for his depiction of Poe, with an amazing and entertaining performance that lights up the stage.

Fans of Combs’ work are legion, but they will be met with the same astonishing surprise that I received from his Poe. It’s simply this: I sat 8-10 feet away from him, and for the first 15 minutes of the play, I wondered… is that really Jeffrey Combs up there? It isn’t merely the top-quality makeup, costume and hairstyling that startlingly change his appearance. It’s his voice, his mannerisms, everything else as well. Rather than the beloved Herbert West, or Crawford Tillinghast, or any of the characters he’s brought to life, it’s a fascinatingly real and human portrait of an author who is often misunderstood — in our time, and in his own.

Combs’ Poe isn’t a stock figure of macabre imagination like something out of THE ADDAMS FAMILY. He’s a troubled Southern writer and editor suffering from his very real demons while trying to entertain a mid-Victorian salon (the audience) that can’t help but see all of his flaws. A great deal of Poe’s verse and prose is distractingly florid and purple on the page, and Combs (and Paoli and Gordon) makes no effort to hide this. In fact, he emphasizes how 19th century actors (like Poe’s own parents) would declaim the words on a stage, yet does so without lampooning Poe in any way.

Come to “Nevermore” and be surprised by the humanity of Poe and the brilliance of Combs, Paoli and Gordon. You can see the show at the Steve Allen Theater on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. from now until Halloween weekend. Tickets are $20. For more information, see www.steveallentheater.com.

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