Syndicated Post

Delusion Returns to Los Angeles for 2016… with Teeth!

Delusion: His Crimson Queen just may be the hottest ticket to any event this Halloween season here in Southern California. Ironically, Delusion isn’t a haunt – it’s immersive theater set within a spooky environment, dressed up in frightening tales, and performed flawlessly more »

The post Delusion Returns to Los Angeles for 2016… with Teeth! appeared first on Theme Park Adventure.

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Is this East Hollywood self storage building the real Tower of Terror?

The story behind the Disneyworld’s Tower Terror goes something like this: on Halloween night, 1939, four guests and one bellhop […] Read more

Stay Overnight At the Haunted Calico Ghost Town this November

Spend a Weekend at the Haunted Calico Ghost Town this November Our friends at HauntedOC have put together another great event for the paranormal community.  Come spend a weekend in November at the…

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The Ghosts and Monsters of the Cursed Griffith Park

A tour of the physical locations and real murder houses that were fodder for the 2011 Emmy nominated series. Read more

Sex, Black Magic, Showbiz and Rocketry: The Strange Life and Death of Jack Parsons

Few people would say that science and magick have anything to do with one another. Jack Parsons would disagree with you. Co-founder of Jet Propulsion Laboratories and father of the modern rocket, Parsons was also a devout follower of famed occultist Aleister Crowley and best friends with Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Parsons was born […] Read more

The Ultimate List of Halloween-themed Movies

I made a list a few years ago of movies centered around, set during, or containing elements of Halloween. Since then, I’ve noticed that list becoming sadly out-of-date and incomplete, so I decided to start a new, more comprehensive list of movies that are Halloween-themed. All of the films listed below contain Halloween elements, whether briefly or for their entirety. Some are set during Halloween, others just use the autumn season as a backdrop for their stories, some are directly about Halloween, but they will all help evoke that special Halloween spirit!

In this new list, I’ve not only included films I’d missed on the old list as well as new movies, but I’ve also broken down the movies into categories, from horror movies to family-friendly films to comedies and so on, as well as noting whether I recommend them or not. I’ve labeled each movie (at least the ones I’ve seen) with a rating of “recommended,” “watch at your own risk,” or “skip it.”

Goosebumps: Attack of the Jack-o-Lanterns (1996)

Goosebumps: The Haunted Mask, part 1 and part 2 (1995)

Halloween is Grinch Night (1977)

The Halloween that Almost Wasn’t (1979) [watch on YouTube]

The Halloween Tree (1993)

Halloweentown (1998)

Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge (2001)

Halloweentown High (2004)

Halloweentown: Return to Halloweentown (2006)

Hocus Pocus (1993)

Hotel Transylvania (2012)

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

Monster House (2006)

Mostly Ghostly (2008)

Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? (2014)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Over the Garden Wall (2014)

ParaNorman (2012)

R.L. Stine’s Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls (2015)

R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour: Don’t Think About It (2007)

Scary Godmother (2003)

Tom and Jerry’s Halloween Hi-jinks

Tom and Jerry: Tricks and Treats

Tower of Terror (2007)

Twitches (2005)

Under Wraps (1997)

When Good Ghouls Go Bad (2001)

Witch’s Night Out (1978)

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The Ghost of New High Street: a True Los Angeles Haunting

In 1889, police officers spent two nights inside an empty East LA home after residents complained about strange noises emanating […] Read more

Photo Essay: Upon the 75th Anniversary of the Ghost Town at Knott’s Berry Farm

It’s kind of hard to believe that another amusement park has managed to thrive in more or less the next town over from Disneyland. I mean, Disney is Disney, after all. It’s the happiest place on earth!

But Disneyland has been evolving and modernizing. It’s been shifting its focus away from Frontierland in favor of Tomorrowland. And that means Knott’s Berry Farm will soon have the market cornered on amusement park depictions of American pioneers and frontier life in the Old American West.

Yes, Knott’s has a water park and some roller coasters in its main park. But for me, the main attraction is its Ghost Town.

Funny enough, the Ghost Town was built to keep people occupied while they were waiting (sometimes hours) in line to get into Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant.

You could pass the time by taking a look at the 19th century (G)old Trails Hotel, which Walter Knott had moved to Southern California from Prescott, Arizona. The ghost town was free back then—and Walter Knott didn’t start charging admission until 1968.

And thus began his large-scale assemblage art project, building his own “authentic” ghost town by relocating abandoned and neglected buildings and artifacts that he collected.

Unfortunately, some of them—like the Gold Trails—didn’t exactly stand the test of time, so what you see there now is a replica.

But other facades—like the “peek-in” storefronts—haven’t had to endure much wear and tear and have been relatively untouched over the years.

Of course, Walter would find certain anchor buildings for his ghost town, put them into place, and then fill the spaces in between with custom-built “fill-in” buildings that fit right in.

Walter had seen the blacksmith shop structure off the side of the road not far from where he’d started farming back in 1920. So 20 years later when he began building his ghost town, he moved it here—in one piece.

You can still pay the blacksmith a visit and watch him make real horseshoes.

Among the other artifacts that were “rescued” by Walter Knott include “Old Betsy,” an antique wood-burning engine that was a modern upgrade to the 20 Mule Team used in borax mining in the Death Valley area. Walter found this one in Trona.

The windmill by the livery stable is a replica, and together they mark the end of Main Street. Walter Knott didn’t expect his ghost town to grow beyond that.

But indeed, it grew as Walter continued to collect neglected farmhouses…

…and even a famous boxing venue from Burbank known as “Jeffries Barn” (named after heavyweight boxing champ Jim Jeffries).

There’s the one-room red schoolhouse, which looks like something out of Little House and the Prairie…

…even though it was actually relocated to Knott’s from the city of Pico Rivera (about 12 miles northwest of Buena Park) in 1959.

You can sit in the schoolchildren’s desks, but you might have to explain to your younger companions what a blackboard / chalkboard is.

And, of course, it’s not a real ghost town unless it’s got its own bottle house…

…with 3082 bottles embedded in the concrete walls (neck side in)—just like the one in Calico Ghost Town (also a creation of Walter Knott) and the one in Rhyolite, outside of Death Valley.

Except these bottles appeared to have crumbled bits of newspaper or currency stuffed inside of them.

In fact, the Knott’s ghost town draws from many other authentic towns of the Old West—not just Prescott, Calico, and Rhyolite, but also Tombstone, Arizona. Walter built his own version of the Bird Cage Theater…

…as well as Boothill Cemetery.

Some of the headstones (well, wooden slabs) are actually real.

Walter would find vintage grave markers that were badly damaged, buy them, and then pay to replace them.

Lester Moore isn’t actually buried in Buena Park…

…but if you stand on the grave of Hiram McTavish, you can feel his heart still beating through your shoe.

An expanded Knott’s Ghost Town afforded Walter the opportunity to build his own railroad, where he could store—and run—the vintage trains he’d also collected, like the No. 41 “Red Cliff” from the Rio Grande Southern line…

….or the historic locomotives from the Denver & Rio Grande line.

During peak holiday time and weekends, you can stand in line to catch a ride on the vintage steam train, but during the week when it’s a little quieter, it’s “The Galloping Goose” that will take you for a ride on the Ghost Town & Calico Railroad.

It’s a narrow gauge, lightweight machine—one of only seven ever built in the 1930s—that was used as a more economic alternative to the heavyweight steam engines. This one was in service in Colorado until 1953, and its transport costs were reportedly more than its purchase price.

Watch out for bandits.

I figure, if you’re going to take a ride on a train through the Knott’s Ghost Town, then you ought to also take a ride on an authentic, horse-drawn stagecoach.

The Holloday, part of the original Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line, takes passengers on a scenic ride through Knott’s Berry Farm—either inside the coach or up top.

If you’re sitting up top, you’d better hold on—and buckle your seat belt.

Of course, if you’re going to ride a train and a stagecoach, you might as well partake of some of the more modern amusements as well. The Pony Express—a rollercoaster whose horses feel more like motorcycles—is a surprisingly rowdy ride (as evidenced by how tightly they strap you in).

For something a little more relaxing, there’s the Calico Mine Company ride, which takes you right to the “glory hole” of the Calico Mine in your own mining cart—without a seat belt. Beware of the blasting!

Sure, it’s all a bit silly, but there’s some real history at Knott’s Berry Farm. Walter Knott saved a lot of historic stuff from destruction, demolition, and neglect.

And while it amuses us, maybe we can learn something, too.

Related Posts:
Photo Essay: Calico Ghost Town
Photo Essay: The Death Toll of Tombstone
Photo Essay: Glimpses of Arizona
Photo Essay: The Museum of Misfit Houses
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The Spooky Vegan’s 2016 Halloween Season Bucket List

Can you believe October 1st is already here?! It’s unbelievable how fast it crept up on me this year, especially when I want to savor each magical fall moment (even though it’s been in the 80s and 90s the past week, wah!).

Per tradition, October 1st kicks off 31 Days of Halloween, an event hosted by Countdown to Halloween and one I’ve been participating in since 2010! The gist is that I will publish a Halloween-related post daily (or as close to daily as possible) for the month of October. I’ll be sharing all sorts of ghoulish goodies this year, including eerie entertainment recommendations, morbid music to set the stage for spookiness, rancid recipes, dreadful decorations, and much more! Join me…if you dare!

To kick off the 31 Days of Halloween, I have a custom of sharing my annual autumn bucket list on the first day of October. It serves as a running to-do list for me and keeps me from losing my head this macabre month! I’m looking forward to a low-key celebration this month, but plan on squeezing in lots of autumn and Halloweenie fun! Below is what I hope to accomplish…

My Autumn 2016 Bucket List

-Go to a haunted house, haunt or hayride
-Try new vegan autumn recipes
-Find some creepy-cool new goodies on Etsy
-Eat as many pumpkin-based foods (that are vegan) as possible

-Send Halloween cards to friends and family
-Drink apple cider/pumpkin tea
-Score some cute new Halloween clothes or accessories
-Bake muffins, bread, scones, cookies, etc. in autumn flavors (pumpkin everything!)

-Make creepy and/or creepy cute Halloween foods
-Wear scarves, boots, sweaters (quite the challenge in SoCal)
-Complete a Halloween craft project
-Watch old school Halloween-themed movies, TV shows, specials, etc. that I may not have seen yet

-Hit up the big box stores for Halloween goodies
-Make my home smell like pumpkin spice 24/7 with essential oils
-Buy a new cozy Halloween blanket
-Visit a place that actually FEELS like autumn, where I can crunch in the fallen leaves and feel a cool autumn breeze

-Carve pumpkins
-Decorate my front yard
-Visit some historical cemeteries
-Host a pumpkin carving party or horror movie night

-Crank up the Halloween music
-Hand out vegan candy to trick or treaters
-Come up with a costume to wear on Halloween night
-Decorate the house even MORE than usual

-Read The Halloween Tree and other Halloween-themed stories/books
-Watch Halloween cartoons
-Paint my nails orange and black
-Go to a Halloween-themed play, concert, etc.

-See the Halloween display at Roger’s Gardens in Newport Beach
-Roast pumpkin seeds
-Complete the 31 Days of Halloween

Not a lot of events on my bucket list, but I like simple autumns where I can sit back and enjoy the season rather than running around trying to cram in everything in such a limited amount of time. Still, it’s gonna be a great month and I can’t wait to share it with you!

You can also keep up with my Halloween adventures on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!

What are your plans this October?

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