Selected events from the Creepy connoisseur…
Halloween Night:
Hex Halloween Halloween night 9:00 PM to 3:00 AM; Avalon, 1735 Vine St. Hollywood. Tickets, $90-$30. This year, if you want a mind-blowing nightclub experience filled with a startling mix of the vital and talented then Hex is your best bet. A dark and sexy smorgasbord of the exotic, erotic, fetish, vaudeville, burlesque, carnival, silent magick, dolly contortion, Goth, dandy opera, body modification, Butoh, twirling, performance art, Tango– and I know I’m leaving a lot out. State-of-the-art multimedia, two dance floors, multiple bars, a restaurant, smoking and drinking patios– just buy your ticket now and GO. Nothing compares to Hex. Victoria Lane told us all about it when we launched CreepyLA in September.
The Shining Halloween night at 7:00 PM, gates open at 5:30 PM; Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. $10. “REDRUM!”
West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval Santa Monica Blvd. between La Cienega and Doheny. (Parking suggestion: Beverly Center) The Big Mama (who is probably a man in drag) of Halloween events in Los Angeles, some swear by this street shindig and some can’t stay far enough away. But if you’re the pathologically outgoing and pushily self-mythologizing type like me, and you see me there, PLEASE step back and allow me my moment, okay?
Book Soup Halloween Readings 7:00 PM Halloween night; 8818 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood. Free. Hotel St. George Press presents Aaron Petrovich performing The Session: A Novella in Dialogue while wearing a strait jacket; Alex Rose reading and performing from The Music Illusionist with live accompaniment from David Little and the Formalist Quartet; and Joseph Mattson reading and performing Empty the Sun with accompaniment by Six Organs. Free Six Organs CDs to the first 50 people.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 8:00 PM Halloween night; Disney Concert Hall, 111 Grand St. Down town Los Angeles. Tickets $47-$22. A screening of the silent classic with a live pipe organ soundtrack performed by “the renowned” Clark Wilson.
Run-up to Halloween:
The Aero Theater’s Annual Halloween Horror-thon kicks off with a double feature of The Haunting and The Uninvited (not on DVD,) both “in gothic black and white.” Thursday, October 25th at 7:30 PM; Aero Theater, 1328 Montana Ave. at 14th St. Santa Monica.
The Demon Seed (Julie Christy as a mere tool in an evil plan to impregnate her with artificial DNA, create mindless, hybrid humans and take over the world—in short, the story of the humble beginnings of today’s Republican Party) and The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) are slated for Friday at 7:30 PM.
You can pull an all-nighter on Saturday starting at 7:30 PM with Return of the Living Dead, Todd Browning’s incredible Freaks, From Beyond, The Beyond, Last House on the Left, The Children and last but not least, The Gates of Hell. Phew!
If you’re jones-ing for another fix, The Omen, the story of the little Anti-Christ who could, plays Halloween night at 7:30 PM.
The Creature from the Black Lagoon in 3D Saturday, October 27th at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM; Alex Theater, 216 N. Brand Blvd. Glendale. Tickets $13.50; or $9.75 via Gold Star Events. Prehistoric gill-man gets girl, gill-man loses girl… With a special appearance by Julia Adams, one of the film’s stars; plus a magic show by Rob Zabrecky before the movie.
Bloodsucking Cinema Premieres Fri. Oct. 26th on Starz premium cable. A new documentary from the premium cable channel explores the origins of the vampire myth, its stylistic evolution and Hollywood’s undying love for the toothy lot.
Dia De Los Muertos at Hollywood Forever, Saturday, October 27th, 4:00 PM to 11:00 PM; Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. The traditional date for Dia de los Muertos is November 2nd, a Friday this year, so we can understand the convenience factor of staging it this Saturday. Anyway, HF certainly pulls out all the stops. Also, the ceremonial altar set-up is the night before, 6:30 to 10:30 PM. Free, donations welcomed.
Elvira at Dream Halloween Saturday, October 27th at 5:00PM; Barker Hangar, Santa Monica Airport. The Mistress of the Dark will be one of the luminaries at the Children Affected with Aids Foundation benefit, hosted by Jamie Lee Curtis, along with Teri Hatcher, Jason Priestley and others. Elvira will be presented with a one-of- a-kind Elvira Barbie Doll by Mattell that will be auctioned at the circus-themed event. Trick-or-treating, sundae-eating, dancing, silent auctions, performances and more.
Hallowesque Saturday, October 27th at 10:00 PM; M Bar 1253 Vine St. Hollywood. $15 admission; $10 if you’re in costume. Kat Bardot’s Rainyday Burlesque presents a Halloween burlesque show with Jewel of Denial, Penny Star Jr., La Cholita, Bobbie Burlesque, and more.
Gris Grimly will be signing copies of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving’s creepy classic that he has newly illustrated for children. Saturday, Oct. 27th at 2:30 PM; Huntington Library, San Marino. Free.
Halloween Fright Night 5, Saturday, Oct. 27th at 8:00 PM; Warner Grand Theater, 478 W. 6th St. San Pedro. Tickets $25; or $16.50 via Gold Star. The Golden State Pops Orchestra will feature Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, the music in the creepiest sequence in Fantasia, plus selections from other horror movies like Scream and Species. Really, it’s worth it just to see this lavish art deco movie palace built in 1931.
B4 I Wake Theater of NOTE, 1517 Cahuenga Blvd at Sunset, Hollywood; Fri. & Sat. at 11:00 PM and Sun. at 7:00 PM through Nov. 17th. Tickets $10. More in the vein of a kick-ass rock ‘n’ roll horror show than traditional theater , B4 I Wake is a mixed-media experimental take on Bram Stoker’s Dracula tale.
The Nightmare Before Christmas In 3-D El Capitan Theatre, 6838 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Runs through Nov. 19th. Tickets $13.00. Not to be missed, the genius of Tim Burton in pre-CGI stop-motion animation crammed with intricate, jaw-dropping detail and effects given even more luster now that it’s all in 3-D. Selected screenings are sing-a-longs. Check El Capitan’s schedule for details.
Hollyween Through October 31st. A “Hollywood vs. Halloween” art show has new works by over 50 artists, including Plastic God, “Your 21st Century Andy Warhol,” at the World of Wonder Storefront Gallery, 6650 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood.
Dali: Painting & Film Through January 6th at LA County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. Salvadore Dali knew his way around Hollywood, collaborating with Hitchcock and Disney as well as being influenced by Cecil B. DeMille and the Marx Brothers. This exhibit’s exploration of those connections will be rife with surreal images that can be considered creepy to say the least, incorporating film, photography, painting, sculpture and texts. Group costume inspiration, anyone?
Hollywood Hell House Thu.-Sat. through Oct. 27th. 385 N. La Cienega, WeHo. Tickets $22.50; or $15 tickets via Goldstar Events. Yeah, it’s hilariously twisted for us debauched left-coast hedonists, but it’s based on actual scripts written by Texan fundamentalists. If you don’t want those nuts in charge, y’all best vote– oh, that’s right, they ARE in charge. Anyway, it features horrifying “lessons” on why it’s not cool to be queer, have an abortion or rape someone you just met. (Obviously they’ve never been to LA and don’t know what real fun is.) Last year it featured certifiably hellward-bound performers like Bill Maher, Sarah Silverman and Andy Richter.
The Love Talker Fri. & Sat. at 8 PM, Sun. at 5 PM, through Nov. 17th, Hub Theater, North Hollywood. No performance 11/4. Tickets $20 at Plays 411, or $10 at Gold Star Events. A sensual ghost story.
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat” Fri. & Sat. at 8:30 PM through Oct. 27th. Tickets $12. At Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre, North Hollywood. Poe, performed live. What else needs to be said?
Haunted Attractions are now listed on Where the Scares Are, Creepy’s new interactive map guide to Halloween-themed attractions throughout October in the greater Los Angeles area.
Also be sure and check out the Creepy Map of Haunted Los Angeles, a guide to reported supernatural activity throughout Los Angeles County.
Photograph of Elvira by David Goldner
