By: Scott S. Smith, Sandra Wells and Christian Smith
Before the pandemic, Greater Los Angeles was the Halloween capital of the world, with stores catering to super-fan cosplay events and parties all year, companies supplying props for scary films, theme parks that took spooky SFX experiences to a new level, and the West Hollywood Parade that drew half a million. The virus showed what real horror looked like, killing most of those stores, haunted house attractions, and the official WeHo Parade. But in 2022, U.S. Halloween spending came back from the dead at $10.6 billion, up $2 billion over 2019. The sidewalk version of the Parade (at least) has continued and with unemployment at a 50-year low, 2023 should see another record (despite the frightening shrinkage of Hollywood filming). Here are some events and resources that will help you celebrate the holiday’s resurrection:
Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Night Returns Sep. 7-Oct. 31 https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/hhn/en/us This year the haunted houses include Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin American, and others devoted to The Last of Us, Stranger Things 4, The Exorcist Believer, Holdayz in Hell, Chucky Ultimate Kill, Evil Dead Rise, Universal Monsters Unmasked, and Terror Tram The Exterminatorz.
Beetle House L.A.
https://www.beetlehousela.com/ at Hollywood Blvd. and La Brea (entry is just south of the southeast corner) is a restaurant and show that celebrates Halloween year-round, the decor and themes inspired by the work of Tim Burton, Alfred Hitchcock, Edgar Allen Poe, Bram Stoker, and other artists of horror culture (see photo). It is “a strange and unusual dining experience and nightclub where every goth, punk, freak, weirdo, and visitor is welcome.” And among the latter are often entire families with young children in costume who appear to be having even more fun than the adults. Magicians do clever card tricks at the tables and the clowning around by the characters has everyone laughing. The meals are quite good: we had the DEETZ plant burger, delicious deep friend risotto balls with vegan cheese, sides of garlic potato, Brussels sprouts, and prickly pear salad, as well as Death by Chocolate Cake (they have something on the menu for anyone’s diet).
Halloween Club Superstore has been serving those hooked on Halloween for 35 years, with the world’s largest retail warehouse devoted to the holiday in La Mirada. It is also part of the Aahs! gift chain that offers seasonal merchandise all year in Buena Park, Torrance, Westwood, and the Puente Hills Mall in the City of Industry
http://www.halloweenclub.com/Locations. Among the thousands of costumes La Mirada has for men are Naughty Santa, Top Gun Jump Suit, and Asylum Inmate. For women: the Angelic Reaper, Drop Dead Prom Queen, and Hot GI Jill. There are innumerable masks, outdoor decor of all kinds, moving props, fog machines, and more.
Spirit Halloween
https://www.spirithalloween.com/ is the nation’s largest chain of Halloween seasonal stores with 1,100 in all states and Canada.
Other Great Costume Stores Open All Year
There are other highly-rated places to buy or rent imaginative costumes:
Hollywood Toys and Costumes https://hollywoodtoysandcostumes.com/ at 6600 Hollywood Blvd. has been in business for 70 years.
Adele’s of Hollywood
https://www.adelescostumes.com/adeles-of-hollywood-location.html is almost next door at 5034 Hollywood Blvd. and has been in business for nearly eight decades.
Ursula’s Costumes
https://ursulascostumes.biz/ is at Wilshire Blvd. and 25th St. in Santa Monica.
Halloween Bootique
https://shophalloweenbootique.com/ is in the Triangle Center in Costa Mesa.
Heritage Costumes
https://www.heritagecostumes.com/ in Torrance specializes in historic costumes ancient and modern for reenactments, educational events, thematic parties, theme parks, and museum stores.
SoCal’s Halloween HQ in Burbank
Best known for having production facilities for The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., Burbank also hosts the two stores of Halloween Town https://www.halloweentownstore.com/, half a block from each other. The one at 2921 W. Magnolia is filled with props, strobe lights, magic tricks, decor, gifts, and more, such as caskets, an animated floating witch with light and sound. The one at 3021 is entirely focused on costumes, accessories, and makeup for going door-to-door, parties, and cosplay. For toddlers they have Tinker Bell and a pterodactyl, while pets can come as Batman or Dracula. Men can become the Pope, a Pharaoh, or a Day of the Dead skeleton. Women’s choices include an Elizabethan Queen, Harriet Tubman, or a flapper.
The Mystic Museum
https://www.themysticmuseum.com/ at 3204 W. Magnolia is in part a unique immersive experience, currently “Y2Kills,” a walkthrough haunted house with scary humans, bloody remains, and clever special effects in various packages (see photo). The store has an enormous variety of art, collectible CDs, clothing, and oddities. Among them are historic dental tools, skeletons of bats, shock therapy devices, interesting published obituaries, mug shots, official Elvira and Evil Dead T-shirts, a kit for giving the Last Rites, a shrunken head, a Visible Woman anatomical kit, and Dungeons and Dragons tarot cards. At 2815 W. Magnolia is also Mystic Museum’s new “The Lost Toys: An Immersive Vintage Horror Toy Exhibit.”
Burbank has even become the most creative place in SoCal for Halloween yard displays, incentivized by awards from the city https://myburbank.com/here-are-the-2022-myburbank-halloween-house-decorating-contest-champs/. Our photo is of last year’s winner for Best Overall Decorations at 814 N. Bel Aire Dr. and the neighborhoods in the area are fun to cruise.
Burbank is also the location of Dark Delicacies
https://www.darkdel.com/, which for three decades has sponsored signings by authors of horror, science fiction, and fantasy books (see photo). Among the titles we saw were the travel guide Dark Destinations, 100 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered, The Exorcist Legacy, and GUTS: An Anatomy of the Walking Dead. There was also a poster for “Pan’s Labyrinth” signed by Guillermo Del Toro, fan magazines like “Fangoria,” and games.