HALLOWEEN HAUNTS

In true Hollywood fashion, haunted houses will come to life in neighborhoods across the county. Here are some with ghoulish surprises, chills and chuckles designed for scary fun.

1. The Haunted Trail

* Hart Park, 24151 San Fernando Road, Santa Clarita

Silent western film cowboy William S. Hart’s onetime home will provide the setting for ghostly entertainment as thrill seekers trek up an Old West trail, encountering the spirits of pioneers, outlaws, Native Americans and wild animals. Special engineering, lighting and sound effects are designed to cause goose bumps for hikers. The dusty trip up Boot Hill runs from 7 to 9 p.m., Saturday through Wednesday. Admission $4. (805) 259-0855.

2. Hallowed Haunting Grounds

* 4343 Babcock Ave., Studio City

Every Halloween for 24 years, freelance film editor Gary Corb has transformed his folks’ suburban frontyard into a nether world spooked by the spirits beyond. A sophisticated sound system with 40 speaker channels and trick projection techniques help set the atmosphere in the graveyard, where blood, gore and loose body parts seem to come alive. Shows are continuous from 7 p.m. to midnight, Oct. 29 to 31. Free.

3. Enchanted All Hallow’s Eve Revel

* 2035 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood

Wine, dine and dance your way through the castle-like, historic Hollywood American Legion hall for a celebration benefiting three nonprofit environmental groups: Bat Conservation International, Defenders of Wildlife and Santa Monica Bay Keeper. Guests will whirl with vampires to live music, magicians will conduct seances as fortunetellers gaze into crystal balls. The witching hour is 6 p.m. and runs through midnight Friday and Saturday. Tickets, $12.50, are limited. (310) 475-4436.

4. Frankenstein’s Monster & House of Horror

940 E. Alosta Ave., Azusa

Halloween revelers with a taste for terror can get their fill as volunteers with the Azusa Community Services Department stage their annual House of Horror, benefiting youth sports programs, from 7 to 10 p.m., Thursday through Wednesday and 6 p.m. to midnight Halloween night. Admission $5 for adults and $3 for children. (818) 812-5220.

5. Image of Horror

* 944 N. Diamond Bar Blvd., Diamond Bar

What’s Halloween without a little dripping blood, vampires, mummies, graveyards and a banquet hall filled with cannibals? JB Entertainment and MKR Studio have put together a scary experience for three nights only, from 7 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday. Admission $5. (714) 526-5591.

6. Beacon House

* 10th and Beacon streets, San Pedro

Halloween spirits come alive as Beacon House residents costumed as nightmarish characters bewitch visitors during a tour of the 1896 waterfront mansion. Residents of the nonprofit men’s alcohol and recovery center transform the rooms into mazes and halls of horror. The chills begin on Halloween with refreshments and treats at dusk. Admission is $1 for adults and 50 cents for children 12 and under.

7. Poison Oak Street Haunt

* 1349 Oak St., Santa Monica

Adam Johnston, a freelance sound effects editor, has transformed his house into a factory of nightmares, complete with computerized special effects, shock spots and robotics. Johnston’s butcher shop and modern Frankenstein lab draw the most screams. Open from 6 to 11 p.m., Oct. 30 and 31. Donations only.

8. Alien Terror

* 1418 4th St., Santa Monica

An extraterrestrial-laden tour based on Area 51, the site of a reported UFO sighting in New Mexico, is sponsored by the Puzzle Zoo toy store. Volunteers transformed an empty building into a secret military base that includes an alien autopsy room. Characters dress as U.S. soldiers and guide visitors through close encounters with big-eyed creatures. All proceeds will go to the Santa Monica-Malibu School District. Not recommended for children 5 and under. Open 5 to 11 p.m., today through Thursday; 5 p.m. to midnight, Fridays; noon to midnight, Saturdays; noon to midnight, Sundays, through Nov. 2. Admission $6. (310) 393-9201.

9. Spooky House

* 6701 Variel Ave., Woodland Hills

Spooks and goblins invade the Valley Indoor Swap Meet at Bob and Dave’s seventh annual haunt as volunteers act out scenes in the “torture,” “exorcist” and “poltergeist” rooms. Shows are continuous from 3 p.m. to midnight on Fridays, 2 p.m. to midnight on Saturdays, 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays through Nov. 3 and 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Halloween. For the first hour each day, the show will be toned down for younger spirits who want the fun without the fright. Admission $5.50. (818) 888-8570.

10. Night Scares

* 28854 Roadside Drive, Agoura Hills

Diki Wackenstedt, entrepreneur of Confetti, a Halloween costume store, and a cast of 24 nightmarish characters in heavily made-up ghoulish fashion invite revelers to this high-tech haunted house, built on an empty lot with mazes of darkened rooms. Open 7 to 10 p.m Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and 7 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Admission $9. A toned-down children’s matinee 5-6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, $5. (818) 594-4049

11. World of Terror

* Topanga Plaza at Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Vanowen Street, Canoga Park

Features about 15 scenes from famous horror films staged by 40 to 80 volunteers from the Global Youth Resource Organization. Not recommended for children under 12 or people with health problems. Open 7 to 10 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays, $9; 6 p.m. to midnight, Fridays and Saturdays, $12, through Nov.2. (800) 944-HOWL.

* Other countywide monster bashes include Willoughby’s Haunted Mansion at Six Flags Magic Mountain’s annual Fright Fest on Oct. 25 to 27 and Halloween, (805) 255-4100; Universal Studios’ Chamber of Chills, daily through Nov. 3, (818) 622-4455; Queen Mary’s Londontowne of Terror, Oct. 25 through Nov. 2, (310) 435-3511; Hollywood Wax Museum’s Chamber of Horrors, now through Halloween, (213) 462-5991; and Kidspace Museum in Pasadena, Oct. 26 to 27 and 29 to 31, (818) 449-9144.

The county parks department, many cities’ parks, law enforcement agencies and some indoor shopping malls are offering supervised programs for safe celebrating, with activities that include parades, contests, movies, carnivals, rides and magic shows.