Halloween Haunts

Thursday

Warm up for the big, scary weekend by taking in Bob and Dave’s Spooky House (6701 Variel Ave., Woodland Hills, $5.50-$8.50. [818] 888-8570.). Childhood friends Bob Koritzke and Dave Rector have been putting this on for nine years, and it’s grown into the third-largest haunted house in Southern California.

Then lighten up a little with “Scream Queens” (Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7:30 p.m, $18-$20. [818] 789-6066.), a comical musical revue.

Friday

Blend the literary and the frightening with “Tainted Blood” at the Road Theatre Company (Lankershim Arts Building, 5108 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m. through Nov. 22. $15. [818] 377-2002.). Imagine: Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, Arthur Conan Doyle and a vampire caught in a plot of secrets, seductions and immortality.

Afterward, go see some folks who have achieved an immortality, of sorts, at the Hollywood Wax Museum (6767 Hollywood Blvd., 10 a.m.-midnight, $6.95-$8.95. [323] 462-5991.). It’s a guilty pleasure, but hey, you just supported the arts.

Saturday

Trick-or-treat time. Merchants in various areas, including South Lake Avenue in Pasadena, the Santa Monica Pier and the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center, have festivities for kids and teenagers planned. Treats are also available during “Boo at the Zoo,” from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Los Angeles Zoo’s Adventure Island. No little ones? Head over to Hollywood Forever (6000 Santa Monica Blvd.), the cemetery formerly known as Hollywood Memorial Park. The Art Deco Society of Los Angeles is leading walking tours every 15 minutes from 10-11:30 a.m. The $10 tour will point out movie stars, pioneers and entrepreneurs who are buried there.

At the Watercourt in downtown L.A. (350 S. Grand Ave.), you can get a jump on the Dia de los Muertos with performances by Lysa Flores, alternative Chicano band Quetzal and Mexican Elvis tribute act El Vez. At 7 p.m., artists will be on hand to paint children’s faces; the show follows at 8.

Then at 11 p.m. tune your radio to KCLU-FM (88.3) or KJLH-FM (102.3) for a live radio reenactment of Orson Welles’ classic “War of the Worlds.” You can listen in your car on the way to South Pasadena, where the Rialto Theater (1023 Fair Oaks Ave.) is taking the midnight screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” to a new level. This RHPS “cast,” a group called Voyeuristic Intention, claims to be the longest-running live-action cast in California.

Sunday

It’s officially the Day of the Dead, so get yourself to Olvera Street, where, from noon-5 p.m., there will be face-painting, arts and crafts, pinatas--but also traditional altars on display. (Monday at 6:30 p.m. Olvera Street will host a procession.) Or, from 2-5 p.m., take in the Plaza de la Raza open house, where there will also be traditional altars, regional Mexican dances and mariachi music. Both events are free.

For the 25th year, the Chicano art and cultural center Self Help Graphics holds one of the city’s biggest Day of the Dead celebrations. Things start with a festival at 10:30 a.m. at the corner of Lorena and Cesar Chavez Avenue, followed by a procession east to Self Help for a day of dance and ceremony (3802 Cesar E. Chavez Ave., East Los Angeles, 1 to 9 p.m., [323] 881-6444).

A Dia de los Muertos celebration will be underway at the Museum of Latin American Art (628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach. noon-6 p.m. (562) 437-1689.), and the Autry Museum of Western Heritage will display altars (4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. [323] 667-2000).