Celebrate Halloween in SoCal with haunted theme parks and spooky music

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Saturday, Oct. 28. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend:

• How to get spooky in SoCal this Halloween
• Why PCH in Malibu is getting more dangerous
• Why Gen Z is turned off by onscreen sex
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

Celebrate Halloween in SoCal with haunted theme parks and spooky music

Get your costumes ready and cue up Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Halloween is days away, and there’s no shortage of spooky events and attractions to enjoy around Southern California.

The holiday has grown bigger than trick-or-treating and costume parties. Some started celebrating nearly two months before the holiday at places like Disneyland, which kicked off its Halloween festivities on Sept. 1 — the unofficial first day of this year’s Halloween season, according to The Times’ Todd Martens. Halloween at Disneyland rivals — and sometimes exceeds — the Christmas season. This year, you’ll find an overlay of the Haunted Mansion themed to Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” a sold-out and ticketed evening party called the Oogie Boogie Bash, and decorations and ride makeovers across two parks.

Disneyland didn’t always embrace Halloween to the extent it does today, but theme parks have arguably helped fuel what is now a multi-month celebration of the holiday.

(Joshua Sudock / Disneyland Resort)

“Americans have become Halloween-obsessed,” Todd wrote. “By the time Nov. 1 rolls around, it’s estimated that we’ll collectively have spent a record $12.2 billion-plus to celebrate Halloween this year, up almost $2 billion from last year, according to the National Retail Federation. And in a testament to how theme parks can shape and drive culture, we have them partly to thank — or blame.”

But it’s not just Disney leading the charge.

Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights brings your favorite movie monsters to life with six mazes based on popular horror franchises, three scare zones and the Terror Tram experience. When you’re ready to leave the park, be prepared to face the sea of chainsaw-wielding villains that guard the exit.

Opening night at Universal Studios Horror Nights on Sept. 7, 2023.

(J. Emilio Flores / Los Angeles Times en Español)

In Buena Park, one of the longest-running large-scale Halloween events in L.A. County is the six-week-long makeover of Knott’s Berry Farm into Knott’s Scary Farm, now in its 50th year. The after-hours festival includes three new mazes, five scare zones and four shows. This year they have new “no-boo” necklaces for attendees who want to avoid a terror-filled evening.

If theme parks aren’t for you, buckle up and treat yourself to a driving tour of some of the spookiest film and TV houses. You can also challenge yourself in a haunted escape room at the Ministry of Peculiarities or celebrate from the comfort of your own home with the official De Los “espooky season” playlist.

Most local Halloween events end Oct. 31, but a few are running through early November. Currently celebrating 25 years of continuous operation, Reign of Terror has the distinction of being the single largest indoor haunted house in SoCal. The Thousand Oaks destination has 138 uniquely themed rooms that occupy 28,000 square feet of floor space, open through Nov. 4.

For more Halloween activities in SoCal, here’s a roundup of events and attractions to rattle and shake your bones.

The week’s biggest stories

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks after he was chosen as the Republicans’ latest nominee for House speaker.

(Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press)

Politics

• House Republicans unite, finally, to elect hard-right colleague Mike Johnson as speaker.
• Trump is fined $10,000 over a comment he made outside court in his New York civil fraud trial.
• Gov. Gavin Newsom discusses fentanyl and climate change during his China visit — and has a bumpy toboggan ride.
• California Supreme Court ends Disneyland’s fight against Anaheim wage law.

War in the Middle East

• Amid criticism, the Biden administration makes a plea for civilians trapped in Gaza under Israeli bombardment.
• Dave Chappelle tackles the Israel-Hamas war onstage with a mixed reaction that included early exits.
• ‘The left has really let us down.’ Why many American Jews feel abandoned.
• This California city is the first in the U.S. to officially back Palestinians, and accuses Israel of ‘ethnic cleansing.’
• A stone, a bullet, a burial. A Palestinian boy’s death in the West Bank signals wider unrest.

Maine mass shooting

• Who is Robert Card, the suspect in Maine’s deadliest mass shooting?
• ‘There’s no processing this’: A relative of two Maine shooting victims tells of hopes dashed.

Health

• The new COVID vaccines are here: Now’s the time to get one, officials say.
• It’s scary season for kids’ teeth. Help keep them cavity-free with these tips.

Climate and environment

• Arrowhead bottled water company sues to continue piping from California forest.
• One of California’s riskiest volcanoes has been seeing more earthquakes. Is an eruption coming?
• Survivors of Mexico’s massive hurricane are desperate for aid.
• A U.N. report warns of catastrophic climate tipping points. California is nearing several.
• Feds say Colorado River water cuts are sufficient to stave off immediate risks.
• Heat, drought, floods, bad air: Will California’s Central Valley survive climate change?
• A stretch of the Central California coast is about to be designated a marine sanctuary. What does that mean?

Policing

• Prosecutors fear LAPD gang unit scandal could jeopardize more than 300 cases, sources say.
• LAPD is considering a stronger body camera policy in light of recent scandals.

More big stories

• Cruise sidelines the entire U.S. robotaxi fleet to focus on rebuilding ‘public trust.’
• Thousands of actors sign a letter declaring they’d ‘rather stay on strike than take a bad deal.’
• California congressman offers a bill to allow striking workers to collect unemployment pay.
• What caused a speeding BMW to crash, killing 4 Pepperdine students? Dueling claims amid murder charges.
• Venezuelan immigrants are ostracized in Colombia amid xenophobia and shifting politics.
• A $7.5-million find: Overlooked Getty estate sale map turns out to be a 14th century treasure.
• Opinion: How Sedona, an epicenter of spiritual energy and an Arizona tourism mecca, came to fear and loathe tourists.
• The ‘mansion tax’ prevails in court as a judge dismisses a lawsuit challenging Measure ULA.
• Dov Charney, Milo Yiannopoulos, Kanye West and the battle over a Silver Lake compound.
• Embrace your inner Walter White by buying this San Jose home with an ‘inactive’ meth lab.

Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.

The week’s great reads

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

Behind the beauty, PCH in Malibu takes a deadly toll. Why it’s getting more dangerous. A Times analysis shows that despite various safety improvements, serious accidents along PCH have actually gotten more common. Data show 170 deaths and serious injuries to drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians between 2011 and 2023.

More great reads

• Long hours, low pay and mental trauma: Stars say reality TV is grueling and a union could help.
• Gen Z is turned off by onscreen sex, and wants no-mance over romance, a new study finds.
• A look at how Latino wealth varies by state.
• The hot Gen Z bar in L.A. is Barney’s Beanery. Wait, what?
• Review: ‘Priscilla,’ Sofia Coppola’s best movie in years, shimmers with beauty and heartbreak.

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your weekend

(Diana Ramirez/De Los; Photos by Oscar Millán)

Going out

• 👻 Celebrate spooky season with cumbia, EDM or hip-hop Halloween tours.
• ⛰️🥾 Avoid calamity — or worse — on your next hike by remembering these five basic tips.
• 👯 Three exciting new dance works for your L.A. weekend.

Staying in

• 📺 Step aside, Coach Prime. Ethan Garbers could take center stage in UCLA vs. Colorado.
• 🗡️🪦 Demons, killer sloths, analog terror: The 13 best new horror movies to stream this Halloween.
• 🏈 USC vs. Cal four things to watch: Trojans still in Pac-12 title hunt.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

L.A. Affairs

Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.

(Asia Pietrzyk / For The Times)

Dating tragic men taught me something. I was tired of meeting losers. What happens to your dating life in Los Angeles when you always swipe right? I found out thanks to a series of first dates mostly with tragic men.

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Elvia Limón, multiplatform editor
Laura Blasey, assistant editor

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