Spooky season is here! 13 things to do in L.A. for a frightfully epic October

Halloween season is arguably the most festive time of year in Los Angeles. Is it any wonder that a city that favors make-believe would take to a holiday that inspires elaborate set dressings and creative costumes, the latter a chance to take on a role other than ourselves?

Likely not, and whether you lean spooky or playful, the days and weeks leading up to Oct. 31 are filled with events, often with no costume necessary. Consider October an excuse to throw a massive, fall-related bash.

This season there are returning staples, such as “Carved” at Descanso Gardens and Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights, but also opportunities to explore Halloween’s campier side. Our penchant for the theatrical is well represented, and even newer Los Angeles institutions such as the Academy Museum are getting in on the autumnal fun.

Whether you’re seeking an event to charm or to inspire frights, there’s plenty our region has to offer.

A pumpkin house at the Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch in Culver City.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

For nearly 40 years, Culver City’s Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch has been a go-to destination for snaring those essential Halloween decorations all while exploring an artisanally crafted pumpkin village. Mr. Bones, after all, needs a place to live, and the neighborhood continues to grow. Also offered: a straw maze, pumpkin decorating, a petting zoo, giant rocking horses, slides and more. Think of Mr. Bones as a large-scale, pumpkin-themed playground.

Not near Culver City? No fear, as SoCal has many a winning patch throughout October, including West Covina’s Robles Pumpkin Patch, Lakewood’s Pa’s Pumpkin Patch, Cal Poly Pomona’s PumpkinFest and many more.

Actor Dasha Kittredge in a production of “1986-6-6.”

(1986-6-6 LLC)

The setup for this interactive, game-heavy theatrical production is simple: You’re in high school in the 1980s, and you’ve been sent to detention. It isn’t long, however, before things start to go awry, and it becomes clear that something more sinister than an after-school punishment is going on here. This is “1986-6-6,” and it comes from veterans of the video game industry. It’s their first major foray into immersive theater, and it’s campy and silly good fun.

The tone is more John Hughes than John Carpenter, as you’ll work together with a number of actors to uncover a paranormal mystery that’s consuming a suburban town. Expect a series of escape room-inspired puzzles to unravel, a bounty of ’80s references and a chance to encounter a Teddy Ruxpin doll. “We wanted a little bit of a supernatural hint,” says co-creator Giz Gewirtz of the 18-and-older experience. “We were inspired by movies like ‘Ghostbusters,’ which has a supernatural comedy vibe.” The show runs weekends throughout October in Culver City.

Inside the “Sinners” haunted house at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights.

(Scott Strazzante / For The Times)

Our theme parks go all out for Halloween, and this year is no different. Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights has big-name intellectual property like “Sinners” and “Stranger Things,” while Knott’s Berry Farm’s Scary Farm gets a little weirder, this year collaborating with the Magic Castle and creating a haunted house centered on 1930s animation.

Don’t sleep on Disneyland, though. While its after-hours event Oogie Boogie Bash is now sold out, the park’s Halloween decorations are a delight — explore the inviting pumpkins of Main Street, U.S.A., or take a stroll through an autumnal Cars Land. Need something more hair-rising? Ride a thrilling, creature-heavy makeover of Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout! in Disney California Adventure.

Actor Mariluna Beacy in this year’s “Delusion: Den of the Mosquito.”

(Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group)

Long-running interactive theater company Delusion returns with “Delusion: Den of the Mosquito,” a participatory play set in a 1920s New Orleans brothel. Once guests enter a historic mansion in West Adams, they will discover a demented mystery. The mayor is missing, the mafia is involved, a mad scientist rules the basement and all the prostitutes are vampires. Visitors enter in small groups, but prepare to be split up, as “Den of the Mosquito” places a priority on intimate scenes with actors.

But it’s not for the faint of heart. Stumble upon grotesque, dead bodies, or be led, masked or blindfolded, to hidden rooms of ill repute. Delusion founder Jon Braver says he wanted to a give a “harder edge” to the 18-and-over experience. “It has a sexier vibe to it,” he says. “It’s the subject matter — a brothel, vampire prostitutes, the mafia. It’s not something you’d bring an elementary school field trip to.”

“Carved” at Descanso Gardens this year will feature glowing wire sculptures from Helsinki-based artist Alexander Reichstein.

(Descanso Gardens)

A twilight stroll through “Carved” at Descanso Gardens is like walking through a Halloween fairy tale, as exquisitely designed pumpkins surround and dazzle us in glowing installations. Scenes look lifted from a storybook — over the years Descanso’s La Cañada Flintridge grounds have featured a horse and buggy with a pumpkin at the helm, a pumpkin sea monster and a larger-than-life multicolored Día de los Muertos ofrenda. Halloween here is a wonderland, and Descanso continues to lean heavily into the fantastical, this year adding glowing wire sculptures from Helsinki-based artist Alexander Reichstein. Squint, and they’ll look like they’re floating.

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Elsewhere, King Gillette Ranch’s “Night of the Jack” is a milelong trail filled with pumpkin delights and illuminated installations. Stroll through the woods and encounter prehistoric scenes, luminous flowers, lantern art and a host of mythical creatures. And the South Coast Botanic Garden in Palos Verdes Peninsula has “Magic of the Jack O’Lanterns,” a milelong walking trail with more than 10,000 carved pumpkins, s’mores-making stations and more.

The L.A. Opera’s 2015 company premiere of “Hercules vs Vampires.”

(L.A. Opera)

L.A. Opera will once again revive director Mario Bava’s 1961 movie, “Hercules in the Haunted World,” a sword-and-sandal adventure that The Times has described as having “low-budget production values, atrocious acting and even worse dubbing.” But that’s all part of the fun, right?

“Hercules vs Vampires” is a live musical reimagining, adding in-the-flesh singers and performers to the film. It’s a decidedly unique production, as the 74-minute opera requires that performers and musicians calibrate the score and vocals to preexisting work. “It goes against the grain of what singers are trained to do,” Patrick Morganelli, who composed the score, told The Times back when it was first staged. Blair Salter, head of music for L.A. Opera, conducts. Performances are set for Oct. 30 and Oct. 31 at the United Theater on Broadway, with a costume contest on Halloween night.

Guests enjoy Strange Science at the Huntington.

(The Huntington )

The Huntington does Halloween a little differently. This year’s “Strange Science” event, the 10th, will aim to find the midpoint between art and mysticism. There will be fortune tellers, dancing and aerial artistry and acrobatics. Also, live demonstrations of Nikola Tesla’s lightning machine, magic and talks, one featuring a chief engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory that’ll delve into the mysteries of the universe. A centerpiece of the evening will be a deep dive into Integratron, the ever-confounding dome out in the Mojave Desert, from “Otherworld” podcast host Jack Wagner and architectural historian Daniel Paul.

Scary? Probably not, but the Huntington’s “Strange Science” is typically an esoteric exploration of the weird. “Strange Science” is a 21-and-older event and is held on the evenings of Oct. 30 and Oct. 31.

Cinespia at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

(From the Cinespia Archives)

Spend Halloween with one of L.A.’s favorite pastimes: watching a beloved movie outdoors at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. On Halloween Eve, Cinespia will screen “Jennifer’s Body,” the Diablo Cody-penned 2009 film starring Megan Fox as a boy-chomping demon. Then on Halloween night it’s John Carpenter’s 1982 classic “The Thing.” Both nights will feature live DJs and photobooths. Costumes, of course, are encouraged.

The Bob Baker marionettes at this year’s Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

This is a good news/bad news situation. The Bob Baker Marionette Theater’s run of its annual show “Hallowe’en Spooktacular” is officially sold out for the season. But don’t despair, as there’s still, at the time of writing, a chance to see troupe’s puppets in a spooky-yet-goofy show this fall. The Spook-A-Nanny at Heritage Square Museum on the evening of Oct. 18 is an opportunity to view classic Bob Baker numbers while also taking in some vintage Halloween-inspired videos courtesy of Screen Novelties. Come prepared for a mix of retro live-action, animated and puppetry snippets while munching on churros or popcorn. The event is advertised as family friendly.

Disney Hall will screen John S. Robertson’s 1920 take on “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” on Halloween.

(Los Angeles Philharmonic)

The Halloween festivities start early in the day at Walt Disney Concert Hall. At 3 p.m., it’s a screening of John S. Robertson’s 1920 take on “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” starring John Barrymore. Expect Gothic vibes courtesy of organist Clark Wilson, whom The Times has described as “one of the country’s leading theater organists and organ conservators.” His take on “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is said to include English music hall, light orchestral works and sound effects. “You can really create mood and emotion on the pipe organ,” Wilson once told The Times. “When there’s something hair-raising on the screen, you can come up with some pretty hair-raising sounds.”

Then in the evening, in a separately ticketed event, Disney Hall welcomes film composer extraordinaire Michael Giacchino for a double feature. First up is an early look at Giacchino’s new musical “Headless,” a theatrical production inspired by “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” After an intermission, the venue will screen Marvel’s haunted “Werewolf by Night” with live orchestral accompaniment conducted by Sarah Hicks.

Crowds browse the Halloween decorations at a home on Buena Vista Street in Burbank.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The San Fernando Valley, especially in Burbank, is a region now known for extravagant, do-it-yourself Halloween displays. Consider the area a real-life Halloween wonderland. Multiple home haunts throughout the San Fernando Valley have been garnering attention in the Southland in recent years, so much so that in 2020 Jen Spincic created the Halloween in Burbank and Beyond map and site at Frightspot.com to catalog them all. Spincic’s accompanying Instagram dives into some of the better-known locations, which in recent years has included a house that’s a mashup of “Wicked” and “The Wizard of Oz,” a creepy exploration of all-things clowns and a joyous celebration of Disney-inspired culture.

Janaya Jones in the immersive “Dark Library: The Time Machine.”

(After Hours Theatre Company)

North Hollywood-based After Hours Theatre Company has become one of the more reliable proprietors of immersive, interactive theater in the L.A. region. Its current show, “Dark Library: The Time Machine,” is no exception. Running weekends through Nov. 1, “The Time Machine” is an exploration into the worlds of novelist H.G. Wells. Characters from “The Time Machine,” “The Invisible Man,” “The Island of Doctor Moreau” and more intermix in this tense production with sinister undertones.

Come early to mingle with the cast, in character, of course, who may or may not need your help in deciphering some puzzles. Tickets are sold with or without a drink pairing, but the vibe is that of being invited to a secret society, a meeting of the world’s foremost minds. Only here, the latter can be a bit demented. Scratch that, a lot demented. It’s a clever use of Wells’ works, and transitions seamlessly from a cocktail-party vibe to a light thriller.

The Annabelle doll prop from “The Conjuring” at the Academy Museum‘s new exhibit “The Horror Show.”

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

Everyday right now is Halloween at the Academy Museum, thanks in part to its new exhibit “The Horror Show,” which The Times notes explores more than a century of horror, from silent-era landmarks such as “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920) and “Nosferatu” (1922) through “Psycho” (1960) and “The Exorcist” (1973) to “Midsommar” (2019) and “Weapons” (2025). The exhibition is organized into six themed “chambers” devoted to Gothic horror, psychological horror, science, slashers, religion and ghosts, with settings ranging from a shadowy crypt to a killer’s house and a haunted living room.

And on Oct. 24, the museum will once again host its full-day, family-friendly Monster Mash event. Tours of the exhibit will be offered throughout the afternoon, but come to learn how to be transformed into a vampire at a special effects workshop. Other events include a hair and makeup tutorial with Academy Award winners Joel Harlow and Howard Berger, and photo ops with many a classic Universal monster. Movies will screen throughout the day, including “Hotel Transylvania,” “Blade” and “Horror of Dracula.”