Halloween Events 2012

Pretty much every club in Hollywood, from the Avalon to Greystone Manor and the Tropicana Bar at the Roosevelt, is hosting a dance party, and there will be Halloween-themed pub crawls in Santa Monica and Hermosa Beach. But if you're looking for something more than your standard Halloween party, check out the events below.

 

Dia de Los Muertos at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS 

Oct. 27 @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery (Hollywood)
Since Dec. 21, 2012 is fast approaching, this year's Dia de Los Muertos festival at the cemetery explores Mayan gods, rituals and calendar. Over 100 altars created by the community to their departed loved ones, Aztec ritual dancers, a dance plaza, arts and crafts and food vendors are all going to be featured. Besides headliners Ozomatli, bands such as La Santa Cecilia and Very Be Careful are performing.

DUSK-TO-DAWN HORRORTHON

Oct. 27 @ Aero Theatre (Santa Monica)
Spend the entire night at the seventh annual scary movie marathon, featuring Hellraiser, Motel Hell, The Devil's Rain, Christine, The Living Dead of Manchester Morgue (aka Let Sleeping Corpses Lie) and The Manitou. There will be plenty of between-film free food, coffee, energy drinks and prize giveaways, too.

EEK AT THE GREEK

Oct. 28 @ The Greek (Griffith Park)
Symphony In The Glen and Nederlander present the second annual celebration of creepy musical masterpieces perfumed by a 60-piece orchestra with Maestro Arthur B. Rubinstein. Selections include, John Williams' "Double Trouble" from Harry Potter, "Night on Bald Mountain," a reading of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" accompanied by music and the premiere of Rubinstein's "The Spider and the Fly."

ESCAPE FROM WONDERLAND

Oct. 27 @ NOS Events Center (San Bernardino)
Alice's Wonderland goes mad, as Insomniac presents six stages, a custom-built haunted house, vendor village, art installations and a landscape of mazes. Calvin Harris, Martin Solveig, Rebecca and Fiona and Infected Mushroom are only some of those scheduled to perform.

FRIGHT FEST

Now-Oct. 28 @ Magic Mountain (Valencia)
Magic Mountain really has the best roller coasters in the southland, and during Halloween season they 'spookify' many of them: Colossus runs backwards, and they turn off the lights for Tatsu, Goliath, Viper, Apocalypse, the Riddler and Batman the ride. There are also mazes, monsters out to scare you as you're walking around and gruesome shows. Oct. 6 is Resident Evil 6 Night, when you can play the new video game inspired by the film.

HALLOWEEN BOOOOTIE LA

Oct. 27 @ The Echoplex (Echo Park)
Bootie LA presents a night of monster mashups with resident DJs Faroff and Shyboy joined by Seattle's Destrukt. The first 300 people to come in costume get a free limited-edition CD, and there will be cash prizes for best costumes, a R.A.I.D. dance crew performance and a Halloween photo booth.

"The Walking Dead" maze at Universal

HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS

Now-Oct. 31 @ Universal Studios (Universal City)
This year, the Universal backlot is invaded by AMC's "The Walking Dead" for a brand new Terror Tram experience. You'll scream, ad possibly cry, as you make your way through the various scare zones to mazes that include Welcome to Silent Hill, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Saw is the Law, Alice Cooper Goes to Hell 3D, La Llorona: La Cazadora de Los Niños and The Walking Dead: Dead Inside.

HALLOWEEN SILENT FILM

Oct. 31 @ Walt Disney Concert Hall (Downtown)
The LA Phil presents a special screening of the classic 1927 silent film, The Cat and the Canary, accompanied by Clark Wilson on the concert hall's gorgeous organ. The storyline deals with a family who is gathered in their recently deceased relatives mansion for the reading of his will, when an escapee from a nearby asylum shows up and bodies start to fall.

HALLOWEEN TIME

Now-Oct. 31 @ Disneyland (Anaheim)
I love Disneyland during Halloween, because it's not so incredibly scary that I want to curl up into a ball and die. Jack Skellington and other Tim Burton characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas take over the Haunted Mansion (It's the only time I'm able to look up in the elevator lobby without being terrified.) Rides like Space Mountain are taken over by ghostly beings, you can go to a meet and greet with Disney Villains and even wear a costume and go trick-or-treating on certain nights.

HARD HAUNTED MANSION PRESENTS: DAY OF THE DEAD

Nov. 3 @ Los Angeles State Historic Park (Elysian Park)
The annual festival returns with a Dia de Los Muertos theme and almost 30 performers. Headlined by Justice, the lineup also includes Knife Party, Major Lazer, Diplo, Kill the Noise and HARD founder Destructo.

HELL BREAK L.A.

Oct. 11-31@ 5601 Santa Monica Blvd. (Hollywood)
The abandoned Sears building is transformed into a post-apocalyptic/prison themed haunted house. This two mazes are sure to scare the crap out of you.

KCRW MASQUERADE

Oct. 27 @ The Legendary Park Plaza (Downtown)
The fourth annual costume ball and concert hosted by the radio station features five uniquely themed rooms, entertainment by the Lucent Dossier troupe, contests, ghost stories, food trucks and, of course, KCRW DJs. Musical performers include Z-Trip, Mexican Institute of Sound, Hanni El Khatib and the Dustbowl Revival.

KNOTT'S SCARY FARM 40TH HAUNT

Now- Oct. 31 @ Knott's Berry Farm (Buena Park)
Knott's Scary Farm holds so many memories from my teen years – a lady falling in a fountain when she got startled by a creeping monster, me pushing the person in front of me down so I could run out of a maze. Oh, what good times. The entire theme park is transformed into a scream-inducing plethora of walking monsters, breath-taking mazes and rides full of horrifying images.

LONG BEACH ZOMBIE WALK

Oct. 27 @ Marina Green/Shoreline Village (Long Beach)
The festival includes two music stages, food trucks, a beer garden, horror artists and authors and an outdoor screening of Shaun of the Dead. Bands include Stolen Babies, the Radioactive Chicken Heads, Feral Kizzy and many more.

Los Angeles Haunted Hayride (themeparkadventure.com)

LOS ANGELES HAUNTED HAYRIDE

Now-Oct. 31 @ Old Zoo Area (Griffith Park)
"The Congregation," a tale of a murderous little boy who wrecks havoc on his community, is the theme for this fourth year of the terrifying hayride trail. Running on select dates through Halloween, the attraction offers a maze (The In Between) and an interactive sideshow with "The Scary-Go-Round," House of Mirrors, a special effects fabrication booth and more. Caution: You will get wet, bunt ponchos are provided.

LUCHA VAVOOM AZTEC HORROR

Oct. 25 & 26 @ The Mayan (Downtown)
Lucha VaVoom celebrates its 10th anniversary with two nights of wrestling, burlesque and comedy mayhem, hosted by Blaine Capatch, Greg Proops and Dana Gould. In addition, Julie Atlas Muz and Mat "Sealboy" Fraser unveil a cabaret comedy sideshow spectacle, tunes from DJ Howie Pyro, Mexico City's Dr. Cerebro and Mexican Warrior, as well as all your Lucha VaVoom favorites.

MONSTER MASSIVE

Oct. 27 @ Los Angeles Center Studios (Downtown)
The music festival returns for a 15th year of DJ sets and dancing. The theme for this one is the Bloody Bear. Lineup is still TBD.

PARANOIA

Now-Oct. 31 @ Leven 3 at Santa Monica Place (Santa Monica)
This attraction at the mall consists of three mazes: the hospital-themed Infirmary, Insomniac Clown Playhouse and Granny's Manor of Mayhem.

SCARIUM OF THE PACIFIC

Oct. 20 & 21 @ Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach)
This family-friendly event offers special Halloween programs that include a costume contest, underwater pumpkin carving and free treats.

THE QUEEN MARY'S DARK HARBOR

Now-Oct. 31 @ The Queen Mary (Long Beach)
Just going on the regular tour of the ship made me scared, especially going down into the boiler room and hearing the death tales that supposedly happened at the indoor pool. This year's Halloween event offers six mazes, live musical performances and an R.I.P. Lounge.

SCREENING OF DAWN OF THE DEAD

Oct. 20 @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery (Hollywood)
Cinespia celebrates Halloween with George Romero's 1978 horror film, commonly referred to as the original zombie adventure movie. Gaslamp Killer spins before and after the screening.