Halloween events in Los Angeles for spooky fun

This celebrated immersive horror theater event is returning for spooky season at a new location: a century-old Historic-Cultural Monument in DTLA. Delusion, an interactive seasonal event that combines elements of immersive theater with a more story-based approach to a walk-through haunted house, will take over the Variety Arts Theater from September 18 through Halloween till November 9. This year’s theme, “Harrowing of Hell,” puts you in the role of a supernatural cult member who must pass a Dante’s Inferno–inspired set of challenges. Tickets don’t come cheap (they start at $113), but for true Halloween devotees, it might be worth it: Delusion regularly ranks among the best haunted houses in the city.

Far from those kid-friendly rides through a pumpkin patch, this hayride unleashes all sorts of demons and bogeys on Griffith Park. This haunted Griffith Park hayride once again returns to the mid-’80s fictitious town of Midnight Falls. And this year the Mistress of the Dark herself, Elvira, is taking up residence.  The Griffith Park tradition, which has been running for 17 years now, centers on a relatively lengthy hayride. The premise: A witch has summoned creatures that’ve hidden themselves among Halloween decorations in the town’s foothills. This year’s event promises new Elvira–themed takes on the Scary-Go-Round and Trick or Treat attraction, as well as a cozy lounge where apple cider and doughnuts provide a respite from the scares.

What could be a better fit for Halloween than spooky films screened in a cemetery? This October, Cinespia will be showing a 50th-anniversary screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Craft, Paranorman and A Nightmare on Elm Street at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Plus, for the first time this year, the series is hosting a Halloween-night party in the cemetery itself (it usually hosts a soiree inside a Downtown theater) Catch a screening of Scream on October 31—costumes are mandatory.

See Danny Elfman step back into the role of Jack Skellington for a live performance and screening of The Nightmare Before Christmas at the Hollywood Bowl. The concert-meets-movie event is set to bring a costume contest and trick-or-treating in tow, as well a slate of special guests, including Janelle Monáe (Sally), Keith David (Oogie Boogie), Riki Lindhome (Shock) and John Stamos (Lock). Conductor John Mauceri leads a full orchestra and choir. A portion of ticket sales will support the L.A. County Parks Foundation in restoring parks damaged by this year’s wildfires.

The Los Angeles Conservancy’s popular summer series is popping up for its first fall edition, bringing two Halloween screenings to the historic Million Dollar Theater in DTLA. Catch a matinee of classic comedy Young Frankenstein at 2pm, followed by Stephen King’s Carrie at 8pm. A pair of pre-movie tours of the venue are sold out, but you can still admire the theater’s architecture while you wait for the feature presentation.

The only thing better than a haunted attraction is a haunted attraction on a giant boat—which has its own haunted history. You’ll find all the usual horrors here—think fog, mazes and countless monsters. What sets Dark Harbor apart is its use of its surroundings; the dark, cramped confines of the Queen Mary are already pretty spooky even without monsters—just be prepared to climb a lot of skinny staircases. The event’s 2025 “Summoned by the Seas” iteration dives further into the ocean liner’s lore with new and reimagined mazes set in the ship’s swimming pool, kitchen and staterooms. When you tire of the terror, take a spin on the carnival rides, sip spirits at secret speakeasies or catch spooky live entertainment.

Each year the Walt Disney Concert Hall adds a little bit of Frank Gehry architecture to Halloween with a silent film screening accompanied by a live soundtrack by organist Clark Wilson for an extra eerie feel. This year, take a seat for the silent 1923 masterpiece The Hunchback of Notre Dame, starring Lon Chaney as Quasimodo.

This traveling horror-themed Halloween cocktail pop-up will have three locations in L.A. this year: Melrose Umbrella Club in Beverly Grove, the Corner Door in Culver City and the Ordinarie in Long Beach. Halloween lovers can sip expertly mixed cocktails amid metal music and goth decor, including the famous 12-foot-tall skeleton from Home Depot. Drink highlights include the Corpse Flower (tequila blanco, ube syrup, Giffard Banane, lime juice, sherry) and the Creature’s Curse (rice-washed rye and rum, sherry, sweet potato or pumpkin syrup, bitters). Non-alcoholic options will also be available.

The masters of alfresco rooftop movie viewing are awakening the spirits in October with a slate of Halloween favorites at their DTLA rooftop. The festive flicks continue to pick up as Halloween approaches, with plenty of chances to see Hocus Pocus, The Addams Family, Scream and Halloween—plus newer picks like Sinners and Hereditary—among others. There’s even a mini marathon of Brooklyn Nine-Nine Halloween episodes.

Encounter free-roaming monsters and 10 terrifying mazes—think: a zoo with animal-human hybrids, a convalescent home with “spider-possessed residents” and a greatest-hits parade of past Knotts monsters—as well as a “boo-fet” dinner and all sorts of other haunted houses and attractions at the OC theme park for 26 nights during Halloween season.

The park-hopping alfresco film series will be screening Get Out and Night of the Living Dead at the Ford Theatre for Halloween.

This is one of the largest Halloween street parties in the world, and there’s really no better place to be on October 31st. Sure, the crowd is huge (like, a half-million people huge) and a bit belligerent, but the amazing display of costumes and general merry-making spirit deem it at least a worthy stop, if not your main destination for the evening. There will be dancing, drinking and many impromptu costume contests. Even if you don’t plan on entering one, it’s best to still come dressed to the nines—no one likes a party pooper in jeans and a T-shirt. Find it along Santa Monica Boulevard, between Doheny Drive and La Cienega Boulevard.

Part Halloween screening, part haunted house, Street Food Cinema follows up its popular La La Land in Concert with three nights of The Evil Dead (rated NC-17, it’s by far the scariest and darkest of the Sam Raimi trilogy) in October. Composer Joseph LoDuca’s score will be performed live to film by a seven-piece orchestra. But before watching the cult classic, head downstairs for the debut of “The Cellar: An Underground Evil Dead Experience,” where you can brave the Necronomicon universe and a host of deadites yourself.

From the same folks behind the nightmarish Creep (which is taking the year off), JFI Productions’ The Willows is an immersive play in which you are one of 25 guests at an intimate family gathering at the historic Beckett Mansion near West Adams. The two-hour experience is part dinner theater, part murder mystery and part escape room in which you’ll find yourself in the middle of seven different unfolding narratives. For JFI Productions’ 10th anniversary, it’s promising a fresh story and “new artistic and commercial heights” for the popular event, which is a favorite of celebrities including Trent Reznor and Brie Larson. The  performances before Halloween—two each night—are mostly sold out, but luckily the dates extend into early December, leading up to the opening of a permanent venue.

The frontman of the moody OC surf rock band the Growlers has since gone solo, but he continues the band’s tradition of performing Halloween shows at the Hollywood Palladium. Expect a set made up entirely of songs from his surf-psych band.

American Contemporary Ballet opens its 14th season with two new mysterious new ballets—the perfect way for culture vultures to get their Halloween fix. The program consists of “Death and the Maiden,” an otherworldly work set to Franz Schubert’s meditation on death that features opera singers and levitating dancers, followed by “Burlesque: Variation IX,” a follow-up to last October’s “Burlesque”—both performed to live music. You’ll find the hour-and-a-half show at the Bank of America Plaza in DTLA. Stick around afterward for a reception with the dancers and musicians.

Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group hosts a chilling series of vignettes that’s been named one of Yelp’s top 10 scariest haunts in the country. Armed with a shoddy flashlight to illuminate their path, guests navigate a labyrinth of terror both before and after watching a series of shocking scenes (over the course of roughly 40 minutes) that will unsettle even the most stoic of horror fans. The haunted house-slash-theater experience is celebrating 20 years of scaring audiences.