The best haunted houses in Los Angeles for Halloween scares

Far from those kid-friendly rides through a pumpkin patch, this hayride unleashes all sorts of demons and bogeys on Griffith Park. Like so many pop culture horror experiences recently, this year’s Haunted Hayride rewinds the action to the mid-’80s in the ficticious town of Midnight Falls. The event’s various other attractions will be centered around the jack-o’-lantern–filled Midnight Falls Town Square, with a creaky old funeral parlor set up in the Midnight Mortuary Haunted House as well as an evening at the Dead End Diner.

Confront familiar foes at Universal Studios’ annual Halloween festivities, where big-budget scares meet iconic horror movie characters. You’ll be able to navigate multiple scare zones and mazes, including ones based on The Haunting of Hill House, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist, The Walking Dead, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (a peculiarly specific choice in the Halloween saga) and the Bride of Frankenstein, plus the return of “The Curse of Pandora’s Box.” The Studio Tour will also morph into the Terror Tram, complete with a The Purge tie-in.

Encounter free-roaming monsters,terrifying mazes—spanning themes like a twisted carnival and an alien-inhabited space station—a “boo-fet” dinner and more haunting attractions at the OC theme park.

Its past installments have found attendees stealthing their way through a Victorian home and embarking on a Blade Runner-esque bounty hunt. And now this event—part interactive theater, part narrative-based haunted house—heads to a 146-year-old mansion in Pomona for a story dubbed “Reaper’s Remorse.” You can upgrade to a VIP ticket for access to the second floor of the mansion, which includes a spooky, curated collection as well as a ghostly dark arts bar.

Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group hosts a chilling series of vignettes. Armed with a shoddy flashlight to illuminate the their path, guests navigate a labyrinth of terror before enduring a series of shocking scenes that will unsettle even the most stoic of horror fans.

This homegrown haunt has been bringing thrill-seekers to Torrance since 1997. This driveway maze is low on gore but filled with hand-built props and effects—to give you a better idea, the haunted house’s creator describes himself as that guy on your block who always plans an over-the-top Halloween. You can visit the house (5112 Maricopa St) in groups of two to four, and best of all, it’s completely free.

There’s no definitive info yet for 2021, but expect the return of some sort of maze.