Los Angeles is preparing for the Halloween season, with a slate of events for those seeking a festive atmosphere or a good scare. While the region offers various options, this year brings a particularly robust lineup of adult-focused thrills across the city, transforming iconic venues and historical sites into spooky spectacles.
Universal Studios Hollywood has already opened its gates for Halloween Horror Nights, transforming the park for its annual event. Guests can brave haunted houses themed around popular culture, including Stranger Things 5, Hellraiser, Evil Dead Burn, and Ozzy Osbourne. A new attraction, Sinners, transports visitors to Club Juke in 1930s Mississippi, where they must survive encounters with vampires Remmick, Bert, and Joan, alongside the warring Smoke and Stack. The Studio Tour also becomes the Terror Tram, featuring Art the Clown in an unexpected Santa Claus costume. Halloween Horror Nights runs on select evenings from September 3 to November 1.
For those who prefer their scares with a cinematic touch, Cinespia is returning to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery this October. Following its 25th season, the outdoor cinema event will screen Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, a 50th-anniversary presentation of Carrie, Jennifer’s Body, and conclude with John Carpenter’s The Thing on Halloween night. Attendees can enjoy DJ sets before and after films, and pose for photos in themed booths.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is delving into the horror genre with an immersive exhibit. It aims to explore “Why do horror films matter so deeply to so many?”, examining the cultural impact of scary movies. The show is organized into six subcategories: gothic, psychological, science, slasher, religion, and ghosts. Visitors will encounter re-creations of iconic settings and objects from films ranging from the original Frankenstein to The Shining and Get Out, offering a look behind the scenes of storytelling and production.
Long Beach’s Queen Mary is celebrating its 13th anniversary with Dark Harbor, an event that capitalizes on the ocean liner’s already eerie reputation. Beyond the usual fog, mazes, and roaming monsters, the event integrates the ship’s dark, cramped confines and skinny staircases into the experience. This year introduces the “Shipwrecked: Brace for Impact” maze, alongside reimagined mazes set both on shore and within the ship’s swimming pool and corridors. Guests can also find carnival rides like Alien Abduction and blacklight bumper cars. Secret speakeasies and live entertainment offer respite from the terror.
Music fans looking for a different kind of dark celebration can anticipate My Chemical Romance’s return to Los Angeles. The aughts pop-punk band is scheduled for five shows at the Hollywood Bowl next October, including one on Halloween night. This tour marks the 20th anniversary of their album The Black Parade, which the band will perform in its entirety, featuring hits like “Welcome to the Black Parade,” “I Don’t Love You,” and “Famous Last Words.”
Griffith Park will once again host the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, now in its 18th year. This attraction is designed for adult scares, transforming the park into the fictitious 1980s town of Midnight Falls. The premise involves a witch summoning underworld spirits that have hidden among Halloween decorations. This year features a new Sunset Strip-themed maze called “Fallen Angel,” alongside returning attractions such as Elvira’s Trick or Treat Mayhem, the Scary-Go-Round, Hellbilly Halloween, and axe-throwing. For the first time, alcohol will be available at themed bars throughout the event.
Downtown LA’s historic Million Dollar Theater will host the Los Angeles Conservancy’s second fall screening series. A matinee showing of the classic comedy mystery Clue is scheduled for 1 p.m., followed by Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining at 7 p.m. While pre-movie tours of the venue have sold out, guests can still appreciate the theater’s unique architecture before the features begin.
Heritage Square Museum will become a “spooky, cinematic playground” with Street Food Cinema’s Halloween event. Similar to its Yuletide Cinemaland series, this event will offer a different double feature each night, with past selections including Obsession, Sinners, and Jennifer’s Body. Visitors can also explore Victorian home tours, participate in adult trick-or-treating, and peruse food trucks, a bar, and market vendors.
The Black Lagoon, a traveling horror-themed Halloween cocktail pop-up, is stopping at Melrose Umbrella Co. this October. This women-owned concept, created by industry veterans Erin Hayes and Kelsey Ramage, takes over the Beverly Grove bar, offering expertly mixed cocktails amid metal music and spooky decor, including a 12-foot-tall skeleton. Drink highlights include the Bone Temple, made with Teremana Blanco Tequila, and Abyssa’s Obsession, featuring pumpkin-infused Kraken Black and Gold Spiced Rums. Custom glassware is available for purchase, and spirit-free options are also on the menu. Another Southern California outpost of Black Lagoon is located at Midnight Oil in Long Beach.
For those who enjoy a chaotic theatrical experience, the Drunk Shakespeare Society is presenting its newest show, Drunk Dracula, at the Hotel Cafe. This immersive comedy troupe, known for its alcohol-infused theater, features one professional actor who takes five shots of liquor before performing. A sober supporting cast then attempts to keep Bram Stoker’s classic vampire tale on track, blending classical theater with pop-culture riffs and audience interaction, ensuring no two nights are alike. The show debuts just in time for Halloween.
Creep Los Angeles is returning to the Beckett Manion in West Adams with its “longest and most interactive” immersive horror theater production yet. Running from September 17 through November 8, this year’s theme, “Den of the Mosquito,” places guests in a 1920s New Orleans brothel filled with mobsters, monsters, and vampire prostitutes. Attendees will play agents within a secret organization, navigating multiple paths and interactions. Tickets for this experience start at $143.
Whether seeking intense scares, cinematic thrills, or a spirited night out, Los Angeles offers a diverse array of adult Halloween events for residents to explore throughout the spooky season.
