Who’s ready for Halloween? Yes, we know it’s still a bit early, but LA is known for having an eerie abundance of Halloween experiences and events to cater to all tastes. Whether you’re seeking spine-tingling thrills or family-friendly fun, we’ve dug deep into our bag of tricks and treats to pull out a tantalizing glimpse into some of LA’s myriad of “spooktacular” offerings ranging from cutting-edge immersive experiences to time-honored classics. Get ready to howl at the moon and dance with the spirits, because Halloween in Los Angeles is unlike anywhere else.
Pro-Tip: First, purchase tickets ahead of time! We can’t say this enough. Getting organized will ensure every scream laugh at the fake chainsaw guy chasing you down. Second, if your schedule allows, consider a weekday night. There are fewer people and typically less traffic going to and from the events.
The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor
Location: The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Hwy, Long Beach, CA 90802
The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor returns for its 13th season, running select nights from September 18 through November 1. This year brings a new maze, Shipwrecked: Brace for Impact, plus reimagined fan favorites, two new rides, four new hidden speakeasies. Expect haunted mazes, live entertainment, themed bars and lounges, ghostly experiences, and sinister eats and treats throughout the ship and surrounding harbor. Tickets start at $50.99. Be sure to get your tickets early, as this is a SoCal Halloween favorite.
LA Haunted Car Wash
Location: Carwood Car Wash – 2729 E.Carson St, Lakewood, CA, 90712
If you are looking for a night of THRILLS, drive on through LA’s most haunted car wash. Now in its sixth season and expanding to four Southern California locations, The Tunnel of Terror is a carefully curated experience, with scary and creepy performers popping up throughout the wash, and special effects providing a terrifying ambiance! As you slowly drive through, sinister performers will leap from the shadows, and spine-tingling special effects will envelop you in an atmosphere of sheer horror. Gather your bravest friends and family, and prepare for a frightful ride you won’t soon forget!
Los Angeles Haunted Hayride
Location: Griffith Park, 4730 Crystal Springs Dr.
This is a good one and a staple here in LA. Welcome to Midnight Falls! Where we forget that the chainsaw guy was an actor in our level 2 improv class and just let the Witch of the Woods work her magic. The spirit of Halloween definitely comes to life at LA’s ultimate Halloween event. Now in its 18th season, running select nights from September 18 through November 1, this year introduces the all-new Fallen Angel maze – set in a condemned Sunset Strip theater where a heavy metal band’s most devoted fans have resurrected them to finally play the show they never got to. The signature Hayride returns with new choreography, original scores, and sway poles making a comeback for the first time since 2014, alongside fan favorites Elvira’s Trick or Treat Mayhem and Hellbilly Halloween. There’s also a new séance show, Madame Aurora Seance Theater, revealing how Midnight Falls became cursed and trapped on Halloween night in 1985 – and for the first time ever, guests 21+ can grab drinks from new themed bars onsite. Round out the night with the Cider Mill Experience, s’mores stations, Scary-Go-Round, axe throwing, mini escape games, and a Zombie Splat GellyBall Experience. Tickets start at $38.99. We love the hayride because it’s great for a date night, group of friends, or that solo spook!
Drunk Dracula (The Drunk Shakespeare Society)
Location: The Hotel Cafe, Hollywood, CA
The Drunk Shakespeare Society makes its Los Angeles debut with Drunk Dracula, running September 11 through November 14. The hit immersive comedy format sees one actor down five shots of whiskey before attempting to guide the cast through a chaotic, audience-interactive retelling of literature’s most famous vampire. Expect Shakespearean-style mayhem, improvisation, and plenty of spooky-season irreverence – no prior Dracula (or Shakespeare) knowledge required. Alcohol isn’t required to have a great time; the comedy and energy carry the show either way. Be sure to grab your tickets early, as this LA residency is already generating buzz.
Universal Studios: Halloween Horror Nights
Location: 11 Baker St, North Hollywood, CA 91602
Universal Studios: Halloween Horror Nights is back for its 25th year at Universal Studios Hollywood, running select nights from September 3 through November 1. This year’s lineup includes eight haunted houses, five shared with Universal Orlando (Sinners, Stranger Things, Hellraiser, Evil Dead Burn, and Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness) and three Hollywood exclusives, including the returning fan-favorite Killer Klowns from Outer Space. The signature Terror Tram gets a Christmas-gone-wrong takeover starring Art the Clown from the Terrifier films, plus new scare zones and street experiences. With the company being a movie-making production company, you can only imagine they do NOT skimp on the costumes or makeup.
Carved at Descanso Gardens
Location: Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Dr, La Cañada Flintridge
Mark your calendars because from October 2nd to November 1st, Carved will light up Descanso Gardens with a mesmerizing pumpkin wonderland, running nightly from 6 to 10 p.m. New for 2026: an installation of sculptures by Helsinki-based artist Alexander Reichstein in the labyrinth, his first U.S. exhibition, alongside the beloved returning favorites – luminous jack-o’-lanterns, fallen tree sculptures, whimsical installations, and giant carved pumpkins under the Rose Pavilion. Don’t miss the expanded Día de los Muertos altar, providing guests with a place to meditate and remember loved ones. Anytime Tickets are new this year too, letting you pick any night during the run rather than a fixed date – making Carved the perfect flexible, family-friendly adventure.
Magic of the Jack O’Lanterns
Location: South Coast Botanic Garden, 26300 Crenshaw Blvd, Palos Verde Peninsula, Ca 90274
Take the kids out for a delightful Halloween experience at Magic of the Jack O’Lanterns and stroll a glowing trail of hand-carved pumpkins and more. The park transforms into a larger-than-life pumpkin experience, featuring an awe-inspiring array of hand-carved jack-o’-lanterns, mesmerizing light displays, and a host of festive activities to delight everyone. There are photo booths with some creepy monsters (don’t worry, they’re fake!) and stations to pick up adult drinks, plus a fair-like food court. You can also make s’mores onsite and pick up themed merch on your way out.
The Haunt Ghost Tours
Location: Chinatown in Los Angeles
The Haunt is a hands-on ghost tour that provides chilling, immersive ghost hunting experiences combining a mix of local lore, true crime histories, and ghostly interactions. Accompanied by an experienced storyteller and ghost hunter, as featured on Ghost Adventures with Zak Bagans, experience a real interactive paranormal investigation that reveals different types of hauntings. Your tour guide will equip you with EMF meters to use during the paranormal investigation, shedding light on the hauntings and ghosts of the Chinatown metro station, including cemeteries discovered during its construction. Don’t worry, each investigation ends with a ceremony with music candles, and a few rituals to honor whatever spirits joined the tour and ensure that nothing follows you home.If you find yourself wanting even more spine tingles, check out the out of town haunts in San Francisco, historic Old Town Temecula and the beautiful Danish village of Solvang.
Boney Island
Location: The Natural History Museum, 900 Exposition Blvd. (Exposition Park)
It’s back! At Boney Island, the Natural History Museum (NHM) transforms its Nature Gardens into a hauntingly whimsical interactive light-up experience for all ages. The event features familiar sights for long-time fans – skeletons performing rope tricks and levitating through hoops, shadow puppetry, and more. NHM puts its own spin on the event with artistic performances, real fossils, live animal presentations, trick-or-treating, and other ghoulishly glowing installations.
Nights of The Jack
Location: 26800 Mulholland Hwy Calabasas (Entrance located on Wickland Road and Mulholland Hwy)
Thirty miles northwest of Hollywood, tucked in the Santa Monica mountains, there’s a strange and shadowy wonderland that everyone’s whispers about every season: Nights of the Jack. Yup, it’s back and brighter than ever with their much talked about notorious Halloween event that’s in the vain of “if you know, you know.” It kicks off September 25th and we love the illuminated light show under the autumn sky and the yummy hot cider and seasonal cocktail from their “Spookeasy” bar plus delicious festive fall treats. This is one of our top picks for families and little boo’s of all ages.
Delusion: Den of the Mosquito
Location: Beckett Mansion, West Adams (historic original home of the series)
For those daring to tread the line between reality and madness, Delusion returns for 2026 to the historic Beckett Mansion, where the series first launched back in 2011 – and this homecoming comes with a twist. Titled Den of the Mosquito, this year’s production is twice as long as previous installments and unfolds inside a 1920s New Orleans brothel, where guests become agents of Anomaly, a clandestine organization investigating a supernatural mystery tangled up in crime, mobsters, monsters, and vampire courtesans. Each performance is limited to just 10 guests for an intimate, roughly 50-minute narrative play full of split paths and suspense-driven scenes – a return to the character-driven, close-contact storytelling that defined Delusion’s earliest seasons. Running select nights from September 17 through November 8, tickets start at $143 and are 18-and-over only. Delusion remains one of our top picks for a spine-tingling adventure with a group of friends! Get ready to embrace the darkness and have your dreams haunted for at least a night.
Knott’s Scary Farm
Location: 8039 Beach Blvd, Buena Park
If a little road trip doesn’t scare you too much, head down to the OC to experience Knott’s Scary Farm’s 53rd season, running select nights from September 17 through October 31. This year brings 10 haunted mazes (including two new ones – Inked and Unearthed), five scare zones, three live shows, and over 1,000 terrifying creatures lurking in the fog. Be sure to leave room for Knott’s Scary Farm’s themed treats, like the Fingers and Toes tater tots, or the Cereal Killer Funnel Cake.
Fearplex Presents LIGHTS OUT
More details for 2026 TBD! Check back in soon for more spooky details…
Location: 1101 W McKinley Ave, Pomona, CA 91768
Fearplex Presents LIGHTS OUT brings the spirit of Halloween with lights! With zombie-themed mazes, black light trails, and a carnival of evil, there’s no shortage of scares here. Featuring scare zones and interactive light shows taking over the Pomona Fairplex, with haunted mazes like Shadow Circus, Asylum of Horrors, and the Haunted Swamp, you’re in for a night of spine-tingling fun.
Disneyland Halloween Time
Location: 1313 Disneyland Dr Anaheim, CA 92802
Not much more you can ask for than celebrating Halloween at Disneyland! The park transforms into a Halloween type of wonderland with characters in costume, the Haunted Mansion Holiday, costumed cars driving around Cars Land, and even the Guardians Of The Galaxy: Monsters After Dark gets a little transformation! This one might not be too scary, but it’s the perfect thing to get you in the spooky mood.
Six Flags Fright Fest
Location: 26101 Magic Mountain Pkwy, Valencia, CA 91355
Fright Fest is the amusement park for the thrill seekers, where the rides are pretty intense and lines are shorter, so you can take advantage of getting on rides and taking in the haunted mazes. This year they have 11 haunted houses and 9 scare zones. With new haunted houses like Stranger Things, The Conjuring Universe, and Saw’s 20th Anniversary, this event is not for the faint of heart. If you’re really looking to be thrilled and get some chills, this is the Halloween event for you.
