Danny Elfman, Catherine O’Hara and Paul Reubens perform during “Tim Burton’s ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas'” at the Hollywood Bowl. KELLY A. SWIFT CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Monique A. LeBleu contributed to this post
Every year The LA Beat gets so excited about Halloween! Once again, we offer a hand-selected list of fantastic events, and have weeded out the douchey ones.
Friday 10/26 The Cramps Halloween Party / Los Angeles
Stemming from nostalgia for the annual Cramps Halloween shows of yesteryear, this Friday night from 9 PM – 2 AM Lethal Amounts and Pure Trash Present The Cramps Halloween Party at the Monty Bar. Check out the ultimate Cramps experience–Teenage Werewolf–a Cramps tribute band with an elaborate stage show including go-go dancers and showgirls. Also on the bill is Motochrist, a heavy rock band in the tradition of Motorhead and Deep purple, including former members of The Dwarves, Faster Pussycat. $10. 21+
Friday 10/26, Saturday 10/27 & Sunday 10/28 Nightmare Before Xmas at The Bowl
This is without a doubt my favorite Halloween event. The original voice actors, Danny Elfman (Jack Skellington), Catherine O’Hara (Sally) and Ken Page (Oogie Boogie,) will sing along to the film, accompanied by a full orchestra and choir under the direction of Maestro John Mauceri. There is no mention of Paul Rubens, maybe he will make a surprise appearance. This year is the 25th anniversary of the making of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and it has proven itself to be a timeless classic. We are curious to see how the Bowl will turn into Halloween Town. Also, wear your best Nightmare costume as there will be a costume contest and trick-or-treating this year. Tickets are selling fast!
Friday 10/26 The Abominable Dr Phibes and Devil’s Rain / Santa Monica
Friday from 7:30 PM – 11:30 PM, Cinematic Void and Severin Films will be screening a double feature of The Abominable Dr. Phibes (in 35mm) and Devil’s Rain, bioth directed by Robert Fuest. A Vincent Price cult classic, The Abominable Dr. Phibes is a 1971 revenge flick about doctor and scientist Dr Phibes and his mission to punish the doctors he feels were responsible for his wife’s death. His elaborate murders take their inspiration from the plagues of Egypt. I remember loving the campy horror film, Devil’s Rain when I was very young. Starring Ernest Borgnine, Eddie Albert, William Shatner, Ida Lupino, and in smaller roles, alternative religion proponents John Travolta and Anton LaVey. It’s a battle between the Corbis family and a Satanic priest for a Satanic book and later for the “devil’s rain.” It is also a battle between the stars to see who can overact the hardest. Aero Theatre, Santa Monica. The Goldsteins will be appearing for a Q&A and book signing.
Saturday 10/27 and Sunday 10/28 Halloween & Mourning Tours / LA
Here’s one for all of you steampunks, creative anachronists and lovers of Victoriana. Saturday afternoon Heritage Square Museum will be hosting their 15th Annual Halloween & Mourning Tours. There will be a funeral re-enactment and a sceance reenactment. will take place in one of the historic home. There will also be a re-enactment of a seance. Learn about Edwardian grieving etiquette, dangerous beauty practices, the turn-of-the-century movement of spiritualism, cults, the Spanish flu and the Victorian phenomenon of Phantasmagora.
On Sunday there will also be a more family-friendly tour program with not-so-spooky tours, period games, 19th century inspired crafts, a pumpkin patch, and trick or treat at each of the museum’s buildings.
The Mourning Tours and the Halloween Tours are noon – 4 p.m. and are free with the museum admission price: $20 for adults, $15 for museum members and seniors over 65, $8 for children 6 to 12 years, and free for children under 6. For more information, call the museum offices from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at (323) 225-2700 ext. 223. Bonus: The site is known for being haunted. Event Page and tickets.
http://heritagesquare.org/
Saturday 10/27 Haunted Garage at the 5 Star Bar / DTLA
From 8 PM until 2 AM Metal Assault will be hosting a haunted Halloween party featuring gore shock rockers Haunted Garage, with The LA Beat’s Dukey Flyswatter out front and bloody. Also on the bill is Surface Tension, Kai Blackwood & The Tokyo Death Squad, and Da Vang. The bar has a somewhat dive-y atmosphere, but who are you? The Queen of England? 21+, $10 Try to get a reservation at Badmaash around the corner before rocking. Event Page.
Saturday 10/27 Haunted Night in Little Tokyo: The Block Party
Little Tokyo is haunted! Join the fun at the Block Party from 6 PM until 9 PM. Billed as a Halloween extravaganza, there will be music, food, a costume contest, a beer garden, food trucks, anime booths and live music at the intersection of 2nd Street and San Pedro. You can hang out and dine at Karayama for fried chicken, Kasi for Indonesian or Daikokoya for ramen. Actually, put your name in at Daikokoya then go watch a band. When you come back your table should be ready.
Saturday, 10/27 Long Beach Shoreline Zombie Walk
In case last week’s zombie walk didn’t satisfy your craving for brains, Saturday from 2 PM until 10 PM Shoreline Village and Rainbow Harbor will be hosting the second zombie walk of the season starting at 8 PM. The organizers say that they are working with the original zombie walk organizers, so I guess there won’t be a tense zombie walk-off. A drag-off? Shuffle-off? Lurch-off? There will be an all-day celebration including live music, vendors, outdoor movies (courtesy of Frida Cinema), trick-or-treating, and of course, a ghoulish walk/shuffle down Rainbow Harbor – FREE, courtesy of your hosts at Shoreline Village and participating sponsors!
Saturday 10/27 Annual Long Beach Historical Cemetery Tour
The Long Beach Historical Cemetery Tour in Sunnyside Cemetery is not spooky. Your kids won’t be frightened, but they might be a little pissed off that you tricked them into a History lesson. “Performers in period costume will bring to life both noted and everyday people who are laid to rest in the Sunnyside Cemetery.” We assume they mean that metaphorically, not in the zombie way. The first tour starts at 9am and tours run every 15 minutes until Noon. There are 2 cemeteries there. Do not be confused. Comfortable shoes and a sweater or light coat are recommended.
Long Beach Municipal Cemetery 1151 E. Willow Street (between Orange and California). Tickets General Admission – $25 Students Ages 8-18 – $8 Children 7 & under are free. Purchase tickets at the entrance of either cemetery on October 30. Tour tickets are for both cemeteries.
Saturday 10/27 Street Food Cinema Edward Scissorhands (Culver City)
Saturday night Street Food Cinema will take over Veterans’ Memorial Park on Overland. The “Door” is at 5:30 PM. At 6:30 PM there will be live music from Livingmore. The movie starts at 8:00 P.M. Food will be available for purchase from local food trucks including Astro Fried Chicken and Donuts, Canvas Food Truck, Comet BBQ, Original Gourmet Kebab, The Fat Queso, Ferlas and Bike. Most trucks have vegetarian and vegan options. Limited tickets will be available on site. To be considerate to other movie watchers, no tall chairs, top hats or beehives.
Saturday 10/27 Scary Stories 16 / San Pedro
Do you miss gathering around a bonfire and telling scary stories? Saturday night from 6:30 PM until 8 PM Angels Gate Cultural Center in Pedro will be hosting an all-new program of scary stories. The show is family-friendly. Bring chairs or something comfy to sit on and warm clothing and blankets. Even though there will be a real campfire, it’s right on the ocean so it will get chilly. This isn’t your camp counselor telling the time-worn story of the phantom hitch-hiker. Stories will be read from horror and fantasy writers like Sydney J. Bounds, Faye Kellerman and Neil Gaiman (He wrote Coraline).In addition, special effects wizard Eric Noble will add to he atmosphere with his ghoulish sounds. No refreshments are sold, but picnics are welcome; Well-mannered pets on leashes are acceptable. $5 general admission; children 6 & under – free.
Saturday 10/27 & Sunday 10.28 Scarium of the Pacific /Long Beach
Let the educational part sneak up on your kids at The Aquarium of the Pacific’s Scarium. Activities will be happening from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. and include Spooky Storytelling for Kids, a Creepy Critter Photo Opportunity (I wonder what critter?), an Underwater Pumpkin Carving Show and a Vampire Magician Show for Kids.
Activities are included with admission. Use this coupon to get a kid up to 11 years old in costume admitted for free.
Sunday 10/28 Atlas Obscura The Lost and Long-Gone Graveyards of Los Angeles
Sunday from 11 AM – 1 PM Atlas Obscura, the website that guides you to the hidden and mysterious around the world, like castles made of bones, abandoned amusement parks and haunted statuary, also hosts regular events and activities. Locally, Los Angeles has been leading tours of weird and whimsical places around Los Angeles since 2012.
This Sunday morning you can join their 2.5-mile walking tour of forgotten and abandoned cemeteries around Downtown LA. As stated in the invitation, you will learn about “…life, death, demographics, and geographical expansion in early Los Angeles…”
Additional internment sites like the Catholic Cemetery, Fort Moore Hill Cemetery, and the City Cemetery will be explored as you learn about their use as public parks, people formerly interred there, and “the city’s slapdash efforts to disinter the bodies of thousands of pioneering Angelenos in the name of progress.”
Tickets: $25.00. Order your tickets soon because the tour maxes out at 20 people. The meeting location will be disclosed upon ticket purchase. The LA Beat has inside info, so we recommend you bring cash and park in the pay lot.
Street parking is available, but trust me, it’s worth the 10 bucks. Wear comfortable walking shoes and be prepared for hot weather (hats, sunscreen and bottled water). “Advance tickets only. All sales final. No refunds or exchanges. This is a tour of lost cemetery sites, so we will not be viewing any active cemeteries.” Also, no whistling.
