Even with haunts extending their operation into the weekend after Halloween, this year’s haunt season seemed to have quickly past by. It also felt as if there were not nearly as many haunts operating this season in Southern California. Nonetheless, the mainstay theme parks continued to scare with their ever increasingly popular (and expensive) haunts. There also were some noteworthy newcomers like CreepLA and some others that failed miserably. Alas, for this year’s haunt offerings in L.A. it’s now time to reflect back and rate the best of the season.
For the first time, the haunt reviewers and fans of Southern California have come together to vote for the Cadavers: Southern California Halloween Attraction Awards. These awards were created and organized by our friends at CreepyLA and we’re glad to be able to contribute our votes.
Click their logo or keep reading after the jump to see the full coverage of the Cadavers Awards from CreepyLA. Also, check out their site for more year-round coverage of the supernatural, the scary, and anything Halloween related in the Los Angeles area.
CreepyLA is excited to announce the results of the first ever Cadavers: the Southern California Halloween Attractions Awards. The winners were selected by a combination of local haunted attraction reviewers, journalists, and Halloween enthusiasts.
The main purpose of the awards, that I plan to be an annual event, is to further encourage fans, the public, and the media alike to explore as many of the amazing creative efforts happening each October throughout the greater Los Angeles area. If it brings additional pride to the winners, and encourages all creators to continue and better their projects, all the better. But there is no reason to even begin to have an awards like this if it wasn’t because there were so many outstanding events and attractions to attend and discover.
In an effort to keep a balance between being fair and representative, winners were selected by using a scoring system that averaged out final scores based on the number of voters for particular attractions. Voters were asked to only vote on attractions they attended, and only attractions that had a minimum of five votes qualified to win. Some awards were selected by reviewers, others by fans, and a few by the group as a whole.
The voters included Dukey Flyswatter (LA Beat), Christopher Jimenez (Sinful Celluloid), Eden Folwell (CreepyLA), Erik Vanlier (Golden State Haunts and Events), Jeff Heimbuch (Communicore Weekly), Jerry Paxton (Gaming Shogun),Jill Kill, John Dobrenick (Designing the Fear), Jon Schnitzer (director of “Haunters: The Movie”), Juliet Bennett Rylah (LAist), Norman Gidney (HorrorBuzz), Sandi Hemmerlein (AvoidingRegret.com), Sean Decker (Dread Central) and Steve Biodrowski (Hollywood Gothique). Thanks to them and everyone who voted on these awards for their support!
To keep this first years awards, and the voting process, as simple as possible, we kept the categories relatively broad. “Scream Parks” refer to events with multiple mazes or attractions, “Professional Haunts” are those that have a charge or exclusive attendance list, and “Home Haunts” include both yard displays and walk thru mazes.
And now, the winners of the 2015 Cadavers:
Best Halloween Themed Theatre Attraction
Ghoulmaster’s Haunted Playhouse
As chosen by reviewers and fans.
Eligible: Carrie the Musical, Ghoulmaster’s Haunted Playhouse, Wicked Lit, Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre’s Urban Death Tour of Terror
Best Kid Friendly Attraction
Los Angeles Live Steamers Ghost Train (Griffith Park)
As chosen by reviewers and fans.
Eligible: Knott’s Spooky Farm, Los Angeles Live Steamers Ghost Train (Griffith Park), Mickey’s Halloween Party (Disneyland Resort), Rise of the Jack O’Lanterns
Best Home Haunt
Mystic Motel (Ladera Ranch)
As chosen by reviewers and fans.
Eligible: Boney Island (Sherman Oaks), Mystic Motel (Ladera Ranch), Rotten Apple 907 (Burbank), The Backwoods Maze (Burbank)
Best Scream Park
Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor
As chosen by reviewers.
Eligible: Knott’s Scary Farm, Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, Six Flags Magic Mountain’ Fright Fest, Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights
Best Professional Haunt
17th Door Haunted House
As chosen by reviewers.
Eligible: Creep Los Angeles, Evil Twin Studios Ward 13, Reign of Terror, 17th Door Haunted House, The Sinners Soiree
Best Scare Actors (Scream Parks or Pro Haunts)
Creep Los Angeles
As chosen by reviewers.
Eligible: Knott’s Scary Farm, Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, Six Flags Magic Mountain’ Fright Fest, Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights, Creep Los Angeles, Evil Twin Studios Ward 13, Reign of Terror, 17th Door Haunted House, The Sinners Soiree
Best Atmosphere
Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor
As chosen by reviewers.
Eligible: Knott’s Scary Farm, Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, Six Flags Magic Mountain’, Fright Fest, Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights
Best Deal Scream Park
Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Fright Fest
As chosen by fans.
Knott’s Scary Farm, Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Fright Fest, Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights
Most Fun Professional Halloween Attraction
Alone: Index of Absorption
As voted by fans.
Eligible: The 17th Door Haunted House, Motel 6 Feet Under, Creep Los Angeles, Evil Twin Studios’ Ward 13, Reign of Terror, Alone: Index of Absorption, The Sinner’s Soiree, Sinister Pointe’s Trust Challenge – FEAR… The Darkness
Scariest Professional Halloween Attraction
Evil Twin Studios’ Ward 13
As chosen by fans.
Eligible: The 17th Door Haunted House, Motel 6 Feet Under, Creep Los Angeles, Evil Twin Studios’ Ward 13, Reign of Terror, Alone: Index of Absorption, The Sinner’s Soiree, Sinister Pointe’s Trust Challenge – FEAR… The Darkness
Best Mazes
Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights
As chosen by reviewers and fans.
Eligible: Scary Farm, Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Fright Fest, Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights
