As we creep ever closer to the 2020 haunt season, haunted attractions are beginning to announce whether they will be open or closed this year. We’ve compiled a list here to keep you up to date on the latest news about haunted houses and Halloween events, from Southern California and beyond.
This list will be updated continually throughout the season.
Haunts Confirmed to Open for 2020
CA Drive-Through Attractions
Urban Legends of Southern California (O.C. Fair & Event Center, Costa Mesa, CA)
Dates: October 1-November 1
Details: This brand-new drive-through haunted attraction will include immersive story-telling and terrifying sets, including live actors. Will also include three show areas (with cars parked). Tickets will be timed entry; limited time slots will be available each day. Buy before August 23 for a discount.
Los Angeles Haunted Hayride (San Dimas, CA)
Dates: September 25-November 1
Details: The LA Haunted Hayride is returning for 2020 with an all-new, innovative “Drive-Up Experience.” Here’s their description:
A first of its kind, immersive and interactive experience from the creators of LA’s favorite Halloween event. Experience this reimagined haunted event from the “safety” of your car! Don’t call it a drive thru, and don’t call it a drive in, it’s a combination of the best parts of both, plus our own spin on things. You will drive down a creepy stretch of road featuring some of the sets and scenic environments you’ve come to love at the hayride, followed by a haunted show featuring an original multimedia story displayed on a 40 foot screen, as well as horrifying sets and live characters from Midnight Falls!
The Hayride moves to Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas this year, as they’ll need the space for this new haunt concept.
“Cursed Creek” Presented by BCR: A Place to Grow (Burbank, CA)
Dates: October 16-18, 23-25,
Details: This brand-new, “drive-in” haunt is created by haunt enthusiasts to support a nonprofit organization that provides services for adults and children with special needs. The experience includes sets you will “drive into” and then park your car to watch the horror unfold around you. The haunt is by donation only, and no advance tickets will be sold (first come, first served). Do some good this year by attending a haunt with a purpose!
The Haunted Barnyard: Land of Nightmares (Santa Clarita, CA)
Dates: October 22-23, 27-31 & November 5-6
Details: The Haunted Barnyard concept is an exciting immersive drive-thru experience in Santa Clarita curated by a team of designers including a film and themed park set designer, set dressers, costume designers and makeup artists from Universal Studios Horror Nights, Knott’s Scary Farm and Six Flags Fright Fest. Your unsuspecting passengers or (victims) will get the scare of a lifetime in The Gentle Barn’s transformed land of nightmares. Wind your way through a multitude of ghastly scenes while being guided by a ghostly audio with sound effects in the safety of your own vehicle!
Stranger Things: The Drive-Into Experience (Downtown Los Angeles)
Dates: October 2020-January 2021
Details: Another new “driving” attraction rolls into Southern California, based on Stranger Things. The event promised “impressive effects” including both audio and visual.
You will unlock the untold story of Hawkins in this unique format event – all from the safety of your car. In a central DTLA location, you’ll dive into and explore a living, breathing story to savour some of the best moments from the Netflix series and maybe even witness some unforeseen and unusual occurrences.
Scream Zone: Road Kill (Del Mar, CA)
Dates: October 1-31
This year, take a terrifying ride through the Del Mar fairgrounds. Vehicles will weave through a mile-long course transformed into scenes from classic horror films and the demented minds of the Scream Zone’s imaginative creators. Experience SEVEN different “haunts” during the drive, featuring a range of characters from vampires, clowns, and even the nuns from The Conjuring.
Pirates of Emerson (Pleasanton, CA)
Dates: October 2-November 1
Details: The Bay Area’s beloved and long-running Pirates of Emerson of returns for 2020 as a completely drive-through experience at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. There will be live actors. There’s also this warning: “Your vehicle will get wet and dirty – save your car wash until after your Adventure”!!
Family-Friendly Events
Nights of the Jack (Calabasas, CA)
Dates: October 1-November 1
Details: This very popular, family-friendly jack-o-lantern exhibit returns as a drive-through experience for 2020. We attended last year, and we think this event should also work really well as a drive through. The jacks are bright and fun and should be easy to view from the window of the car. If you’re looking for some Halloween fun for the kiddos, we definitely recommend this event.
Haunt O’Ween (Woodland Hills, CA)
Dates: October 9-31
Details: This is another family-friendly drive-through Halloween attraction set up in the parking lot of a near-empty mall. Haunt O’Ween promises a “MASSIVE” experience that includes pumpkin picking, trick-or-treating, photo ops, and themed sets, all of which can be enjoyed from your car. We are a bit wary of the $70 per car ticket costs, since this is brand new event and we’re not sure what to expect. But with families desperate for some Halloween fun, they might be successful.
Theater, Dining, Art, and Live Experiences
Sugarmynt Gallery presents “Haunted Haddonfield” (Pasadena, CA)
Dates: September 12-November 7
Details: The house used in the original Halloween movie is now an art gallery and is paying tribute to Michael Myers by with the return of the exhibit “Haunted Haddonfield.” Experience a Halloween movie tribute, “Welcome to Haddonfield,” with a joint show immersing the audience in the spirit and atmosphere of paranormal and haunted places. As a bonus, the team from Murder House Productions is involved in the show this year, so this has become a not-to-miss experience.
Ghosts of the Past (San Diego, CA)
Dates: October 16-18
Details: This “immersive dining and haunt” experience includes an al fresco three-course meal (including a cocktail), a haunted cabaret show, and a walk-through haunted attraction. Set in a real-life, purportedly haunted hotel, this experience looks to be geared toward those who want a more sophisticated night out with their Halloween spookiness. A perfect October date night, if you ask us.
Inside (Los Angeles, CA)
Dates: October 29 – 31 *Appears to be Sold Out Already*
From the minds of CREEP Los Angeles comes INSIDE, a socially-distant bite-sized Halloween treat. Quarantined households (up to 5 people MAX) are invited to a guided outdoor ghost tour. Guests will creep around an iconic haunted LA property for a quick night of spooky stories and striking visuals. Ghostly poetry chronicles this mansion’s dark history as guests get a glimpse INSIDE decades of horrific Halloween nights at home.
Welcome to HellFest (Sylmar, CA)
Dates: October 22-31
Details: This event claims they will have mazes, a live DJ and musical performances, plus alcohol, food, and private cabanas. We have no idea how this is possible, since haunted attractions of this sort are not permitted in L.A. County this year. They even go so far as to say they will have “CDC” COVID representatives on site. Ummm OK. If anyone attends, let us know how it goes!
Haunts Confirmed Closed for 2020
- Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor (Long Beach, CA)
- Halloween Horror Nights (Universal City, CA)
- Knott’s Scary Farm (Buena Park, CA)
- Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest (Valencia, CA)
- Reign of Terror (Thousand Oaks, CA)
- Creep LA (Los Angeles, CA)
- Freakling Bros. (Las Vegas, NV)
- All Saints Lunatic Asylum (Apple Valley, CA)
- Into The Black (Rancho Cucamonga, CA)
