REVIEW: cemetery lane

OCTOBER 20, 2022

review: cemetery lane

When we moved to Los Angeles, the websites Hollywood Gothique and Creep LA were essential resources in the pre-social media world of haunt hunting. These sites were an oasis of information that helped elevate now legendary haunts like Rotten Apple, Backwoods (RIP) and the House of Restless Spirits (RIP). Hollywood Gothique is still going strong, and Creep LA’s David Markland has in the past few years created epic Halloween conventions that include ScareLA and the now mecca of horror, Long Beach’s Midsummer Scream. Considering this impressive background, it is no surprise that Markland and company are now offering their second year of Cemetery Lane - an all ages, door-to-door trick-or-treating event that takes place within Highland Park’s historic Heritage Square.

Heritage Square's beautifully haunting Victorian mansions, illuminated in emerald, violet, cobalt, and carmine lights, offer the perfect backdrop for a Halloween echoing back in time. Visitors go door to door for treats and get to experience the different themes of each home. There is the Egyptian house where a mummy slowly hands out candy, a witch house where a sassy Vampira quickly delivers her candy with a pun, and a ghostly cemetery whose centerpiece crypt's mysterious resident's decomposing hand drops candy into your bag. A notable new offering for this year is a mini hay bale maze where the lead character, a small young ghost, enthusiastically interacts with guests and playfully leads them to dead ends. Our favorite stop of the evening was Dr. Frankenstein's home where we were able to walk through and see the various labs and experiments in the dimly lit rooms containing Victorian furniture and decor.

We are often asked where kids who might be frightened easily can go to experience the spirit of Halloween, and our answer is Cemetery Lane. Markland and the MSS team (which employs Sinister Pointe for the events decor) have done a great job of offering a larger scale Halloween event that is unique to itself - leaning into the less darker sides of a Halloween haunt. In the same spirit of dearly departed legends, Ghost Train and Boney Island, Cemetery Lane is a festive, uplifting haunt that taps into the seasonal energy that we all love.

VC

October 20, 2022

Hauntsofla.com

#cemeterylane #midsummerscream #halloween #hauntedhouse #losangeles #hauntsofla