By late October, Los Angeles hums with a different kind of energy. The sun dips early, streetlights cast longer shadows, and across the city—from Griffith Park to West Hollywood—fear turns into performance. Halloween here isn’t one night; it’s a full-blown season of spectacle. Some chase terror, others chase community, but everyone’s chasing that electric pulse that runs through L.A. when the costumes come out and the veil gets thin.
Universal Studios Hollywood — Halloween Horror Nights
Until Nov. 2. There’s no greater cinematic scare factory than this. At Universal Studios Hollywood, sound stages transform into blood-slick corridors and haunted mazes inspired by film’s darkest legends. Slash returns with a new original score for “Scarecrow: Music of the Harvest,” and the Terror Tram brings back cult horror icons stalking guests through the backlot.
Hours: Select nights, Now–Nov 2
Address: 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City
Website: universalstudioshollywood.com
Los Angeles Haunted Hayride — Griffith Park
Until Nov. 2. In the shadow of the Observatory, the Haunted Hayride turns the park’s quiet roads into a fever dream of smoke, lights, and screams. This year, Elvira returns to host, her campy humor cutting through the blood and fog. Between rides, you can throw axes, sip themed cocktails, and wander through a mock town where everything feels slightly… wrong.
Hours: Times vary, check website for details.
Address: 4730 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles
Website: losangeleshauntedhayride.com
Delusion — Harrowing of Hell at The Variety Arts Theater
Until Nov. 9. This isn’t a maze; it’s a live horror play that traps you inside the story. “Harrowing of Hell” unfolds across multiple floors of the historic Variety Arts Theater, where guests unlock clues, meet cursed characters, and navigate the blurred line between stage and séance. Creator Jon Braver pushes the envelope again—less haunted house, more living nightmare.
Hours: Showtimes vary, check website for details
Address: The Variety Arts Theater, Downtown Los Angeles.
Website: enterdelusion.com
West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval
Oct. 31. Each year, Santa Monica Boulevard becomes a living runway for the city’s wildest imaginations. The West Hollywood Carnaval draws hundreds of thousands—drag queens, film students, bartenders, tech founders, nurses—all blending into one night of joyful, organized chaos. The air smells like tacos, glitter, and freedom.
Hours: Oct 31, 2025 | 6 p.m.–11 p.m.
Address: Santa Monica Blvd (Doheny Dr to La Cienega Blvd), West Hollywood
Website: weho.org
Night of the Jack
Until Nov. 1. A mile-long trail of over 10,000 hand-carved pumpkins illuminates King Gillette Ranch, each one flickering with stories—classic horror, Hollywood homages, and quiet beauty. It’s family-friendly but cinematic, a walk through light and craft that captures Halloween’s wonder more than its fright.
Hours: Times vary, check website for information
Address: 26800 Mulholland Hwy, Calabasas
Website: nightofthejack.com
Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre — North Hollywood
Until Oct. 31. For purists who crave discomfort as art, Urban Death: Tour of Terror delivers. In a pitch-black room, performers wordlessly create vignettes of terror—grotesque, absurd, sometimes heartbreakingly human. No props, no CGI, just raw presence.
Hours: Times vary, check website.
Address: 4850 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood
Website: zombiejoes.com
Saints & Sinners Halloween Party at Skybar
Oct. 24. High above Sunset Boulevard, temptation takes flight. The Saints & Sinners Halloween Party at Skybar, perched atop the Mondrian Los Angeles, turns the city’s skyline into a battleground of angels and demons. Between the palm-framed pool and the pulse of West Hollywood below, guests step into a world where halos flicker and horns glint under red light.
Hours: This Thursday, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.
Address: 8440 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood
Website: Get Tickets Now
Haunted Hotel Halloween Party at Hotel Ziggy
Oct. 31. West Hollywood’s Hotel Ziggy transforms into a multi-room nightmare for the Haunted Hotel Halloween Party, hosted by Affinity Nightlife. The rebellious Sunset Strip hideaway becomes a labyrinth of dark hallways, ghostly courtyards, and pulsing beats, where costumes aren’t just encouraged—they’re required. Guests can expect live sets from top L.A. DJs, a surprise celebrity performance, aerialists, haunted installations, and themed cocktails from expert mixologists. The night blends high-style horror with rock-’n’-roll soul, complete with brand activations and a designer photo booth. Entry is free until 10 p.m. (cover applies after), but tickets vanish fast.
Hours: October 31, 9p.m.-2 a.m.
Address: 8462 West Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood
Website: Get Tickets Now
Photo credits: Main photo courtesy of Jadeus Samson. All images are courtesy of the businesses and venues.
