Oct. 28, 2023 6:30 AM PT
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Saturday, Oct. 28. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend:
- How to get spooky in SoCal this Halloween
- Why PCH in Malibu is getting more dangerous
- Why Gen Z is turned off by onscreen sex
- And here’s today’s e-newspaper
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Celebrate Halloween in SoCal with haunted theme parks and spooky music
Get your costumes ready and cue up Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Halloween is days away, and there’s no shortage of spooky events and attractions to enjoy around Southern California.
The holiday has grown bigger than trick-or-treating and costume parties. Some started celebrating nearly two months before the holiday at places like Disneyland, which kicked off its Halloween festivities on Sept. 1 — the unofficial first day of this year’s Halloween season, according to The Times’ Todd Martens. Halloween at Disneyland rivals — and sometimes exceeds — the Christmas season. This year, you’ll find an overlay of the Haunted Mansion themed to Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” a sold-out and ticketed evening party called the Oogie Boogie Bash, and decorations and ride makeovers across two parks.
Disneyland didn’t always embrace Halloween to the extent it does today, but theme parks have arguably helped fuel what is now a multi-month celebration of the holiday.
(Joshua Sudock / Disneyland Resort)
“Americans have become Halloween-obsessed,” Todd wrote. “By the time Nov. 1 rolls around, it’s estimated that we’ll collectively have spent a record $12.2 billion-plus to celebrate Halloween this year, up almost $2 billion from last year, according to the National Retail Federation. And in a testament to how theme parks can shape and drive culture, we have them partly to thank — or blame.”
But it’s not just Disney leading the charge.
Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights brings your favorite movie monsters to life with six mazes based on popular horror franchises, three scare zones and the Terror Tram experience. When you’re ready to leave the park, be prepared to face the sea of chainsaw-wielding villains that guard the exit.
Opening night at Universal Studios Horror Nights on Sept. 7, 2023.
(J. Emilio Flores / Los Angeles Times en Español)
In Buena Park, one of the longest-running large-scale Halloween events in L.A. County is the six-week-long makeover of Knott’s Berry Farm into Knott’s Scary Farm, now in its 50th year. The after-hours festival includes three new mazes, five scare zones and four shows. This year they have new “no-boo” necklaces for attendees who want to avoid a terror-filled evening.
If theme parks aren’t for you, buckle up and treat yourself to a driving tour of some of the spookiest film and TV houses. You can also challenge yourself in a haunted escape room at the Ministry of Peculiarities or celebrate from the comfort of your own home with the official De Los “espooky season” playlist.
Most local Halloween events end Oct. 31, but a few are running through early November. Currently celebrating 25 years of continuous operation, Reign of Terror has the distinction of being the single largest indoor haunted house in SoCal. The Thousand Oaks destination has 138 uniquely themed rooms that occupy 28,000 square feet of floor space, open through Nov. 4.
For more Halloween activities in SoCal, here’s a roundup of events and attractions to rattle and shake your bones.
The week’s biggest stories
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks after he was chosen as the Republicans’ latest nominee for House speaker.
(Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press)
Politics
War in the Middle East
Maine mass shooting
Health
Climate and environment
Policing
More big stories
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The week’s great reads
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Behind the beauty, PCH in Malibu takes a deadly toll. Why it’s getting more dangerous. A Times analysis shows that despite various safety improvements, serious accidents along PCH have actually gotten more common. Data show 170 deaths and serious injuries to drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians between 2011 and 2023.
More great reads
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].
For your weekend
(Diana Ramirez/De Los; Photos by Oscar Millán)
Going out
Staying in
L.A. Affairs
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(Asia Pietrzyk / For The Times)
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Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Elvia Limón, multiplatform editor
Laura Blasey, assistant editor
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