Spooky Swap Meet 2021
Heritage Square Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Folks, I know it’s May, and you may be wondering what in the world we’re doing with a Halloween post already, but if there’s anything that COVID-19 established last year, it’s that time lost its meaning, and months lasted years, and the order of what happened when seemed to dissolve into a haze with the disruption of life as we knew it.
It may be spring, but fall is already on the minds of a lot of Halloween-enthused.
That said, as 2021 progresses, and more and more people become vaccinated, and caseloads (at least in California) are declining, there’s a bit more of a light at the end of the long tunnel that has been the Coronavirus pandemic these past 13-16 months. Restaurants are getting closer to normal operation. The theme parks are reopening. Announcements for public events like concerts and festivals are starting to flutter in, and we’re starting to see more gatherings in general—especially in outdoor settings—as we slowly ease back into some semblance of life before COVID.
And the Heritage Square Museum grounds was the site to satisfy those spooky cravings this past weekend!
On the spooky side of things, this past weekend saw perhaps the most high profile Halloween-related even yet this year with the Spooky Swap Meet, and collaboration from the minds of two prominent haunted entities—Midsummer Scream and L.A. Haunted Hayride. Specifically speaking, Spooky Swap Meet was the brainchild and production efforts of Claire Dunlap, producer at Midsummer Scream, and Sarah Cooke, owner of GOREnaments Halloween cards and decorations and wife of 13th Floor Entertainment Creative Director, Jon Cooke. A hybrid event consisting primarily of Halloween vendor exhibits mixed with some spooky ambiance brought on by several contributing haunts like the L.A. Haunted Hayride, Bearded Lady’s Mystic Museum, The Farm Haunt, and Murder House Productions, the Spooky Swap Meet in some ways functioned like a very miniature version of Midsummer Scream, providing horror fans with a place to enjoy a macabre ambiance, purvey sinister wares, show off their Gothic fashion sense, and just recapture the general spirit of the fall season on the opposite side of the calendar from when such things would normally occur. Add to this the already charming and rich atmosphere of the setting—the Heritage Square Museum—and you had a wonderful event that provide some catharsis and some reunion for fans of all things creeptacular.
Murder House Productions was one of the haunts on hand at Spooky Swap Meet.
So was The Farm Haunt, appropriately fitting with Dr. Diablo’s Caskets & Curiosities!
A bit of history before we continue on… the Heritage Square Museum is an open air museum dedicated to preserving and showcasing the “architecture, physical environment, and culture of Southern California during the first 100 years of statehood.” Located along the Arroyo Seco portion of the 110 freeway just north of Downtown Los Angeles, this parcel of SoCal architectural history features eight buildings (seven transplanted) that capture the richness and depth of Los Angeles area buildings from the late 19th century into the early 20th.
The stately Perry Mansion is the first residence guests see when entering the Heritage Square Museum.
From Greek Revival Italianate to Queen Anne Cottage to Gothic Revival to Second Empire, there is a diverse collection of architectural aesthetics at the Heritage Square Museum, making this little path at the end of Homer Street a nostalgic and eclectic step back into time. The colorful Hale House, built in 1887 by George W. Morgan, seems to strike a medley of styles and even feels a little bit like Mystic Manor over at Hong Kong Disneyland. The ornate 1876 Perry Mansion shows off an all-white Greek Revival Italianate look that feels more Old World Victorian that Southern California chic, though it was stylish and trendy in the then-fashionable neighborhood of Boyle Heights at the time. The Ford House, yellow and hybrid of styles, might very well have been Carl and Ellie’s residence in Up. And so too do the other buildings on the property provide interest and education to those looking to learn more into Southern California’s architectural history.
The Hale House is the most colorful—built to feature the palette of a paint manufacturer back in the day.
The Octagon House is appropriately named for its shape.
The “neighborhood” crafted out of the Heritage Square Museum thus provided a perfect, transportive environment for the Spooky Swap Meet—an escapist, highly thematic, wonderfully nostalgic backdrop onto which Halloween decorations and displays were dressed over the weekend to produce a Halloween fair of sorts for vendors and guests to enjoy.
The Ford House is smaller than the others but still quaint and pretty.
The entrance to the event was located at the south end of the 3800 block of Homer Street, just off the Ave 43 exit of the 110 freeway. Parking was a bit of a crapshoot. Officially, the dirt lot between Homer and the Los Angeles River functioned as the parking for the event (and regular parking for the Heritage Square Museum), but the low capacity mean that guests might have to park on adjacent Griffin Ave or farther if they couldn’t luck out and nab an open spot or catch a party leaving the event. But the walk toward the entrance unintentionally functioned as a nice lead-up to the gates of the property, which were decked out with some nice event signage integrated into the brick column gates and guarded by two of Jon Cooke’s 12-foot tall Home Depot skeletons.
Halloween was definitely in the air this first weekend of May!
Once through the gates, an assortment of displays, exhibitor booths, and overlays of the historic houses laid out on both sides of the gravel path. Immediately, it felt like autumn—and not just because we went on the much cooler Sunday date, which featured overcast skies with texture clouds and the slightest hit of crisp in the air. The decorations and October draperies laid out in front of and even somewhat over the historic houses created a terrific feel of classic Halloween.
Though Saturday was unseasonably warm, Sunday brought cooler temperatures and interesting skies.
The length of the Heritage Square Museum isn’t particularly sprawling, but the grounds did accommodate several dozen vendor booths, with stands mainly clustered between the Palm Depot and Octagon House and between the Carriage Barn and Lincoln Ave Church buildings. We were excited to visit our friends at Lil Miss Oddities, Aura of Foreboding Curio, and Tragic Designs. They and plenty other vendors offered plenty of mementos for Halloween and haunts and just the spooky lifestyle in general, from furnishings to decorations to pins an ornaments to wardrobe. Given the reduction and challenges that small businesses have had to face this past year (including loss of opportunities at festivals and convention events), it was great to see this platform utilized to help them promote their businesses and earn some income.
Shani and Steve pose in front of their shop for Lll Miss Oddities, a fantastic place for the magnificently morbid.
Tragic Designs has been selling T-Shirts and wood creations, including these awesome wood imprinted horror movie posters (most were sold out by the time we stopped by yesterday).
Over at the rear of the Heritage Square Museum, by the Colonial Drug store building, a small collection of food booths was set up, including Olde Tyme Ice Cream, which some guests may recognize from their booths at Dark Harbor and other events. A coffee truck and a taco stand also provided some nourishment to guests looking to satiate a bit of hunger.
Nothing like hand-dipped ice cream (or cheesecake on a stick), and Olde Tyme Ice Cream has positively delicious ones!
Although there wasn’t any overt entertainment, there were plenty of characters to go around. Monster cosplayers and scareactors prowled the grounds, serving more as photo ops than actual frights. Given the still-sensitive considerations around COVID-19, it was better to avoid close screams or other behavior that might possibly increase the spread of particles. It was also nice to see the characters masked.
This Plague Doctor is quite fitting in these times.
Fancy a smashing good time?
Look, even Michael Myers needs to relax and unwind sometime!
Near the back half of the grounds, a static “haunted maze” walkthrough was set up in the Victorian-esque garden next to the Ford House. A Ghostbusters car also helped contribute to the general Halloween ambiance.
The little spooky maze by the Ford House features some fun easter eggs.
The Ghostbusters car was a nice photo op by the Lincoln Ave Church building.
There was a nice assortment of meet-and-greet’s too. Monte Revolta—star of last year’s L.A. Haunted Hayride—was also part of a L.A. Haunted Hayride photo op over at the Ford House. He brought along some ghouls to join him as well. The Fiends from Best Fiends Forever, Vamp’s delightfully spooky and kooky kids show, were also on hand at the Octagon House.
Monte Revolta and pal have dug themselves up for a springtime appearance.
The sexiest killer clown you’ll ever see.
The Fiends were on hand too! Best Fiends Forever!
Rad Coffee helped provide a great Stranger Things display at the Hale House. Murder House Productions dressed the Valley Knudsen House in a beautiful Trick ‘R Treat tribute, where guests could meet Sam from the latter cult classic. And on top of that, several of the setups at the historic houses also provided trick or treating opportunities, with guests getting a bit of candy to go with whatever other collectibles they may have purchased.
Rad Coffee’s setup at the Hale House was pretty awesome.
Aurora and Kyle pose with their friend in front of the Valley Knudsen House, originally located in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of L.A.
COVID-safety-wise, the outdoor event of the Spooky Swap Meet and the required face mask policies definitely helped provide a greater comfort level, and it was nice to see that guests were complying and being respectful. Although there were bunching of crowds at sporadic moments, the ebb and flow of the event (thanks to a timed ticketing system that smoothed out any potential crush of visitors) ended up balancing out, for the most part. The relatively low capacity also played apart, as this event under regular conditions would have almost certainly been more noticeably packed with fans and enthusiasts.
The event could get a bit crowded at times, but these moments typically dispersed pretty quickly.
Overall, the Spooky Swap Meet was a fantastic success in its inaugural weekend—enough that a follow-up almost certainly will be in the works. There were multiple overheard comments about how this would be a great recurring event, and given how well the setting lends itself to the eerie and the spirited, we think this would be a great addition to the Halloween calendar for those who live Halloween 365 days a year! Though parking and capacity constraints pose the largest challenges (the event sold out very quickly, and many people were unable to get tickets in time), this past weekend’s first endeavor ran pretty smoothly overall. So we definitely hope to see the Spooky Swap Meet return again soon!
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
