Cemetery Lane Comes to Los Angeles

Heritage Square Museum, Los Angeles, CA

This past May, when I visited the inaugural Spooky Swap Meet and also had my first experience taking in the wonderfully preserved neighborhood of historic houses at the Heritage Square Museum in Los Angeles, my immediate thought was how awesome it would be to turn this into a full on Halloween village during the fall, complete with decorations, carnival games, warm lighting strung up overhead, and a beautiful ambiance of classic, nostalgic October. It was a sentiment I shared with Midsummer Scream executive director David Markland, who coyly hinted at the time that something to that effect might be in the works.

Well, he wasn’t lying. The producers of Midsummer Scream, in conjunction with THEA Award-winning director, Ian Momii, and Sinister Pointe’s Jeff Schiefelbein have teamed up to bring that vision to reality in the form of Cemetery Lane, a familly-friendly trick-or-treating experience.

“Since I live in an apartment, for a number of years, I've plotted how I could rent a creepy old house to decorate for Halloween and hand out treats,” notes David Markland. “And then when I started producing events, the dream grew to taking over an entire neighborhood. When the opportunity came up to do this at Heritage Square Museum, I immediately booked the location!”

Heritage Square Museum will be transformed into a charming, vintage Halloween night, evoking celebrations of autumn holidays of hold. Think of the vibe of Hocus Pocus... the snap in the air, the age in the houses, and the slightest hint of supernatural spooks. “While Heritage Square has enough Halloween vibes on any regular day or night,” Markland mentions, “we've brought in Jeff Schiefelbein, owner and producer of Sinister Pointe, to handle decor and effects.” It will all come together in a way that kids will enjoy and adults will fondly reflect upon. Adds Markland, "While not-so-spooky as to terrify the youngest trick-r-treaters, we still aim to please adult fans of the Halloween season like us."

Tickets are currently on sale at https://cemeterylane.com/ and start at $25 per person plus fees. This promises to be a delightful event, and we can't wait to see how everything turns out!

From the press release:

‘Haunted’ Victorian Manors and Ghostly Residents Set the Scene for Southern California’s New Immersive Trick-or-Treating Experience: Cemetery Lane

Los Angeles, CA – Safe, secure… and spooky. Cemetery Lane, a Halloween experience featuring 13 trick-or-treating stops along a private, gated row of Victorian manors rumored to be haunted, takes over Heritage Square Museum (3800 Homer St. Los Angeles, CA 90031) October 27-31, 2021 – with hourly timed entry ticketing making the eerie event even more exclusive. 

Both day and nighttime ticket options are available to guests who dare traverse through the “neighborhood” of residents dying to celebrate Halloween. A plethora of photo ops as well as interactions with the terrifying townsfolk are part of the ghoulishly fun event.

Cemetery Lane is for all ages - young and old alike are highly encouraged to dress up in costume and enjoy the event which is mostly outdoors. All applicable local health guidelines will be enforced. The trick-or-treating element will last about an hour for each guest; but they are welcome to stay longer to mingle among the spirits.

Producing the event are David Markland (co-founder and executive director of Midsummer Scream) Claire Dunlap (co-founder and producer of Midsummer Scream and Spooky Swap Meet), and Ian Momii (THEA Award-winning technical director for The Nest) with decor and effects by Jeff Schiefelbein (owner/producer of Sinister Pointe).

“Living in an apartment setting (code for no trick-or-treaters), for years I’ve wanted to find an eerie old house to rent for Halloween to hand out trick-or-treats. I also fantasized about taking over an entire neighborhood for a spooky block party,” said David Markland. “My dream came true for both when Heritage Square agreed to collaborate with us on this event and now I get to hand out candy from a half dozen actual haunted houses!”

(Image courtesy of Cemetery Lane.)

A limited shopping experience will be found on Cemetery Lane, including snacks for purchase. More information and tickets are available at CemeteryLane.com.

Children under age 2 receive free admission; all other guests must purchase a ticket: Wednesday, October 27, 4pm-6pm: $25/6pm-9pm: $30; Thursday, October 28, 4pm-6pm: $25/6pm-9pm: $30; Friday, October 29, 4pm-6pm: $25/6pm-10pm: $30; Saturday, October 30 1pm-6pm: $25/6pm-10pm: $30;  Sunday, October 31, 1pm-6pm: $25/6pm-9pm: $30. A $3.50 ticketing fee is non-refundable.

Refund and exchange requests honored until October 13; all sales are final past this date. The event takes place rain or shine, and organizers encourage guests to review full terms posted at CemeteryLane.com before making a ticket purchase.