Cemetery Lane: 2021 Review
Heritage Square Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Today’s post was supposed to be a #ShriekySunday return to some outstanding Halloween season coverage, but I didn’t get to it early enough, so I guess it’s a… uh… #MacabreMonday or something? In any case, we’re taking it back to the end of last October and covering a first time Halloween event put on by David Markland and Claire Dunlap of Black Cat Orange (best known for their efforts behind Midsummer Scream), featuring one of the most unique trick-or-treat settings in all of Los Angeles—actual historical buildings lined along the street that makes up the Heritage Square Museum in Los Angeles. Despite only running for five evenings, Cemetery Lane received rave reviews from seemingly everyone who went. Our visited ended up being almost at the end of the run, leaving insufficient time to be able to post a review in time to actually help with any promotion. So instead, we bring you our coverage of Cemetery Lane now, in February.
The Conductor roamed the grounds in front of the old Palms Depot train station building.
You may recall last year that when we visited Spooky Swap Meet (also hosted at the Heritage Square Museum), we couldn’t help but think what an excellent venue this would be for a nighttime Halloween event in the fall. At the time, I even chatted with Midsummer Scream executive producer David Markland about a Halloween carnival or street fair that could feature the beautiful, historic house lit up, activities and games (and maybe a couple of rides) lining the row, maybe some string lights tracing back and forth overhead, and a fun, spooky, family-friendly environment to just really take in and enjoy the classic, vintage spirit of Halloween.
Well, David was thinking the same thing, and at the time, he confided that he had already booked Heritage Square Museum for the last five evenings of October. And though the end product didn’t quite have every detail I had envisioned, what resulted nevertheless captured that enchanting magic of the Halloween season, offering an eerie but marvelous hauntscape of trick-or-treating and spirited reverie.
Looking down Cemetery Lane, the Halloween transformation of the Heritage Square Museum in L.A.
Cemetery Lane was a five-night Halloween attraction that offered guests the chance to trick or treat at and (at some stops) explore the classic, transplanted historical residences and buildings of the Heritage Square Museum. Enlisting the help of Sinister Pointe’s Jeff Schiefelbein and veteran Midsummer Scream collaborator Ian Momii for decor, lighting, and special effects, the folks at Black Cat Orange created a charming atmosphere that might be compared to something out of Hocus Pocus, offering guests an immersive experience of vintage Halloween in the normally much less historical sunny Southern California.
Though the event ran from the afternoon through the evening, after dark was where the magic really sprang up, and our visit coincided with the dusk and early evening hours. From the first couple of buildings at the start of Cemetery Lane—the Perry Mansion and the Palms Depot—all the way to the Colonial Drug Store building in the back, Cemetery Lane produced a truly delightfully eerie and spooktacular attraction!
The Perry Mansion was lit up in orange to befit its setting as a jack-o-lantern home.
In a move that was similar to the Trick or Treat maze at the L.A. Haunted Hayride, each of the buildings along Cemetery Lane was envisioned with its own resident or residents. The main difference between Cemetery Lane and its Griffith Park brethren was that there were no jump scares or hard startles at all at this event, which was marketed for guests of all ages and sensitivities. That left the hosts of each stop to be more campy and supernaturally lovable. Think more Munsters than actual monsters.
An old curmudgeon (played by our Horror Buzz pal, Jeff Heimbuch), who seemed more like the type to yell at kids to get off his lawn, greeted guests at the Perry Mansion. A mysterious conductor, evocative of the icon character at Knott’s Scary Farm, prowled the grounds at the train depot across the street. Next door to the Perry Mansion, a pair of dead-eyed, pale-skinned hosts handed out candy at the Hale House. Guests could also walk through the house and explore the aged interiors of the first floor, exiting out the back. The interior was set up to be eerie and ominous in tone, but without any scares that might result in recoil reactions that might unintentionally damage the historical spaces.
The lovely and ornate Hale House was bathed in cool, eerie colors.
This gnarled and sprawling tree provided a nice contrast to the fiery, illuminated, and vampy Valley Knudsen Garden Residence.
The Valley Knudsen Garden Residence was home to a pair of outlandish vampires who were truly committed to their roles. The count and countess couple played off their Transylvanian stereotypes, alternating between stately stoicism and dashing devilry—but all in a spirit of good fun. Across the way, the Octagon House seemed to have been inundated with an infestation spiders, as it was wrapped in massive cobwebs and eight-legged creatures of both modest and massive scale. This stop was the only one that had any semblance of actual startle tactics, as a few animatronic spiders were set up to lightly spring forward when activated by motion detection. On the other hand, they were fairly easy to spot and sprung with enough slow warning that the startle was more on the level of the Haunted Mansion than of Horror Nights.
The Octagon House was invaded by arachnids of all sizes during Halloween!
The Ford House offered a hag sitting on the steps of its stoop. A wispy cauldron seemed to be boiling some mysterious potion a few yards away. On the other side of the pathway, adjacent to the Carriage Barn, a graveyard seemed to have sprung up, complete with its own little mausoleum and a seemingly disembodied hand that, um, handed out treats for guests who approached. The Carriage Barn itself was decorated with an assortment of skeletons playing cards and skeletal animals moseying around, most likely waiting for some sort of everlasting rest.
The Ford House featured a witching green hue.
Further on, the Lincoln Avenue Church was the only destination that did not hand out candy. Instead, it functioned as the souvenir shop of the event, selling merchandise for Cemetery Lane and a couple other vendors and projecting classic spooky movies in black and white on a screen at a stage near the front of the interior space. Outside, the garden adjacent to the Ford House offered a sort of spooky walk, bathed in eerie blue light. That led guests over past an old street car with glow-in-the-dark skeleton riders and skeleton hosts handing out more candy. The end of Cemetery Lane came at the Colonial Drug Store, where an ominous but harmless apothecary seemed to peddle potions or concoctions to those who might be searching for any—though they seemed to be of the sweet variety.
Past this, there were a couple of good and beverage stands for guest who might need a bite to eat. In addition, an open theater area was set up across the way from the Hale House and Valley Knudsen Garden Residence for guests needing to rest their legs. Here too, black and white spooky films played on a canvas facing the buildings.
The Carriage Barn took on a familiar and appropriate livestock feel—or, well, deadstock, really.
Looking past a graveyard at the Lincoln Avenue Methodist Church, which also played home to the Cemetery Lane gift shop.
While the buildings themselves were beautifully lit and themed, the wonder of Cemetery Lane was not limited only to the overall presentation. There were plenty of little details guests could pick out and appreciate that enhanced and enriched the Cemetery Lane atmosphere. Above the entryway of the Valley Knudsen Garden Residence, one might spot a shadowy phantom seemingly playing some unknown instrument, ala the attic scene in the Haunted Mansion. The Hale House had its share of apparent supernatural hosts as well. Ghostly static figure appeared to overlook the grounds at the right corner, while a spectral apparition materialized at the the window above and to the left of the front door from time to time. Even at the Lincoln Avenue Church, the skeletal reaper that looked down could sometimes be caught with its eyes lighting an demonic red. The image of this haunting figure gazing down upon everyone down below was fantastically frightful in the most enjoyable way.
The garden opposite the church building was turned into a spooky haunted walk, but without any jump scares.
Off site, things were a little more challenging. Unless arrivals came early or just happened to luck out at the right time, they were unable to park in the very limited parking lot at the head of Homer Street and had to find street parking elsewhere in the neighborhood, resulting in lengthier walks for some just to get to the main entrance gates. This is an issue endemic to the site, since the Cemetery Lane producers had no control over it, but it certainly provided a headache to hose unfortunate enough to have to spend a more substantial time looking for parking than they may have anticipated.
Ultimately, however, Cemetery Lane provided that wondrous magic of an autumn experience that harkened back to the nostalgia of a bygone Halloween. It was a terrific and exuberant love letter to the holiday brought to life, and aside from the inconveniences related to getting to the site, guests seemed to have great things to say about the event as a whole.
The Colonial Drug Store building marked the end of Cemetery Lane, and appropriate, a creepy apothecary stand was set up in front.
We don’t know if Cemetery Lane will be back this year for sure, but we would be very surprised (and a little disappointed) if it did not. Los Angeles, has a seemingly endless wealth of Halloween attractions, but perhaps surprisingly, there’s a relative dearth of family-friendly attractions, especially ones more centrally located (Haunt-O-Ween was a great experience but a little deeper in The Valley) or affordable (Oogie Boogie Bash is spectacular but comes with Disney-level pricing). Cemetery Lane fills this need satisfyingly, and here’s hoping that it can become a new Halloween tradition for Southern California!
Cemetery Lane was an absolute delight—a Halloween lover’s dream come true. And we expect (or sure hope) it to return this year!
Cemetery Lane was located at the Heritage Square Museum at 3800 Homer St, Los Angeles, CA 90031 and ran for only five nights last October, from Wednesday, October 27 through Sunday, October 31. The hours were 4:00 - 10:00pm on the weeknights, and 1:00 - 10:00pm on Saturday and 1:00pm - 9:00pm on Sunday, Halloween night. Tickets cost $25 for entry before 5:00pm and $30 for entry 6:00 or after.
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
