My Halloween Horror Trip

Alright it's that time where I bore with a slide show of my vacation!  Don't worry, I didn't take a cruise and there are no pictures of the food I ate (although I did go to Rosco's Chicken and Waffles twice!).  I took a horror vacation to Southern California!  I tell you, SoCal is where it is at in October.  There is so much going on there you could do a Halloween themed activity every night!  I only had two nights (this was a very short vacation) so I went to Universal Studios to check out this years Halloween Horror Nights!

I haven't been to Universal Hollywood since I was a kid, and a lot has changed.  The Tram Tour is a lot different.  One difference is that you now go RIGHT PAST NORMAN BATES HOUSE!!  WhoHoo!  When I was a kid you passed it, but from very far away.  Now the tram takes you right past the Bates Motel and the House.  More on this later..

As for the nighttime, I got there at 7:00 and didn't leave until 12:30am.  That is how long it takes you to get through everything.  I will admit: I skipped Bill and Teds Halloween Adventure.  I don't feel bad about it.

I wasn't able to take many pictures during the evening: flash photography is prohibited and trust me: I tried and was shut down every time.  Here are a few pictures I took during the day.  They have to keep some things set up all day: all the little kiddies there were crying!  It was awesome.

The first thing I did at night was get on the Terror Tram invaded by The Walking Dead.  Unlike the day time tram, this ride lets you off at the Bates Motel.  You actually walk on the porch of the Bates Motel as Walkers chase you!!  They chase you right past the Psycho House and through the plane crash set from War of the Worlds.  It was pretty awesome.  The great thing is that is was so dark you couldn't see the Walkers until they were walking right next to you!! 

As for the other mazes my two favorites were of course "The Walking Dead: Dead Inside" which recreates multiple scenes from the show, including the Well Walker, my favorite!  Walkers attack you even after you leave the maze, which as also a highlight.  My absolute favorite maze, and I am sorry about this Walking Dead, was "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."  Not only do multiple Leatherfaces jump out at you, the actors they hired look exactly the the people from the film!  They even recreate the dinner scene!  I felt sorry for the poor actress tied the the chair screaming the whole time!!  I hope she got a break!

The "Silent Hill" maze was pretty amazing as well.  Nurses, nurses everywhere!!  They also chase you once you are out of the maze.  "Alice Cooper 3D" was a day glow nightmare!  It was the longest line I waited in but totally worth it!

The next day we visited "Hollywood Forever" cemetery.  I was happy to visit with Peter Lorre..

Rudy Valentino..

Johnny Ramone...

And one of my heroes: Mel Blanc.

We also visited The Museum of Death.  Again, no pictures inside but well worth the visit.

Among other things, The Museum of Death features a Serial Killer art gallery ( a lot of Gacy), the Guillotined head of the Blue Beard of Paris, various Death Row devices, and a lot of pictures and footage from real life crime scenes.  This stuff is hardcore, and if you like your horror only as fiction, don't go here!  I loved it, but I admit it was right on the edge of what I could handle.  I thought I would have nightmares all night, but luckily I was too exhausted.

Finally, we made it out to Culver City to "Holy Cross Cemetery" for one very special grave..

Many thanks to J.W. Ockers "Odd Things I've Seen" website.  I would have never found the grave if it wasn't for him.  "Holy Cross" is not the most interesting cemetery.  All the headstones are the same.  But it is worth the trip.  A lot of Hollywood stars are buried there, including Bela in his cape!
 

That is me and the Freeze-Dried bat I bought at this awesome store called Necromance.  You can buy all manner of curio there, including human bones, Ouija Boards, Opium Pipes, whatever.  I bought a bat I named Bela.  Bela met Bela, it was pretty special.

As a bonus, Sharon Tate is also buried at Holy Cross.  Having just seen very graphic photos of her body at The Museum of Death, seeing her grave was very creepy.  Next year I hope to spend more time in LA in October.  It is a creepy place anyway, even more so during the best month of the year!