This last Friday, Norm and I had the opportunity to check out the LA Haunted Hayride. While this event has been running for a number of years now, this was the first time either of us had managed to make it out, so I was curious as to what I had been missing out on.

After a nice little drive through Griffith Park, we made our way to the “ruins” of the defunct Griffith Park Zoo where the event is being held. As we approach the fairgrounds-style open-air park, the excitement begins to build. A tower of jack o’ lanterns beckons us forth with a sense of classic Halloween kitsch that pervades the rest of the night’s experience. Before we can make our way to the hayride itself, there is the matter of the two mazes that are included so long as you don’t opt for the hayride-only ticket.

The House of Shadows

The first, House of Shadows, could almost be missed if you aren’t looking for it, with its entrance placed off to the side before reaching the entrance of the park. Perhaps it’s fortunate then that this is the most missable part of the experience. While the term has evolved to encompass basically any traditional haunt, the House of Shadows is a proper maze with many different paths to explore. Sadly, there’s not much to see. Throughout roughly ¾ of the maze, you’re faced with barren walls and a complete lack of props. It isn’t disastrous, thanks largely to the enthusiastic actors that do their best to liven up the space with some quality makeup and costuming, but between the lack of anything interesting to see and the constant disorientation of the strobe light, it gets a bit tiring. Once you manage to find your way to the final quarter of the maze, things do get better with some passable if fairly random set pieces featuring everything from medical equipment to a creepy daycare. I don’t know what they were going for with this one, but it doesn’t leave the best first impression.

Once we make it through the entry tunnel, we full splendor of the experience begins to take shape. It really is a charming presentation, with theming that invokes the feel of a twisted harvest festival. The park is well-staffed with monsters, each with their own distinct visual flair. They aren’t necessarily there to scare you, there are no sliders and many of the costumes don’t look designed to accommodate quick movement to chase guests around (though there was a bird demon thing that was getting a pretty good reaction) but they certainly add to the atmosphere. Rounding out the scare zone they’re calling purgatory is a giant animatronic jack o’ lantern centerpiece, some relatively reasonably-priced vegan food options, a bone horse merry-go-round, psychic tents, and a zombie shooting carnival game. There isn’t a huge amount to do, but it does help round out the experience to make it worth spending the evening.

Trick Or Treat

The second haunt, Trick or Treat, fairs a lot better than the first. In a sort of living rendition of the Attack of the Jack-O’-Lanterns episode of Goosebumps, where kids are doomed to an eternity of trick-or-treating in an evil town where it’s always Halloween, we went between colorful and off-kilter houses, knocking on doors and meeting the varied denizens of the towns to get pieces of candy. There are all sorts of characters here, references to Lizzie Borden and the twins from the shining, and a disfigured Stepford Wife that needs help preparing the Thanksgiving turkey. It’s not a scary experience, but it’s one of the purest examples of campy Halloween fun you’re likely to find.

Haunted Hayride

All that was left then was the hayride itself. The first thing that needs to be said about this one is you mustn’t purchase general admission if you want to retain your sanity, at least if you’re going on a Friday night. Our VIP tickets allowed us to get seated fairly quickly, but on the way up to the cattle cages that gather each of the parties for their respective tractor rides, we went past a truly mammoth line that puts some of the worst lines at Halloween Horror Nights to shame. Once we all snuggled into that tractor-trailer, it was off the explore the trails that made up the old zoo and their strange inhabitants. There’s a ton of variety here, from choreographed dances and mini-concerts to murderous game show and a really wicked looking room full of red fog with a giant skull surrounded by devil worshippers in goat masks. The scares again aren’t really there, with the monsters being visible from a distance before they impotently claw at the walls of the trailer, but it’s meant to be more of a fun show and over the course of 20-30 minutes, you feel like you’ve taken a journey through the entire canon of Halloween.

Also, there’s a scene with naked people in plastic bags that I found a little bizarre for an 8+ family-friendly event, but I’ve checked the Yelp reviews and I seem to be the only one that has noticed this, so I guess it’s not a big deal.

Overall, it’s a pretty fun night. The hayride is the main draw with the haunts just serving as bonus value to justify paying for the more expensive tickets, but they help transform a single experience into a whole event. The biggest reservation I have with recommending the LA Haunted Hayride is simply the price.

Anything below the VIP package is not recommended unless you’re comfortable with the potential of waiting in very long lines, but I would also say skip the platinum package as the general parking is maybe 100 feet further away and it’s unlikely you’ll feel compelled to do anything more than once. I wouldn’t say it’s a must see this season, but if you want a not-to-scary place to take the family, it’s a decent enough option, especially if you want to put together a double feature with the Ghost Train that is just up the road.

Get your tickets to the LA Haunted Hayride here.