New SPOOKY SWAP MEET Haunted Los Angeles for Half-O-Ween
Yvonne Villasenor
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Los Angeles is filled with a significant amount of historical landmarks that are open for the public to admire. While some spots are well known and perhaps even cliché. Others may have yet to be discovered even by Southern California natives.
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One historic-cultural monument that has such sights to show and offers a glimpse into the past is the Heritage Square Museum in Montecito Heights.
The Heritage Square Museum was established in 1969 to preserve the history of nine Victorian-era structures that would have been demolished if not relocated.
The stunning vintage homes have gained attention. Not just for their unique architectural style, but for their haunted history as well.
The museum has consistently been mentioned as one of the most haunted locations in Los Angeles. This makes it a no-brainer why the homes would be featured in Phantasm II, Tales from the Crypt, The Mortuary Collection, The Return of Dracula, and The Osbournes: Night of Terror.
Considering the location, time of year, and community’s mutual longing to celebrate Halloween, it seemed only fitting that the first-ever Spooky Swap Meet grace Heritage Square’s grounds with its hauntingly fun presence.
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Spooky Swap Meet gave horror enthusiasts of all ages the opportunity to revel in their favorite holiday in a safe, outside environment. With an eclectic shopping experience full of Halloween decor, props, costumes, furnishings, collectibles, and antiquities.
The event’s sponsors included: the Heritage Square Museum, The Mystic Museum, Rad Coffee, Murder House Productions (MHP), Caskets and Curiosities, Los Angeles Haunted Hayride and VAMP, and The Fiends. Each sponsor decorated their particular porch for photo ops to get visitors into the holiday spirit.
And as if the event didn’t scream “This Is Halloween” enough, ghosts and ghouls could immerse themselves in all sorts of fun from the typical shopping. And snacking to the not-so-typical of getting their fortune told and going trick-or-treating from house to house on site.
With 50 horror-themed vendors, dozens of jack-o-lanterns, candy-stuffed bags, spooky scare actors and (mostly) overcast weather, there’s no denying it felt like Halloween came early.
That is all thanks to Halloween aficionados, Claire Dunlap (supervising producer Midsummer Scream) and Sarah Cooke (Instagram influencer: @the_pumpkin_queen, creator GOREnaments). With associate producers David Markland (executive director Midsummer Scream) and Jon Cooke (creative director 13th Floor Entertainment).
The idea for Spooky Swap Meet came about last August. Cooke and Dunlap were discussing their abundance of Halloween decorations. And strong passion of wanting to put them to good use.
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That’s when they thought to put together their own event.
Cooke spontaneously came up with the name “Spooky Swap Meet” while they were brainstorming. Upon hearing what they felt was the best name for the event, Dunlap immediately went to work to start pumping more life into their idea on social media.
The team compiled a list of vendors within the industry. And reached out with everybody wanting in on the spooktacular event. (All of whom you should check out on Instagram or Etsy!)
“We’re still in shock about everything. Everybody was so supportive and so into the idea and felt super safe,” Cooke tells Dread Central.
Each element of Spooky Swap Meet perfectly fell into place; some of it unexpectedly, even.
The team initially planned for the event to take place a week before the scheduled date. However, when asked if they would like to hold Spooky Swap Meet on what would be the weekend that marked halfway to Halloween, they gladly rescheduled.
As the team’s excitement for the single day event grew, so did the community’s.
“We had only planned on a one-day event because we weren’t sure what the climate was in terms of people, but tickets sold out in less than 24 hours before we even got any real social media presence,” Dunlap says.
Due to the high volume of requests Dunlap and Cooke got about adding another day, they decided to make it a two-day event. Tickets to Sunday’s event sold out, of course. This time, in less than four hours.
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In its inaugural year, Spooky Swap Meet completely sold out its 2,300 ticket total within just 28 hours. The team released additional tickets in the days leading up to the event. And even on the days of, to allow more guests to attend while following COVID-19 event guidelines.
For those already familiar with the Heritage Square Museum’s fascinating history, events like Spooky Swap Meet play a vital role in bringing more exposure to the museum. And its devotion to helping keep that time period of Los Angeles alive.
Josh Rubinstein has been a volunteer docent guide at the Heritage Square Museum for nearly a decade. He considers the museum one of the best hidden gems in L.A. And he confirms that yes, there are some signs of paranormal activity.
“We have reports of people who have seen apparitions, things move on their own and doors open on their own,” Rubinstein says. “I’ve heard someone walking around in one of the houses when I was all by myself.”
At the Heritage Square Museum, guests can learn more about what life was like during the Southern California Land Boom in the 1880s. And hear stories about the homes and families that lived in them.
“This is not the kind of history of L.A. that you really see or talk about. People tend to think that the history of L.A. started with the movies. But L.A. goes back way further than movies,” he says. “I love that the Spooky Swap Meet has come here and just brought so many new eyeballs to this place.”
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Spooky Swap Meet was a success. That showed just how much the horror community yearned to reconnect with one another and enjoy an event that embodied everything Halloween. Celebrating Half-O-Ween served as a reminder of our favorite time of year that we all so dearly love. And may have felt we missed out on last year.
“It all fell into place, and we’re so happy. It’s been so fun to see everybody again that we haven’t seen for over a year. It’s like a reunion,” Cooke says.
The Spooky Swap Meet team will be at Midsummer Scream’s holiday horror convention, Season’s Screamings. That’s on December 17-19 at the Pasadena Convention Center.
*Click to enlarge.
Follow Spooky Swap Meet on Instagram @spookyswapmeet to keep up with their upcoming announcements. To plan a visit to the Heritage Square Museum, click here.
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