25 LA Horror Movie Filming Locations to Visit This Halloween
Yvonne Villasenor
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Los Angeles made headlines after the county’s department of public health announced it was cancelling Halloween due to COVID-19. They reverted their decision less than a day later after receiving widespread backlash and instead advised against…well, most Halloween festivities.
So while trick-or-treating is discouraged and in-person parties are a no-go, you can still celebrate Halloween at a safe distance this year with a freakishly fun and FREE alternative! (Excluding the cost of gas, of course.)
Here are 25 horror movie filming locations in LA for those who have a bad case of what the old-timers used to call “cabin fever.”
1. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
1428 N Genesee Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046
Although set in Springwood, Ohio, this classic was filmed all throughout LA. The most recognizable location by far is Nancy Thompson’s house. See the very house Nancy discovers she must stay awake to stay alive and pull Freddy out of the dream world and into the real world to defeat him.
2. House on Haunted Hill (1959)
2607 Glendower Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Long before its use for Blade Runner, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Predator 2, the historic Ennis House’s exterior was used for “the most horrifying house in the world” in House on Haunted Hill. You can drive to the Griffith Observatory just minutes away to see the entrance, which was used as the driveway, in the 1999 remake.
3. Carrie (1976)
710 Pier Ave, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
You can roam through what is seen on screen as Bates High School at the Hermosa Beach Community Center, formerly known as Pier Avenue Junior High. Nearly all scenes featuring Carrie’s high school, with the exception of the prom in flames, were shot here. Watch out for bullies and pig’s blood if you decide to visit.
4. Chopping Mall (1986)
15301 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
The Park Plaza 2000 Shopping Center’s interior is really the Sherman Oaks Galleria’s. The Galleria is the same mall featured in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Back to the Future Part II, Commando and Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge.
The Galleria took a major financial hit following the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. In 2002, it was completely redeveloped and transformed into an outdoor mall. Although it may not look anything like it once did, still avoid staying after hours to keep safe from Killbots!
5. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
1801 N Topanga Canyon Blvd, Topanga, CA 90290
The Kelly Gulch property was used for interior and exterior shots of the famous Jarvis house where Tommy hacks Jason with his machete. This is the same location in Pumpkinhead that the teenagers who kill Ed Harley’s son hide out in. You can book a photoshoot at the location and even spend the night at the farm!
6. Constantine (2005)
259 S Broadway, Los Angeles, California, USA
The Pan American Lofts Apartments appear as Constantine’s bowling alley apartment. This is where he smokes at the table and spits blood in the bathroom sink. This location was previously used for Blade Runner as the Yukon Hotel and for Se7en as the Sloth victim’s home.
7. Halloween II (1981)
16111 Plummer St, North Hills, CA 91343
The exterior of the Haddonfield Memorial Hospital where Laurie Strode is taken and stalked by Michael Myers is the Veterans Affairs Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center. The structure used in the film can be found in the back of building 10. Building 4 was also used as Smith’s Grove Sanitarium in the 2007 Halloween remake.
8. Darkman (1990)
458 E 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90013
This now beauty salon once appeared as Dr. Peyton Westlake’s home laboratory where henchmen beat Westlake and rig it to explode, leaving him for dead only to somehow survive and seek revenge in synthetic skin.
9. Poltergeist (1982)
4267 Roxbury St, Simi Valley, CA 93063
While the majority of the movie was filmed on sound stages at MGM Studios in Culver City, the house that was used for exterior shots of the hellish Freeling home can be found in Simi Valley.
10. Ghoulies (1984)
1824 N Curson Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046
If you find a parent’s book on black magic and are thinking about jokingly casting a spell, word of advice: just don’t. The Graves family mansion that the Ghoulies terrorize is actually the Wattles Mansion and Gardens. You can rent the space for a photo shoot, party, or wedding.
11. Insidious (2010)
1111 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90015
The purgatory realm known as “The Further” that Josh enters to save his son, Dalton, is the Herald Examiner Building. This architectural icon was once home to the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, the first newspaper to cover the 1947 Black Dahlia story.
12. The Craft (1996)
10625 Plainview Ave, Tujunga, CA 91042
What is known as St. Benedict’s Academy, the Catholic high school where the four witches meet and cast spells on their classmates, is Tujunga’s Verdugo Hills High School. VHHS is one of the most famous schools to shoot movies, TV shows and commercials. This includes films such as Heathers and Christine.
13. Christine (1983)
3520 Medford Street, Los Angeles, CA 90063
Never bully a beauty like a 1958 Plymouth Fury. (Emphasis on “fury.”) After Moochie helps trash Christine, she intimidates him to “Itty Bitty Pretty One” by Thurston Harris then chases after him down the street. Determined to kill, she squeezes through a narrow loading dock to crush him. The location today appears nearly identical to how it looked decades ago.
14. Waxwork (1988)
255 S Rossmore Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90004
This house was used as the wicked David Lincoln’s waxwork museum. Here, he welcomes a group of college students for a private exhibition, only for them to get sucked into the various displays and become additions to his museum. Why? So he can obviously unleash evil on Earth. It seems like nothing good ever happens at midnight with Zach Galligan around…
15. Phantasm (1979)
5400 N Lake Ave (at E Loma Alta Dr), Altadena, CA 91001
The Morningside Mortuary is home to the terrifying Tall Man and his zombie dwarf minions. Although the mortuary scenes were filmed in Oakland, the entrance to the Cobb Estate appeared as the cemetery’s gate. Some locals know the Cobb Estate as “The Haunted Forest,” “The Enchanted Forest,” or simply a great hiking spot.
Since the trail is open at all hours, you can explore the area at night if you dare — just like our very own Josh Millican did with Richard Trejo and paranormal investigator, Jose Prendes!
16. Night of the Comet (1984)
303 Boyd St, Los Angeles, CA 90013
A small dispensary and smoke supplies shop sits where the exterior view of the radio station Regina and Sam head to was filmed. This is where the sisters meet Hector, a truck driver who has also survived the comet, and transmit to scientists eager to use their untainted blood for a vaccine.
17. Candyman (1992)
4222 Agnes Ave, Studio City, CA 91604
While most of Candyman was filmed in Chicago, the opening scene of the house where Clara summons Candyman and is killed is the sole scene shot in LA. (Apart from studio sets built at Occidental Studios in Hollywood.)
18. Prince of Darkness (1987)
120 Judge John Aiso St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Formerly known as the Japanese Union Church of Los Angeles, this church is where all hell — in the form of Satanic green liquid — breaks loose. The building was severely damaged after the Northridge Earthquake and became home to East West Players, the nation’s premier Asian American theatre, in 1998. The theatre held a screening of the film last year and in 2015, so keep your eyes peeled for (hopefully) more in the future!
19. They Live (1988)
645 S Hill St, Los Angeles, CA 90014
This is the alleyway where the famous six-minute-long fight scene between John Nada and Frank takes place. Just when you think it’s over, it keeps going and Nada continuously pleads for Frank to put on the sunglasses. It’s not until they’re both so worn down from beating the living hell out of each other that Nada puts the glasses on Frank. Finally, he can see those gnarly formaldehyde faces.
20. House (1986)
329 Melrose Ave, Monrovia, CA 91016
The 1887 Mills View home’s exterior serves as the haunted house troubled novelist Roger Cobb inherits from his aunt and moves into after her death. The Mills View house was also used for The Remains.
21. Child’s Play 2 (1990)
118 Pier S Ave, Long Beach, CA 90802
This Covanta Long Beach Renewable appears for a brief moment as the Play Pal Toys that rebuilt Chucky in the movie’s opening scene. Time and time again, Chucky proves that you just can’t keep a Good Guy down.
22. Drag Me To Hell (2009)
10 Chester Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90007
The historic Doheny Mansion is featured as the home of medium Shaun San Dena. The house is used in the opening scene dating back to 1969 in Pasadena and again in Shaun’s death scene. You can tour the Doheny Mansion once it’s open to the public again for just $20.
23. The Fog (1980)
2108 Laurel Canyon Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90046
The convenience store that experiences strange shaking and its bottles clinking at the beginning of the film is the Canyon Country Store, a market with a whole lot of charm and history.
Stars like Harry Houdini, Sophia Loren, Errol Flynn, Steve Martin, George Clooney, Werner Herzog, Jessica Biel, Christina Applegate and Jennifer Aniston have visited the store. Not only that, but this place was a hot spot for musicians in the ‘60s. It is the very store Jim Morrison refers to in “Love Street” as “where the creatures meet.” He and Pamela Courson lived right behind it.
24. Puppet Master (1989)
99 S Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA 91105
The Castle Green Apartments appear as the Bodega Bay Inn where puppet maker, André Toulon, reanimates his puppets, stores them in a chest in the wall, then shoots himself before the Nazis can get to him. This box of little toys becomes a gang of little terrors when discovered by psychics present day.
25. Scream 3 (2000)
1923 Micheltorena St, Los Angeles, CA 90039
The enormous mansion that belongs to John Milton, Stab 3 producer, is the allegedly haunted Canfield-Moreno Estate. Its exterior and interior was used for the movie and has been featured in several others, such as Halloween: Resurrection and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. You can even spend the night in the spooky estate.
Which locations do you plan on checking out? Are there any we missed? Let us know in the comments below!
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