HAUNTED MANSIONS GHOULISH DECORATIONS MAKE IT A FRIGHT NIGHT TO REMEMBER.Byline: Jaime Spangrude Staff Writer Haunted houses - you've seen one, you've seen them all. But the days of plain pumpkins propped up on the porch and creepy-crawlies hanging from the trees are long gone as Halloween decorating has evolved into high-tech horror. Southland residents have moved on to bigger and better props and have gone over the top with graphic details that include animated figures, special effects special effects, in motion pictures, cinematographic techniques that create illusions in the audience's minds as well as the illusions created using these techniques. and holograms, as well as extending the fright fest Fright Fest is an event that takes place at Six Flags parks during the Halloween season. During Fright Fest, the parks are redecorated and some attractions are re-named or re-themed for the event. Also, Halloween-themed shows replace the shows that go on during the normal season. to inside their homes. For the past six years, Burbank resident Tom Ryan
Tom Ryan (born August 3 1986), who plays under the pseudonym Ogre 2, is a professional gamer from Pickerington, Ohio, USA. and his friend Kevin Mulligan Kevin Mulligan (born in Shifnal, June 23, 1951) is both Irish and British philosopher, working on the ontology, philosophy of mind and philosophy of logic. He currently works at the University of Geneva, where he collaborates with, among others, Pascal Engel. have been creating their elaborate spooky house, complete with motorized mo·tor·ize tr.v. mo·tor·ized, mo·tor·iz·ing, mo·tor·iz·es 1. To equip with a motor. 2. To supply with motor-driven vehicles. 3. To provide with automobiles. props, fog machines, strobe lights, a train track, a graveyard, electric chair and guillotine guillotine Instrument for inflicting capital punishment by decapitation. A minimal wooden structure, it supported a heavy blade that, when released, slid down in vertical guides to sever the victim's head. - not to mention a maze that features four rooms. ``We enjoy scaring people,'' says Ryan, a contractor. ``Everyone who's come by says ours blows all the others away, like the Spooky House (at 6260 Topanga Canyon Blvd. in Woodland Hills), and it makes you feel good. It's kinda neat seeing people come over and to give back to the community.'' Real-life funeral director Manny Manny may refer to: In nobility:
San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. home to those looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a dreadfully good time. The exterior exudes darkness, with crows nesting in a noose and a large black mourning banner draped drape v. draped, drap·ing, drapes v.tr. 1. To cover, dress, or hang with or as if with cloth in loose folds: draped the coffin with a flag; a robe that draped her figure. in front of the house, while the foyer and grand dining room feature wall-to-wall creeps and sinister portraits - reproductions of the framed portraits featured in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion. ``It's expected of us because of our professions and we live in an old house,'' says Godoy. ``We have to live up to the stereotype of being a little bit quirky. We enjoy it - it's the one part in our work that has a little bit of humor involved and is a pressure break from the reality of what we do every other day of the year.'' In Woodland Hills, Matt and Lori Ford celebrate Halloween with a spooktacular haunt that can be enjoyed by motorists and pedestrians. What began five years ago as a house with simple lights and tombstones tombstones a cellular phenomenon in pemphigus vulgaris; rows of basal cells of the epidermis remain attached to the basal membrane, reminiscent of rows of tombstones. has now become the stomping grounds of howling ghouls, floating ghosts, swinging chandeliers, moving gravestones and coffins, and various other hologram See holographic storage. effects - with a scary soundtrack to boot. The House at Haunted Hill, as it is known, uses the same magic tricks This page contains a list of magic tricks. In magic literature, tricks are often called effects. Based strictly upon published literature and marketed effects, there are hundreds of millions of effects; a short performance routine by a single magician may contain dozens of as Disneyland's timeless Haunted Mansion. ``It's the desire to add motion to the displays,'' says Matt Ford, lighting director for ``Jimmy Kimmel Live.'' ``If you look at a static display with lights, it's not exciting, but the minute you put a talking ghost in, it reinforces the haunted nature of the story we are trying to put out there.'' For Sherman Oaks resident Rick Polizzi, it's not about instilling trepidation but rather putting on a big show for all to enjoy. His animated display revolves around a carnival theme this year, appropriately named ``Boney Island.'' The display, which will be highlighted on Home and Garden Television's ``Extreme Halloween'' program at 5 p.m. on Halloween on HGTV HGTV Home and Garden Television , features skeletons galore: singing skeletons, skeletons putting on a puppet show, skeletons on rides, skeletons selling ``rotten'' candy, a skeleton band - even skeletons putting on fireworks fireworks: see pyrotechnics. fireworks Explosives or combustibles used for display. Of ancient Chinese origin, fireworks evidently developed out of military rockets and explosive missiles and accompanied the spread of military explosives westward to gone bad. ``I can't do anything small,'' says Polizzi, an animation producer on ``The Simpsons.'' ``If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing. It's all or nothing.'' Where to get scared BURBANK Karen Jackson, 2506 N. Myers St. Full graveyard with fog, professional lighting, an alien lab scene, thrills and scary props. Open from 7 to 11 p.m. Friday, dusk to 11 p.m. Saturday and Halloween. Tom Ryan, 2218 W. Chandler Blvd. Lightning, thunder and fog machines, more than 20 strobe lights, motorized props, train track, dead bodies, a maze, a pipe organ surrounded by heads, a guillotine, electric chair, a clown room and more. Open from 6 to 10 p.m. today through Halloween. CANYON COUNTRY Ken and Mona Yanecko, 26405 Misty Ridge Place. A three-car garage converted into a maze of haunted thrills. Exterior graveyard and animation inside and out. Open at dusk on Halloween. CASTAIC Matt Crawford, 27803 Wakefield St. Haunted graveyard and fence, black lights and flame lights, maze, tombstones, hanged man, spiders and a headless bride. Open from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday and 7 to 11 p.m. Halloween. CHATSWORTH Staci Gleed gleed n. Archaic A glowing coal; an ember. [Middle English glede, from Old English gl , 10334 Glade Ave. A graveyard with ghouls coming up from the ground, talking trees, black-light effects, lots of spiders and a tour of the haunted kitchen. Open at 7 p.m. Saturday and Halloween. Kitchen tour open on Halloween only. Kim Krivis, 20331 Celtic St. Spooky, lighted graveyard guarded by a lighted scaredy-cat, pumpkin and tombstones and a flying ghost. Open at dusk Saturday and Halloween. GRANADA HILLS Jeff and Robin Kaplan, 11842 Monogram monogram [Gr.,=single letter], symbol of a name or names, consisting typically of a letter or several letters worked together. A famous monogram is that of Christ, consisting of X (chi) and P (rho), the first two letters of Christ in Greek. Ave. Graveyard and grave-keeper, burning witch at the stake, strobe lights, fog machine, monsters and more. Open from dusk to 10 p.m. Halloween. LOS ANGELES Michael and Eileen Groom, 8746 Airlane Ave. A cemetery complete with graves, tombstones, creepy witch, scary dog and cat, bats, spiders, ghouls and lighting effects. Open from dusk until midnight Saturday and Halloween. NORTH HOLLYWOOD Joe and Barbara Wheeler, 6434 Cleon Ave. Lights, big rat, ghosts, devils, skull-head fenced graveyard, dummies, fog machines, spiders and webs, crow's nest and skeletons. Creatures will be running around on Halloween night. Open from 5 to 9 p.m. today through Halloween. NORTHRIDGE Bret and Karen Bachman, 11003 Chimineas Ave. Graveyard with mausoleum mausoleum (môsəlē`əm), a sepulchral structure or tomb, especially one of some size and architectural pretension, so called from the sepulcher of that name at Halicarnassus, Asia Minor, erected (c.352 B.C. , animated coffins and more. Open from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. today through Saturday and from 6:30 p.m. to midnight Halloween. PALMDALE Colleen Clark, 1621 Berkshire Drive. The Nightmare Crew has prepared a circus theme with ``Big Top Terror,'' featuring vampires, the Hewitt Family from the ``Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' movies, clowns, zombies Zombies Companies that continue to operate even though they are insolvent. Also known as living dead. Notes: It's advisable to avoid investing in zombies at all costs their life expectancies are highly unpredictable. , spiders, crazy doctors and various other freaks and creatures. Admission is $3, with proceeds going to the Enchanted en·chant tr.v. en·chant·ed, en·chant·ing, en·chants 1. To cast a spell over; bewitch. 2. To attract and delight; entrance. See Synonyms at charm. Earth Ocean Foundation. Open from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. PANORAMA CITY Valerie Hunter, 8161 Cantaloupe cantaloupe: see gourd; melon. Ave. A spidery graveyard with ghouls popping out from all corners, a dead princess, the grim reaper, Wolf Man, Mummy and Creature From the Black Lagoon, scary music, skeletons, mist and a haunting table set out with brains and other monstrosities. Open from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday and Halloween. RESEDA The Stachowiaks, 8045 Garden Grove Ave. Ghoulish ghoul n. 1. One who delights in the revolting, morbid, or loathsome. 2. A grave robber. 3. An evil spirit or demon in Muslim folklore believed to plunder graves and feed on corpses. cemetery complete with skulls, spiders, strobe lights and holograms, fog machine and spooky sounds. Open from dusk to midnight Friday through Halloween. SAN FERNANDO Manny and Trini Godoy, 551 Griswold Ave. Pumpkins and crows on the balconies, large draped black mourning banner along the front of the house, garland of autumn leaves along the front door and an old crow nesting in a noose on a pumpkin. Inside, see wall-to-wall creeps in the foyer and grand dining room, with sinister portraits adorning the walls and a salty old pirate, an old pumpkin tree - and the guest of honor on hand to greet visitors. Open at 5 p.m. Halloween. SHERMAN OAKS The Polizzi Family's Boney Island, 4602 Morse Ave. Four-foot-tall animated pumpkins sing, and skeletons come to life in their own amusement park. Open from dusk to 9 p.m. today through Halloween. SIMI VALLEY Paul and Sonja Shepherd, 6122 Goshen St. Strobe lights, hanging skeletons and ghouls, dismembered bodies and lighted pumpkins. Open from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday and 6 to 10 p.m. Halloween. STUDIO CITY Hallowed Haunting Grounds, 4343 Babcock Ave. The 32nd annual manifestation will feature special effects including thunder and lightning, a fog-cloaked graveyard, transparent ghosts, talking statue and phantom organists. Open from 7 p.m. to midnight Friday through Halloween. TARZANA Janet Baas, 19351 Hatteras St. A spooky, supernatural cemetery with ghosts, bats, hooded figures and unusual effects, all with a Celtic influence. Open from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday, 6:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday and dusk to 11 p.m. Halloween. TUJUNGA Doug Moore, 7742 Day St. A walk-through graveyard, maze-style hallways, torture room, lights, fog machines and a ghost ship doing battle. Open from 7 to 9 p.m. today, 7 p.m. to midnight Saturday and Halloween. Closed Friday. VAN NUYS Grimmstone Cemetery, 6706 Blewett Ave. Noah Korda's haunted Halloween attraction in its 18th consecutive year. Open from 6:30 to 11 p.m. Friday through Halloween. Jay W. Smith, 7349 Ruffner Ave. Step through the gateway and creep through the Hall of Spiders, see the carnivorous car·niv·o·rous adj. 1. Of or relating to carnivores. 2. Flesh-eating or predatory: a carnivorous bird. 3. ``Bad Baby,'' and then escape from the mistress of the house and her undead un·dead adj. No longer living but supernaturally animated, as a zombie. husband. Open from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday and Halloween. WOODLAND HILLS Ardyne Lindsey, 5854 Woodlake Ave. A castle entrance leads to a spooky graveyard filled with lightning, fog and a giant spider web. Open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and Halloween. The Fords' House at Haunted Hill, 4400 Saltillo St. Howling ghouls, floating ghosts, swinging chandeliers, a mad-scientist garage, a graveyard with moving tombstones and coffins, see-sawing and swinging skeletons, floating visions and a hologram effect. Open from dusk to 9:30 p.m. today and Friday, from dusk until midnight Saturday and Halloween. James Centorino, 23278 Aetna St. Monster Manor with bats, glowing ghosts and test tubes, foggy graveyard, huge spiders and webs, black lights, strobe strobe n. 1. A strobe light. 2. A stroboscope. 3. A spot of higher than normal intensity in the sweep of an indicator, as on a radar screen, used as a reference mark for determining distance. effects and Igor. Open from dusk to 9 p.m. Saturday and Halloween. The Wrights, 22034 Costanso St. Life-size skeleton bride and groom lit up with black lights and strobes, two fog machines, hundreds of lights, gravestones, skulls, webbing, a glowing flame cauldron, spiders and bats and an indoor window scene. Open from dusk to 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, dusk until midnight Saturday and Halloween. - Compiled by Jaime Spangrude CAPTION(S): 12 photos, box Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) ON THE COVER: One of the residents at Rick Polizzi's ``Boney Island'' display, 4602 Morse Ave., Sherman Oaks. (2 -- color) Manny Godoy at 551 Griswold Ave., San Fernando (3 -- color) 19351 Hatteras St., Tarzana (4 -- color) 20331 Celtic St., Chatsworth (5 -- color) 22034 Costanso St., Woodland Hills (6 -- color) Matt Crawford, left, Dan Allan, second from right, and richard Espinoza at 27803 Wakefield St., Castaic. (7 -- color) 2218 W. Chandler, Burbank (8 -- color) 4400 Saltillo St., Woodland Hills (9 -- color) 26405 Misty Ridge Place, Canyon Country (10 -- color) 10334 Glade Ave., Chatsworth (11 -- color) 7349 Ruffner Ave., Van Nuys (12) 10334 Glade Ave., Chatsworth Photos by Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News and Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer Box: Where to get scared (see text) |
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