HOME-GROWN HORROR AREA RESIDENTS CREATE MONSTER MAYHEM IN THEIR OWN FRONT YARDS.Byline: Diana McKeon Charkalis Lifestyle Editor ``They call me the spider lady,'' says Ardyne Lyndsey. For 25 years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time Woodland Hills resident, a fierce fan of Halloween, has been creating ``the largest spider web in the world'' right in her front yard. ``I use 900 yards of string, and it takes me about 18 to 20 hours to do the web,'' says Lyndsey, who sees herself as a macabre version of Christo, the environmental artist. ``It's really a living sculpture.'' Lyndsey is not alone in her love of a good scare. Throughout the area, countless residents are taking the time to decorate for Halloween and share their love of the holiday with those passing by. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the National Trade Federation, consumers are expected to spend $3.29 billion on Halloween this year, up 5.4 percent from $3.12 billion in 2004. Halloween also continues to be one of the biggest decorating holidays of the year, second only to Christmas, with 59.8 percent of consumers planning to purchase decorations and almost half (47 percent) expected to decorate their home or yard. ``Halloween, like Christmas, is now seen as a seasonal holiday, so there's a large window for decorating,'' says NTF NTF No Transaction Fee NTF National Turkey Federation NTF No Trouble Found NTF National Transfer Format (UK Geographic Data Standard) aka BS7567 NTF Nigeria Trust Fund NTF National Transonic Facility NTF Noise Transfer Function spokeswoman Ellen Davis. ``Retailers have gotten very creative with their merchandise, and there's a variety of products to choose from.'' Rick Polizzi of Sherman Oaks estimates that he spends between $4,000 and $7,000 on his outdoor extravaganza, which he opens to the public. This year's theme is ``Boney Island: The World's Only Skeleton Carnival.'' Every inch of his yard is decorated in this whimsical theme, and it features more than 100 skeletons. It's more about humor than fright, says Polizzi, an animation producer on ``The Simpsons.'' All ages are welcome without fear of trauma. ``There are no teenagers chasing you with chain saws,'' he says. ``It's just things like skeletons zinging one-liners at you.'' Although the yard was featured on HGTV's ``Extreme Halloween,'' it's mostly built from handmade items or objects he's converted for different uses. For example, he bought talking Christmas trees, pulled the branches off and turned them into singing pumpkins. ``It's all low-tech, but it looks fun,'' he says. For more high-tech thrills, there's the Woodland Hills home of Matt and Lori Ford, who are hosting their ``House at Haunted Hill'' walk-by for the sixth year. Matt says the display is heavily influenced by Disney's Haunted Mansion. ``Our emphasis is putting on a show with 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. ,'' says Matt, who is a lighting designer for the ``Jimmy Kimmel James Christian "Jimmy" Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American comedian, writer, talk show host, game show host, and producer. Biography Kimmel was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, to a German father and Italian mother. Live'' show. ``There's no gore, no blood, it's geared for all ages. The show is very kid-friendly.'' The haunt features hologram-like illusions, and Matt says they try to add two or three new ones each year. It's a labor of love for Ford and his wife, who both have theater backgrounds and enjoy putting on a good show. ``It's a way of entertaining the neighborhood,'' he says. Jay Smith of Van Nuys and his 17-year-old son, Isaiah, have added a 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. to their front-yard 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. this year. They started planning their haunt in July and watched horror movies for inspiration. They use props and don costumes, making each visitor really work for the candy at the end of the scare. ``I take pride in my corpse-like acting skills,'' Smith admits. What is it about the holiday that kids and grown-ups love so much? ``I think people like it because it's fun - and they enjoy being scared,'' Smith says. ``But it's done in a safe way so that they know they'll walk away unscathed.'' There's a sense of freedom to Halloween that attracts both young and old, Davis says. ``You can be an adult or a child and enjoy Halloween. You don't need a significant other. There aren't any strings attached to Halloween,'' she says. ``It's just a whimsical holiday where people can really let go and have fun.'' Diana Charkalis, (818) 713-3760 diana.charkalis(at)dailynews.com Where to get SCARED BURBANK Jackson Manor, 2506 N. Myers St. Vampires, ghouls, and ghosts, fog-filled graveyards, a creepy crypt. New this year, enter through a dark mine into a haunted bayou with scary pirates and mad scientists. Open dusk to 11 p.m. today through Halloween. Dark mine opens Halloween night. Tom Ryan
Tom Ryan (born August 3 1986), who plays under the pseudonym Ogre 2, is a professional gamer from Pickerington, Ohio, USA. and 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. , 2218 W. Chandler Blvd. Lightning, thunder, fog machines, a large maze, four 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. torture machines, a clown room and more. Open 6:30 to 10 p.m. today through Halloween. CASTAIC Ken Yanecko and Kim Haislip, 29103 Diablo Place. Cemeteries, living dead, holograms, coffins, werewolves, torture chambers, Dracula's lair and more. Open 6 to 9 p.m. Halloween. GLENDALE Ramirez Family, 1015 Gesell St. Display takes up two houses. Cemetery, torture and blacklight area, laboratory, ghosts, goblins, ghouls, spiders, bats and more. Open 1 p.m. today through Halloween. MISSION HILLS Susan Wageman, 9955 Noble Ave. Spider web, flying bat, light-up pumpkins, light-up ropes, cats, handmade 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. , moon with a witch in it and more. Open dusk to 11 p.m. today through Halloween. NORTH HOLLYWOOD Joe and Barbara Wheeler, 6434 Cleon Ave. Graveyard, gallows GALLOWS. An erection on which to bang criminals condemned to death. , ghosts, skeletons dressed as warriors, bird's-nest cages with skeletons, fog machines, spider webs and more. Open dusk to 9 p.m. today through Halloween. NORTHRIDGE Bret Bachman, 11003 Chimineas Ave. Dracula's castle Dracula's Castle may refer to:
Donald and Carol Olsen, 10918 Chimineas Ave. Arching towers guarded by gargoyles gargoyles medieval European church waterspouts; made in form of grotesque creatures. [Architecture: NCE, 1046] See : Ugliness , graves, a fountain of skulls, a talking witch and more. Open 6 to 10 p.m. today through Halloween. RESEDA Thomas Gutierrez, 6721 Chimineas Ave. Big spider webs, strobe lights, ``live'' corpses, fog machines and more. Open 6:30 to 10 p.m. Halloween. Seifert Mortuary and Cemetery, 6928 Yarmouth Ave. Continuing a 14-year tradition. Open 5:30 to 9 p.m. Halloween. SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Mike and Toni Pittario, 22418 Georgia Lane. Haunted graveyard, a mausoleum wall with a skull popping out of an open tomb and the grim reaper floating above it all. Open dusk to 10:30 p.m. today through Halloween. SHERMAN OAKS The Polizzi Family's Boney Island, 4602 Morse Ave. Four-foot-tall singing pumpkins, a five-piece band of skeletons, shooting gallery shooting gallery Substance abuse A place–eg, an abandoned building in an economically-depressed urban area–ie, a ghetto, where IV drug users congregate, purchase, inject–'shoot' heroin, cocaine, oxycodone or other drug. , fortune teller and more. Donations accepted to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. Open dusk to 11 p.m. today and dusk to 9 p.m. Sunday and Halloween. STUDIO CITY Hallowed Haunting Grounds, 4343 Babcock Ave. The 32nd and final manifestation will feature thunder and lightning, a fog-cloaked graveyard, transparent ghosts, a talking statue and phantom organist. Open 7 p.m. to midnight today through Halloween. SUNLAND Doug Moore, 7742 Day St. Thirteen decorated rooms including a werewolf werewolf: see lycanthropy. werewolf In European folklore, a man who changes into a wolf at night and devours animals, people, or corpses, returning to human form by day. room, cave, dungeon and torture chamber, insect room, aliens, a pirate ship and more. Open 7 p.m. Sunday and Halloween. TARZANA Janet Baas, 19351 Hatteras St. Graveyard, ghosts, sound effects, fog, bats, hooded figures with a Celtic influence. Open 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and dusk to 11 p.m. Halloween. THOUSAND OAKS Marsha and Ken Broker's Halloween Haunt, 2330 Mountain Crest Circle. Their first holiday fundraiser for the Autism autism (ô`tĭzəm), developmental disability resulting from a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain. It is characterized by the abnormal development of communication skills, social skills, and reasoning. Now Foundation. Monsters, graveyard, hanging skeleton pirates, fog machine, scary sounds and more. Open 7 p.m. to midnight today. VAN NUYS Grimmstone Cemetery, 6706 Blewett Ave. Noah Korda's haunted Halloween attraction's 19th year. Open from 6:30 to 11 p.m. today through Halloween. Jay W. Smith, 7349 Ruffner Ave. Step through the gateway into the graveyard of the undead un·dead adj. No longer living but supernaturally animated, as a zombie. after experiencing the malice that lies within. Your only escape is through the mausoleum and past its ghastly inhabitants
The game is based loosely on the concepts from SameGame. . Open dusk to 10 p.m. today through Halloween. WESTLAKE VILLAGE Jeff and Terri Johanson, 4405 Beaconsfield Court. Pop-up creatures, Jacob's ladder Jacob's ladder: see phlox. , fog machines, lasers, bubble and snow machines and more. Open dusk to 9 p.m. Sunday and Halloween. WOODLAND HILLS The Centorinos, 23278 Aetna St. Twenty-five-foot spider webs with huge spiders, cemetery, mummy, glowing ghosts, fog machines, dry ice, Igor and his lab, and more. Open dusk to 9:45 p.m. today through Halloween. The Ford Family's House at Haunted Hill, 4400 Saltillo St. High-tech walk or drive-by haunt, disappearing spirits, moving tombstones, floating ghosts, creaking creak intr.v. creaked, creak·ing, creaks 1. To make a grating or squeaking sound. 2. To move with a creaking sound. n. A grating or squeaking sound. crypts, swinging skeletons and more. Open from dusk to 10 p.m. today through Halloween. www.houseathauntedhill.com. Ardyne Lindsey, 5854 Woodlake Ave. Giant spider web, spooky graveyard filled with lightning, fog and other creepy stuff. Open dusk to 10 p.m. today through Halloween. CAPTION(S): 11 photos, box Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color; 1 -- cover) Above, and on the cover: 4620 Morse Ave., Sherman Oaks Our Halloween tour scares up family fun (3 -- color) 5854 Woodlake Ave., Woodland Hills (4 -- color) 22418 Georgia Lane, Saugus (5 -- color) 7349 Ruffner Ave., Van Nuys (6 -- color) 4400 Saltillo St., Woodland Hills (7 -- color) no caption (carved pumpkins) (8 -- color) 10918 Chimineas Ave., in Northridge Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News (9 -- color) 2506 N. Myers St., Burbank (10 -- color) 6434 Cleon Ave., in North Hollywood Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer (11 -- color) 9955 Noble Ave., in Mission Hills Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer Box: Where to get SCARED (see text) |
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