A Movie-Like Haunted House

A horror producer takes over a spooky downtown theater.

While haunted houses in other cities are very often quite exceptional, and packed with the scares and the creepies and some notable special effects, we have something that other places do not have: the movies.

Rather, we have the people who make the movies; yep, producers and writers may live elsewhere, but the bulk of the artists who create our cinematic scares call Southern California home.

Meaning that horror producers sometimes like to dip their toe into the Halloween maze waters (which we're picturing rife with piranhas, of course). Jason Blum and his Blumhouse Production team will be doing just that with their Blumhouse of Horrors, which is slated to creeeeak open at the Variety Arts Theater downtown on Thursday, Oct. 4.

Know Blumhouse Productions? You'll recognize the name if you've seen "Paranormal Activity" or "Insidious"; Mr. Blum and his team are the macabre thinkers behind those hit properties.

So their Halloween attraction? Nope, it won't be peeled grapes standing in for mummy eyeballs; Blumhouse of Horrors is set to be a "fully immersive haunted house" full of "terrifying sights, smells, and sounds."

Hmm. Smells.

The 87-year-old Variety Arts is closed to the public and, given its longevity, its downtown location, and rather haunting beauty, pictured above, it is said to be haunted. A haunted house in a haunted house? That sounds like a movie to us.

Given the theatrical setting, the house of horrors has a vaudeville theme; do you hear the calliope and clown laughter now?

We're just happy that some movie people turn their attentions to giving fellow SoCalers a little extra scare come October; we know other mazes in other places go the distance, but when you live in Movieland, you do get movie-style scares at Halloween.

Blumhouse of Horrors spooks from Thursday, Oct. 4 through Saturday, Nov. 4 on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, with extra dates the week of Halloween.

Follow NBCLA for the latest LA news, events and entertainment: iPhone/iPad App | Facebook; | Twitter; | Google+; | Instagram; | RSS; | Text Alerts | Email Alerts

Copyright FREEL - NBC Local Media
Contact Us