This Eek-Filled Shopping Event Will Mark the ‘Halfway to Halloween' Point

Damp days and chilly nights can set the imagination-prone mind to thinking of more terrifying tales, those velvet-covered adventures that take place in cold castles, shrouded moors, and fictional realms awash in icy dread.

Still, it is 250 days to Halloween, the holiday that famously encapsulates several of these frightful flights of fancy. But there's a way to connect to the spirit of the spirited fall celebration, even from the wintry days we're now occupying.

No holiday-themed time machine is required; rather, tickets to the Spooky Swap Meet recently went on sale, meaning those Southern Californians eager to mark the fabled "Halfway to Halloween" point that arrives near the middle of springtime can creatively do so at Heritage Square Museum.

We say "fabled" because recent years have found more events creepily cropping up at the place where April melds into May, which is, yes, exactly six months from Oct. 31.

And one of the major happenings of this springtime set?

It's the eerily-themed shopping spectacular that charmingly pops up at our city's celebrated clutch of Victorian abodes, the one found just off the Arroyo Parkway north of downtown.

Fans of light frights can expect to peruse a large line-up of wares, ghoulish goodies that include everything from tees depicting vintage monster films to playful jewelry featuring bats, cats, and all sorts of ghosts.

Organizers of the spunky swap, a team that's also involved with Midsummer Scream, the mondo summertime Halloween expo, shared an early roster of vendors and attendees on Feb. 22. The Los Angeles Ghostbusters will be there, as well as Backstitch Bruja, Dani's Spooky Treats, and Purgatory Candle Co.

A number of time slots have already sold out on April 29. How to quickly summon your $18 one-day ticket, before every admission has turned to vapor and disappeared, phantom-style?

By turning your own broomstick in the direction of the Spooky Swap Meet's site now.