Over the weekend, Heritage Square Museum in Los Angeles was transformed into a Halloween lover’s paradise as it played host to Spooky Swap Meet, a curated shopping experience of all things macabre.
Held on both Saturday and Sunday, the event brought out over 50 vendors offering everything from apparel and accessories to Halloween-inspired decor, costumes, props, and more. Some vendors took the swap meet idea to heart and only brought pieces of their Halloween and horror collections they were looking to offload. Love, Pain, & Stitches, known best for their handmade Halloween-themed handbags, didn’t have a bag in sight, but they had plenty of Halloween and horror collectibles to scoop up at excellent swap meet prices.
All seven of the historic buildings at Heritage Square were transformed for the event. Their exteriors were decorated for Halloween by sponsors like Vamp & The Fiends, Bones’ Gulch Haunted Attraction, Samhain Cemetery, Fear Farm, Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, and AdamJessFx. At each house, guests of all ages could trick or treat and receive candy treats from an assortment of freaks and ghouls. Of the more notable transformations, Samhain Cemetery turned the entire front yard of the Octagon house into a cemetery, complete with an animatronic grave digging skeleton and a groundbreaking zombie trying to wiggle his way out of the ground. Next door, at the Ford House, AdamJessFx transformed the property into Sleepy Hollow, and both the Headless Horseman and the Van Tassels were on site to greet passersby.
But the fun didn’t stop there. The interior of the Lincoln Avenue Church was taken over by Art’s Sideshow, who fittingly showcased some of its figures from “The Exorcist” along with Valak, the demon nun from “The Conjuring” universe, and Annabelle, also from “The Conjuring” universe. If that weren’t enough for horror fans, Carrie was also on hand, fresh from the prom and drenched in pigs’ blood, ready to take photos with all those who dare.
Spooky Swap Meet was a lot of fun and an excellent way for Halloween and horror fans to celebrate the halfway point to Halloween. I also like that some of the vendors took the swap meet idea to heart and looked to sell off some of the Halloween and horror stuff they didn’t want anymore alongside their usual wares. It mixed things up and allowed you to find some rather unique items you wouldn’t usually see at an event like this. While nothing has been formally announced for 2023, I hope the event returns next year, but in the meantime, if you want more information on this year’s event, you can visit SpookySwapMeet.com.
