Back in June, I published my story on what the 2020 haunt season might look like due to COVID-19. In it, I surveyed home and professional haunters from around the U.S. to get a feel of how the 2020 haunt season may look. At the time, it seemed that many haunters were still undecided, and the ones who were moving forward were either focusing on elaborate yard displays or looking for new ways to queue guests and sanitize.
Just over a month out, many SoCal haunters seem to finally be making a decision and are, for the most part proceeding with a 2020 haunt. Throughout the There In Spirit: Midsummer Scream virtual event, Creative Director Rick West interviewed several folks behind local haunts to discuss how COVID-19 might impact their upcoming plans. Of the nearly a dozen haunts interviewed, only three are opting not to move forward with haunts this year; Spooky Hollows, The Haunted Rose Haunt, and Rotten Apple 907. Instead, these haunts are choosing to host yard displays to keep their scare actors and guests as safe as possible, but stress they will put just as much effort into their displays that they would their walkthrough.
Kris Golojuch of Scare Ventures announced that as of now, the plan is to move forward with both The Haunted Lodge and their annual trick or treat trail. They are tentatively planning to open The Haunted Lodge on October 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, and 31 with plans to add more dates depending on attendance. Golojuch shared that they have several plans to make this event work, but are keeping their ideas close to the chest to see how 2020 goes. He added that the fact they are an outdoor attraction would help since attendees won’t be enclosed. As a bonus, Golojuch shared that they are recruiting some scare actors from major haunts that have been canceled, like The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, so scare talent will be top caliber.
Corona Haunt, which was featured in my previous piece, shared additional details on their 2020 plans during the event. With building scheduled to begin in a couple of weeks, the haunt plans to distance scare actors from guests and will require them to wear multiple mask layers to protect guests and each other. The haunt is also still planning on using a virtual queuing system, which is currently in development and will help to alleviate large groups lined up in front of the haunt. Prior to the haunt, they will also be hosting two effects projection shows with “Nightmare” scheduled for September and “All Hallows Eve” planned for October.
The Dreich Society announced Fear Fest 1941, a spirit sequel to their 2019 haunt Fear Fest’89. The haunt will be a tribute to the classic Hollywood monsters and take you through Frankenstein’s lab, the Phantom of the Opera’s sewers, The Wolf Man’s forest, and similar locations. The haunt will take place on October 30 and 31. The first night will be open to haunters and bloggers with Halloween night being open to the public, though you will need to utilize the haunts reservation system.
Desert Decay Manor, located out in Whitewater, CA, says they are trying their best to make sure their haunt happens in 2020. The home haunt in Whitewater, CA, is planning to remove drop cloths or doors that guests would have to touch. Additionally, they are planning a single-party system that would only allow one party of guests through the haunt at a time, and masks will be required.
Realm of Shadow said they plan to move forward with their haunt as intended for 2020 at their new location in Bellflower, CA. Using what they’ve learned about COVID-19 safety through running a church, they believe they have come up with workable plans to address sanitation, mask requirements, social distancing, and crowd control in a way that will allow them to open their haunt safely. The haunt plans to return in 2020 with more dates than in years past, running October 23, 24, 25, 30, and 31.
The only large scale haunt represented during There In Spirit: Midsummer Scream was L.A.’s Haunted Hayride. The team behind the event spoke with Midsummer Scream Executive Director David Markland about their 2020 plans, and for now, they do not plan to decide until closer to the event date. With a short setup time, L.A. Haunted Hayride has the luxury of holding out until almost the last minute before deciding whether or not they are going to pull the plug on their 2020 event. However, the group does have a plan B and possibly even a plan C in the event that L.A. Haunted Hayride cannot operate as planned.
With major haunts like The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor and Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights canceled, it does seem that any semblance of a haunt season in Southern California will rest solely on the shoulders of home and amateur haunters. For those who opt not to participate in haunts this year, those same groups will likely be the ones to offer alternatives in the form of large yard displays, which you can enjoy safely from a distance. While things will probably look and feel a bit different, it does seem that at least for now, many of the larger home haunts plan to open for the 2020 Halloween season.
