LOS ALAMITOS, CA – As autumn arises and Halloween begins, the edgy town of Los Alamitos surrenders to seasonal paranoia. Fanciful mythological fairies and children walking underneath oversized white bed sheets will soon awake from their slumber and roam the dark streets. Defying the innocence, I set out with a group of locals to explore the depths of this haunted creep show, traversing “off-the-grid” hot spots and dilapidated roads.
Dark Harvest Haunted Attraction turns out to be more sinister than it seems
It was called “the asylum,” but I would deem it the “psycho house.” In addition to an overwhelming blackness, wooden axes, aggressive growlers, and disproportionate hanging dummies, the murderers-themed haunted house was a hit. In retrospect, the ringing screams followed by the suffocating grips of my friends blinded me to the moving figures in the maze. The torturous five minutes eventually passed with us gasping for air on the corner of a lone street, a strange ending. Suspiciously enough, there were armed policemen surrounding the gates leading to the entrance of the attraction, which had been built behind a depressing bank.
Originally obsessed with scaring since his teens, Southern California resident Adam LeBlanc founded “Dark Harvest Haunted Attraction” a couple of years after being inspired by the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the story of Hansel and Gretel. The theatrics lover had his actors sleeping in camp trailers hidden among the crowded street, reminding me of the American Horror Story “Freak Show,” where the freaks only emerged from their tents at night to perform.
The second included maze yelled “Motel” above a flickering, clownish door. As an intrinsic ritual, we waltzed into it, attempting to shake off the rising jitters. Clowns with horns, stout little creatures, and gun-popping barrels – all of these disturbing components had me running down the dark halls, screaming bloody murder and not caring if I lost my friends. Those freaks cornered us and soon chased us from behind as we split inflated walls apart, cautious with every slow step that some lurking clown would suddenly appear, while the only worry I had was the red jester on my back.
Leaving the muffled honks and demonic laughs, I witnessed a row of tents holding tarot card readings in which signs of hypnosis were more eerie than the witchery. Overhearing a scuffle between an actor and the owner, my mom suggested we leave the vulgar place, sensing this as a bad omen.
I remember driving away from the guarded gates and obsessing over the experience captured on my camcorder; failure to read the misconduct policy that filming and photography weren’t permitted didn’t phase me because the actors had joked about it with us.
Run, Rabbit Run!
The investigation of this haunted creep show wasn’t over. We drove for a good minute in the middle of nowhere, eventually arriving at the last freakish sight; this one was called “Twisted Dreams Haunt” for its deranged monstrosity. The actors were funkier too; often while we waited in line, one of them would sniff or snort beneath our ears while the others loomed on the hazy street like statues. Proudly entering the doorway, feeling as though a homemade haunted house was child’s play, we quickly descended into a state of panic, and it was noted afterward how considerably loud we were to the neighborhood.
One lesson I learned among the freaks: Make sure to lock your doors when the moon marks midnight, and beware of the silent stalkers, those daunting ghouls in haunted houses, if they aren’t background checked.
Location of Dark Harvest Haunted Attraction: 10201 Garden Grove Blvd., Garden Grove, CA 92843
Location of Twisted Dreams Haunt: 5815 Panama Drive, Buena Park, CA 90620
