Ackermansion!

It's October and you want to do something spooky and cool but, cheap, and not too scary? Or maybe you're a crazy sci-fi horror fan? Well, you know, all the cool kids go to Ackermansion, where owner, waxwork and proprietor, Forrest Ackerman -- coiner of the term "sci-fi" -- will show you his peerless collection of memorabilia of that genre including Bela Lugosi's cape from the Dracula films, the girl robot (you know the one we mean) from Metropolis, and the man-eating Brontasaurus from 1933's King Kong while he regales you with stories from working with such famous actors as Boris Karloff, or how he was made an "honorary lesbian" for his work under the pseudonym, "Laurajean Ermayne" or perhaps how his work as a literary agent and writer helped nurture science fiction -- maybe you prefer to hear his stories in Esperanto, (the language that combines all languages) because he's an expert. Remarkably, he does all this without leaving his Laz-E-Boy (give him a break, he's 8 million years old!)

4511 Russell Ave, Los Angeles
Open from 11-12 on Saturdays.

Photo by Alan Light, via Flickr