Haunted And Other Worldly Houses To Visit During Spooky Season

*Cue The Halloween theme music*

Witches, wizards, goths and alike. 'Tis the season to get your spooky on.

Halloween is arguably one of the best holidays, because it’s not really a one-day celebration, it’s more of a month-long tradition. There are so many ways to enjoy the spooky season, whether it’s getting scared silly or carving pumpkins while listening to the "Monster Mash."

One of my favorite ways to enjoy the spooky season is to curl up on the couch with a lot of snacks and watch a classic horror movie. And what’s even better than watching a scary movie is living through it - by standing where it was filmed, I mean, NOT being chased by a serial killer.

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If you’re a fan of classic horror movies like the Poltergeist, or if you prefer the campy feel of Charmed and other-worldly settings, this list is for you.

Here are some locations used in popular scary or other-worldly films or shows that you might enjoy.

Remember— most of these houses are privately owned, so keep a distance and be mindful of not trespassing.

Halloween

Google street view of Michael Myer's house in South Pasadena

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Google street view

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If you haven’t heard by now, Haddonfield is not actually in Illinois, it’s not even a real town! John Carpenter filmed the 1978 slasher in most of South Pasadena and other parts of Los Angeles. These houses might look normal in broad daylight, but once upon a time a serial killer roamed those hallways and streets.

Locals in South Pasadena might pass by this seemingly normal house everyday.

• Michael Myers’ House
  1000 Mission St, South Pasadena
  
• Laurie Strode’s House
  1115 Oxley St, South Pasadena
  
• The Hedge
  1019 and 1025 Montrose Ave, South Pasadena
  

Extra: Read my colleagues' take on the famous Halloween Hedge.

The Poltergeist House

These quaint homes give peaceful suburban vibes but in Poltergeist they've played host to some pretty evil ghosts. While the movie is scary, behind the scene accounts have some believing the entire franchise is cursed. You can read the backstory on the Freeling's house here.

This cookie cutter suburban house was actually portrayed as the Freeling's House in The Poltergeist. Captured on Google street view.

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Google street view

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• The Freeling's House #1
  4267 Roxbury St, Simi Valley
• The Freeling's House #2
  After the Freeling’s original house exploded, they moved to “Phoenix, Arizona” but actually, the filming relocated to Altadena.
  1589 Homewood Dr, Altadena

A Nightmare on Elm Street

John Marshall High School was key for several movies, but it was also where Nancy Thompson went to school, unable to escape from Freddy Krueger.

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Courtesy John Marshall High School

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I recently saw A Nightmare on Elm Street for the first time. Even though I watched it in broad daylight, it was still scary. My favorite part – when Freddy transforms into a car. Even though the stunning home to young, brave Nancy Thompson already sold for $3 million, it’s still nice to look out and imagine Freddy tormenting your dreams.

• Thompson House
  1428 N. Genesee Ave, Los Angeles

• Nancy's high school
  John Marshall High School
  3939 Tracy St, Los Angeles
• The Boiler Room
  (where Freddy Krueger torments his victims)
  Lincoln Heights Jail 
  401 N Avenue 19, Lincoln Heights
  

Insidious 

What if I told you that Insidious was filmed in Los Angeles? Yes, The Further realm actually takes place in the Herald Examiner (filming location) building in Downtown Los Angeles. And the Lambert House sits just outside of Mid-Wilshire. If you’re brave enough to visit, here’s where to go:

The Old Lambert House captured on Google street view

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Google street view

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• The Old Lambert House
  4350 Victoria Park Drive, Los Angeles
• The Further
  Herald Examiner Building
  111 S. Broadway, Los Angeles

The Ring

Katie's house from The Ring. Captured from Google street view.

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Google street view

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Apologies in advance if you've tried very hard to wipe this movie out of your memory. While most of The Ring was filmed in Washington and Oregon, the scarring opening scene where a young teenage girl admits to her friend she watched a cursed tape is local. A week later, she dies when an evil spirit crawls out of the TV, and it all went down at this gothic style house in Los Angeles. This movie is the first American remake of Japanese horror films — soon after The Grudge and Dark Water followed.

• Katie's House
  413 S McCadden Place, Los Angeles

Ghostbusters

The first ghost to be busted in the ballroom of the Sedgewick Hotel was actually at a hotel in L.A.

• Millennium Biltmore Hotel Downtown
  506 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles

E.T.

Elliot's house, where E.T. hides out for an extended vacation, sits in the San Fernando Valley. Rumor has it that director Steven Spielberg chose this house because of its mountain backdrop.

• Elliot's House
  7121 Lorenzo St, Tujunga, Los Angeles

Charmed

The Charmed House sits in Angelino Heights and is preserved by the Los Angeles Conservancy.

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Courtesy Los Angeles Conservancy

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Imagine finding out you are a descendant of a line of witches, and now your entire responsibilities of being a typical teenage kid has transformed into keeping the balance between good and evil forces? Sign me up!

The Charmed house is actually part of three original homes that was constructed in the 1880s on Carroll Avenue and it's preserved by the Los Angeles Conservancy. Here's the location:

• Charmed House
  1329 Carroll Ave, Los Angeles