HALLOWEEN CAME EARLY WITH THE 6TH ANNUAL SPOOK SHOW

Halloween Club’s Annual Spook Show 2018

Author: Tania Escobar

Halloween in April, you say? Of course! Any enthusiast of All Hallows Eve knows it’s never too early to have spooky fun. On Saturday, April 7, 2018, Halloween Club gave us a good time with their Annual Spook Show. If the host’s name sounds familiar, that’s because it’s the costume store that mysteriously pops up in your neighborhood around September. This intimate event pulls the favored holiday out of the darkness of fall and into the light of spring for Southern California.

Spook Show was created in 2013 at Halloween Club’s superstore in La Mirada. Taking place in their large parking lot, the space is big enough to house over 100 vendors and a stage. This child-friendly event is a great introduction for newbies to the Halloween community for its variety of representation and free cost.

There was plenty to captivate guests as the show expanded to attract upwards of 15,000 attendees. Activities included free souvenir pictures, palm, crystal readings by Master Magician Michael Gutenplan, and a “Spook-en Word” poetry slam.

Since last year the show floor has expanded from one aisle to two. Showcasing several artists and vendors, they offered clothing, accessories, and lifestyle décor, all revolving around the Halloween society and its gothic subculture. As the event hosts, Halloween Club even showed their fans love by providing discounts on costumes and props.

Other Halloween conventions had booths set up to promote their upcoming events in the summer. Midsummer Scream and ScareLA sold tickets to their events at a reduced price, which I took advantage of. Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor Sliders also had a booth selling team merch, streaming last year’s performance clips, and inviting anyone to hang out and talk about haunt life. One team captain, Squeaks, exclaimed, “We’re all family in the haunt community.”

Like traditional conventions, a panel even discussed topics relevant to the guests’ interests. This year’s panel discussion was on the documentary streamed on Netflix, Haunters: The Art of the Scare, with director Jon Schnitzer. The film highlights the joys and challenges of people creating the most popular haunted houses and mazes and the highly controversial terror experiences.

The stage unveiled many acts, bands, and even raffles. Since the beginning, The Cosmic Jetties, a Sci-fi beach-themed band, and The Rhythm Coffin, a fresh-from-the-grave band, played. New groups to the roaster were Drac & The Swamp Rats and Jamestown Pagans. One featured act was Auzzy Blood, who entertained with dangerous stunts, such as shoving a large hook through his nose and out his mouth. It was simultaneously grim and mesmerizing.

My favorite performance of the day was the master of ceremonies, Monte Revolta, and His Band of The Living Dead. This decomposed zombie crew hails from Vegas and has the biggest viewing crowd. They play cover songs from horror movies and with dead puns, such as Oingo Boingo’s “No One Lives Forever.” This is their third time appearing at Spook Show, and the living keeps dying to see them return.

This isn’t my first year attending, and it certainly won’t be my last as the show keeps getting bigger and better. Fun, free, and filled with the right kind of freaks, Annual Spook Show, is the second Halloween the community looks forward to yearly.