Boos!Letter: Delusion provides the scares, but is Phillips Mansion in Pomona really haunted?
Happy Friday, Ghosties!
The month of October is already flying by, but there’s still plenty of time to schedule some frightful fun this haunting season.
I’m all about the mazes with the pop-out scares, the pumpkin carving and watching super scary movies, but I was recently reminded of how much I love horror-themed theater productions.
In the past, I’ve gone to Knott’s Scary Farm and to local theater houses to partake in renditions of “The Rocky Horror Show,” but there are so many theatrical performances happening now around Southern California.
The Maverick Theater in Fullerton does an amazing presentation of “Night of the Living Dead” and there’s the “Angel of Light” immersive theater experience at the Los Angeles Theatre going on in Downtown L.A.
Last week, I not only went to a scary theatrical production, I was part of it!
This is the ninth season for Delusion, an immersive theater experience which started in Downtown Los Angeles and has found a home inside the historic Phillips Mansion in Pomona in recent years.
With scripts written by producer, writer and Hollywood stuntman Jon Braver, Delusion is hyper-detailed and this year’s story is a bit of a mix of past experiences centered on a new character known as the author.
During the hourlong show, you’re with small groups and led by a cast of characters through several frightening scenarios. You’ll climb into the cellar and up to the attic of this old and possibly really haunted house.
You’ll talk to ghosts and have to pickpocket a dead guy and you’ll be running from vampire brides. You’ll work with your group to solve some puzzles and characters will offer you clues. You can be a leader or an observer in these scenarios, depending on how brave you are, but someone needs to step up to the plate.
If you survive, you’re rewarded by getting to just hang out in the historic mansion. It’s a wonderfully eerie place that guests are free to explore. You can sit and have cocktails with various house spirits (fine, they’re actors, but play along).
You can take in a magic or burlesque show, play with creepy marionettes and other possessed dolls that will learn your name and tell you the secrets of the house inhabitants. With the VIP experience this year, you’ll also get the chance to throw on some costumes and take part in a scene where you get to scare the other guests walking through the show.
But is the Phillips Mansion really haunted? The place does have some weird vibes. It was built in 1875 and there are plenty of whispers of unexplained happenings, but there’s no solid evidence.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve had any creepy experiences there that wasn’t something we created,” Delusion production team lead Drew Dalzell said, noting that he doesn’t scare easily and his crew is pretty active within the house, which could be keeping any potential ghosts at bay. “I do joke though that I’m going to die at the hands of a chainsaw-wielding maniac because someone could come at me with a chainsaw and I’d just assume it was fake.”
Delusion runs various times on select evenings through Nov. 12. Tickets are $94.99-$154.99 at enterdelusion.com.
Here’s more frightfully fun news.
‘The Exorcist: Believer’ hits theaters today
Since it opened on Sept. 7, a maze inside Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights has served as a living trailer for a new horror movie. “The Exorcist: Believer,” the long-awaited sequel to the 1973 classic, “The Exorcist,” finally hits theaters today, Friday, Oct. 6.
While the writers’ and actors’ strike was still in full effect, I jumped on the phone with film producer, Blumhouse Productions CEO Jason Blum, and met with Halloween Horror Nights executive producer John Murdy, to talk about both the film and the walk-thru attraction.
The movie was originally scheduled for Friday, Oct. 13, however Blum said he was forced to move up the release date after pop superstar Taylor Swift announced her “The Eras Tour” concert film would be hitting theaters that same day.
“It would have been ‘Exorswift,’” Blum said with a laugh during our call. Read the full story here.
Six Flags Fright Fest steps up the scares in 2023
Six Flags Magic Mountain’s annual Fright Fest in Valencia is including a pair of mazes based on major horror movie franchises within its annual scare-a-thon. This year, the theme park will introduce a walk-thru attraction based on the new “Saw X” film and a maze based on “The Conjuring.”
Six Flags Fright Fest is open select evenings through Oct. 31 and also debuted a new slider monsters show. Read more about that here.
A pumpkin archway to die for
Pumpkin archways are big on TikTok right now. Earlier I wrote that I loved carving pumpkins and I meant that, but I’ve never carved 10 plastic pumpkins in a row using a hot knife.
It’s just what you have to do to create a pumpkin archway — slight high and headache from the burning plastic smell included.
My friend, Lori, who has been on several spooky season adventures with me through the years, enlisted the help of myself and her sister-in-law, Alyssa, to carve out various pumpkin faces for her black-and-white Halloween-themed arch.
She bought all of the pumpkins (a majority on sale at Wal-Mart), the PVC piping and fixtures, a ton of black zip ties, orange string lights and some faux black foliage to stuff in between the pumpkins. I have no idea how much this all cost — and she won’t tell me exactly — but I’m guessing it wasn’t cheap.
It also took three of us eight hours to build this arch that you see above (including carving and zip tying each pumpkin onto the PVC frame). Alyssa and I were paid for our time in pizza and cocktails and miraculously none of us burned ourselves with the hot knives. It was a nightmarish labor of love, but it turned out amazing. It’s become a neighborhood favorite walk-by spot and our new backdrop to take Halloween selfies.
Until next week, happy haunting!
Get previous online editions of the Boos!Letter
Boos!Letter: Where to celebrate Halloween in Southern California
Boos!Letter: Pumpkin patches and kid-friendly Halloween events
Boos!Letter: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights: Tips for survival
Boos!Letter: How Knott’s Scary Farm is celebrating its 50th anniversary
Boos!Letter: Halloween Horror Nights and Oogie Boogie Bash launch next week
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