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I love anything and everything having to do with the ‘80s. So when I started hearing buzz about Stanger Things, a horror series on Netflix with deep ‘80s undertones, this past summer, I knew I’d be hooked. The Grim Cheaper and I finally sat down to binge-watch it in August and immediately became obsessed, staying up until 3:30 in the morning two days in a row to finish it. Stranger Things is literally one of the best. television. shows. ever. It was also responsible for inspiring our Halloween costumes this year. As soon as I saw the first episode, I knew there was no one else I’d rather be than Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). And the GC quickly set his sights on dressing up as Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo).

I am nothing if not anal when it comes to Halloween costumes and, as such, I wanted my Eleven dress to be perfect. My mom was originally going to make it for me, but the only pattern we could find that came close to Eleven’s pink Peter-Pan-collared frock turned out to be wildly different once my mom started sewing. So I turned to Etsy and found a dress that was spot-on, made by FrenchieYork. Thankfully, I already owned a pair of white Converse sneakers and the GC loaned me his blue rain coat, so the only items I had to buy were a pair of green and yellow tube socks, which I found on Amazon, and a wig. While I originally wanted to wear a shaved head wig, I could not find one anywhere. I thought I might be able to buy a brown wig and shave it, but after researching that option online, quickly realized that it wouldn’t be possible. Apparently, quite a few people tried going that route with disastrous results, which I should have anticipated. I chopped enough of my Barbie dolls’ hair off as a kid to know that cutting synthetic hair, especially that drastically, never ends well. So I purchased this Hot Honey Blonde Wig and had my mom trim it slightly to match the length of Eleven’s hair.

Originally, I was not planning on accenting my costume with a box of Eggo Waffles, as I did not want to be carrying something around in my hands all evening. But the GC came home with an Eggos carton shortly before Halloween and it dawned on me that I could make a purse out of it, which I did quite easily. I just put clear packaging tape around the entire thing to make it sturdier, ran string through the sides as a strap, attached Velcro to the top flaps so that my belongings would be secured, and voila!

The GC’s costume was an easy find, as well. We purchased Dustin’s hat on eBay and his Waupaca, Wisconsin shirt on Amazon (the exact one we bought is no longer available, but you can find a similar one here), which he wore with jeans, a hoodie, and Adidas that were already in his closet. The wig was a little harder to come by. We wound up buying this Glam Rock Wig, which my mom cut to look more like Dustin’s hair.

For our Halloween festivities this year we decided to hit up the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride. For those who have never been, the Haunted Hayride is a longtime L.A. attraction in which guests travel through a frightfully decorated Old Zoo (you can read my post on that locale here) while sitting in a large tractor-pulled trailer. Though it is one of the city’s most popular Halloween events, the GC and I had never been and decided this was the year to do so. Thanks to my friend Becky, of the Temporary Rest Stop blog (she wrote this fabulous guest post about Breaking Bad filming locations for my site back in May), I learned that it was possible to walk around the Hayride venue during daytime off-hours and see all of the décor. So we actually got a double dose of the place!

First thing Halloween morning, the GC and I headed right on over to the site. Because it was closed and no one was really around, I was a little nervous about just walking right through the Hayride entrance, but thankfully a security guard happened by and when I asked if it was OK to venture in, he explained that the public is welcome to take a look around as long as they don’t touch any of the props or mess up the sets. How awesome is that?

So we wandered right on in and had an absolute blast.

This year’s Haunted Hayride theme was “Secret Society.” As the website states, “Inside the gates of the society, members will bear witness to the clandestine lives of their faction and in a shocking turn, will be commandeered by the society and sent into an initiation, confronting the ghosts of hayrides past.”

Getting to see the decorations up-close-and-personal and in the light of day was pretty amazing.

My favorite part of the set-up was the string of former zoo enclosures, which were fashioned with all manner of gory props.

The enclosures were left open, which meant that we were able to venture inside for some fun.

The Haunted Hayride venue is huge and we spent a good hour walking around looking at everything. If you live in the L.A. area, I can’t more highly recommend stalking it.

Our nighttime visit was a blast, as well, though I will say that the evening turned out to be a lot shorter than we expected. We were able to go through all of the attractions offered in about an hour and a half. While we had a great time and enjoyed all that we did, I felt that the Haunted Hayride was lacking a bit.

Though various kiosks are set up, there just isn’t that much to do while there.

We purchased VIP tickets, so we did not wait in line at all the entire night, which, obviously, got us through things more quickly, but I still expected there to be more to experience.

That being said, we had a great time and would likely go again.

The Los Angeles Haunted Hayride consists of three main attractions, the primary of which is the Hayride itself, which was fabulous at night and a lot longer than I anticipated. At one point, guests even get off the tractor and have to find their way through a corn maze.

My favorite part of the night, though, was the Trick or Treat attraction (the exterior of which is pictured below), during which guests roam through a fake village of tiny cottages, knocking on doors in order to get candy. While treats are handed out, so are scares, as people jump out at visitors from doorways, windows and other dark places. Trick or Treat was incredibly well done and I loved every minute of it, even more so than the actual Hayride.

The third event offered was the Ouija Origin of Evil House of Shadows, which could have been really cool, except that the entire thing was lit by intense strobe lighting, which made me really dizzy. I am not one to get woozy easily (I regularly read in the car), but those lights had me feeling like I’d downed a bottle of tequila. By the end of it, I was so disoriented that I was walking into walls.

According to recent Yelp reviews, Hayrides of years past were far better executed, so I’m looking forward to going back to see how it is in 2017.

All in all, it was a fabulous Halloween and I am deeply saddened that my favorite season has come to an end. I hope all of my fellow stalkers had a fun-filled holiday. I, for one, am already looking forward to next year.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Los Angeles Haunted Hayride takes place each October at the Old Zoo, which is located at 4801 Griffith Park Boulevard inside of Griffith Park. You can find out more information about the event here.

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