10/11/2025
Still shaking off those post Halloween blues? Here’s a post sharing the recipients of this year’s Rotten Gourd Awards to satisfy that spooky itch! (Full YouTube video coming soon.) We appreciate every haunter out there more than we could ever say and hope to keep making these gifts of gratitude for years to come! 🎃
manor - Stephen blew us away again, transforming his driveway into a stunning walkthrough haunted shipwreck. Complete with a ghostly pirate captain and his crew, The Wreck of the Crimson Dagger is brought to life with dramatic lighting, rich textures, handcrafted props, and an atmospheric original soundtrack. It’s completely immersive and its gentle scares make it a perfect event for the whole family.
(VanOaks Cemetery) - Derek and Erin’s atmospheric display features custom-crafted tombstones and moody lighting that creates a quiet sense of foreboding. Subtle soundscapes drift through the air, enhancing the beautifully haunting environment without overwhelming it. It’s elegant, immersive and designed to be felt as much as seen. We are sure going to miss it, and both of you… 🎶 “But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day.” 🎶
- Diane and Preston are absolute legends in the Burbank Halloween community and it is well deserved! For 35 years they have been creating epic one of a kind walkthrough attractions in their front yard and their theme changes every season! “Nightmares In Secret” mixed dark academia with fire breathing dragons to create a spooky, mythical adventure through the Draconic Archive and featured one of the most hilarious endings (*wink wink*) that they’ve ever had.
- This year, Tim maximized the space in his front yard by building up! His towering barn facade was a flashback to the days when his family was haunting in Glendale and its layers of texture, thick fog and eerie lighting instantly draw you in. The walkthrough was filled with ghastly jack o’lanterns, creepy corpses and several scare actors giving you backwoods frights at every turn. Scary good!
(Forbidden Playground) - Bathed in black light and twisted humor, Eric’s playground of demented children is certainly one of the most unique displays you will find in Burbank. The longer you look the more you will see, from his handmade cast of creeps to the hilarious signage. These demons are everywhere! But don’t linger too long or Pig Boy might follow you home!
- Rotting Hill Cemetery is an original attraction that has the perfect blend of the whimsy of Disney’s Haunted Mansion and Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s sass. Theatrical lighting, witty tombstones and a show with punny character banter brings Dudley’s graveyard to life. It’s spooky fun for the whole family that invites us all to have a good laugh with the dead.
