As I follow the meandering path through the cemetery, creatures assault me from every direction. A zombie lunges from the right. A massive spider crawls rapidly down its web to the left of me, its babies dangling right above my head. Then I make a turn inside the house and see a room full of dolls. One of them looks far, far too large. coffinwood cemetery Haunted house

Photo: Thea Rivera

Coffinwood Cemetery is a home haunt in Santa Clarita that is designed for all ages. Everyone from young kids to teens to adults can enjoy the free experience that is comprised of an outside path past multiple animatronic and themed pieces and a short inside segment through the garage that includes the display’s only live actors.

Photo: Thea Rivera

Most of the decorations appear to be store-bought but they have been placed quite effectively and can generate some actually startling moments, especially for children. The items that are homemade are of equal quality to the other ones, providing some unique moments such as the spider web, a surprisingly large creation that takes up much of the front of the house.

Photo: Thea Rivera

The short stint through the garage generates the best moments of the haunt. The doll room is legitimately creepy on its own and the addition of an obvious, doll-dressed actor sitting in the middle of the room creates a surprising moment of tension. Will the actor move? Or just stay there and look creepy? The moment is unsettling enough that a group of children traveling before me froze up until I came along; they demanded that I go first. I immediately regretted that decision as a double jump-scare caught me completely off guard.

Photo: Thea Rivera

Coffinwood Cemetery is designed to be an event for the neighborhood and it works perfectly as exactly that sort of event.

For more information, follow Coffinwood Cemetery on their Facebook page. Check out our Event Guide for more Halloween and horror entertainment throughout the year.

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