By Mary O’KEEFE

The year is 2025 and California has been in a drought for decades. The once green landscape has turned to dry and dying vegetation, and those who have survived have one purpose – to find water. But sometimes that which we search for, once found, is not our savior but our tormentor…

That is the premise of the Haunted Jail that opened last night and will be open again tonight and Halloween evening.

Volunteers from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Dept./ Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station, L.A. County Parks and Recreation, members of Prom Plus Club, CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and the community, including those with a film and haunted house background, produced the event.

The Haunted Jail was last open to the public on Halloween 2005. The event ended due to structural damage to the station’s wall. This year, CV Sheriff’s Station Capt. Bill Song asked his staff to bring the event back. They contacted some local haunted house enthusiasts and the planning began.

The back of the station has been transformed into a maze of walls and rooms. Visitors will first see a brief film that tells the history of the California drought and the consequences for those still living in the Crescenta Valley. Then they walk through the Haunted Jail, which in fact is the CV Station jail that is part of the tour. The creators of the Haunted Jail draw out fears that one may not want to admit to and the nightmares that are still there when you open your eyes.

The Haunted Jail is located at the CV Sheriff’s Station, 4554 Briggs Ave. from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. tonight (Oct. 30) and Halloween night. Admission is $7. Tickets can be purchased at the door or at CV Weekly, 3800 La Crescenta Ave. #101 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the CV Chamber of Commerce, 3131 Foothill Blvd. Ste. D from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and at the UPS at the Ralphs Market complex, 2629 Foothill Blvd., from
8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

On Halloween night, there will be a twilight show for younger children from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Proceeds go to support the CV Sheriff’s Station, the L.A. County Parks and Rec Dept. and Prom Plus.

There are other haunted things to do on Halloween in Crescenta Valley. Continuing a 13-year tradition, local resident David Krohn will offer a haunted house in Whiting Woods. This year’s theme is fairy tales meet zombies with a twisted enchanted forest. As with the Haunted Jail, those in the film industry have lent their expertise in fright knowledge to make this haunted house even creepier.

The Whiting Woods Haunted House is located at 413 Whiting Woods Drive and is open Oct. 31 from sunset to 11 p.m. Admission is free.

Spooktacular in Montrose is also a Halloween tradition. Costumed kids walk up and down Honolulu Avenue in the Montrose Shopping Park to trick-or-treat at local merchants. The event is from
5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

  Mary Okeefe