Halloween comes once a year in most places, but LA is lucky enough to get a double dose of terrifying delight. This should come as no surprise, considering Los Angeles has the highest concentration of horror movie production studios, probably in the entire world. The City of Angels is a goth kid’s dream vacation destination, especially during ScareLA, AKA Halloween in summer.
On August 6th and 7th, witches, goblins and ghouls from all over the country will be flocking to the Pasadena Convention Center for ScareLA. They hope to fill their metaphorical candy bags with as many creep-tastic happenings as they can digest.
For Andrea Gilletti, self-proclaimed “spooky girl” and creator of Killin’ Me Softly dolls, ScareLA is an ideal opportunity to showcase her goods. She first got the inspiration to make handmade dolls of horror characters a few years back when she was doing makeup and art department freelance work in the film industry. In her free time, she honed her skills and brought her punny horror to life. Andrea's hobby developed into her online shop, Killin' Me Softly (known on social media as KMSxCo) where she also sells plush weapons, haunted inspired housewares and lots of black clothing— her goth essentials. Even Andrew W.K. thinks KMSxCo dolls are creepy-cute and adorably addicting.
We got in touch with the talented goth girl about her anticipation for ScareLA, which happens to be located in her favorite city of horrors:
“I'm vending at ScareLA, which is a Halloween themed convention hosted by the lovely Queen of Halloween herself, Elvira. There are over 200 booths this year plus lots of other events including mini haunts, talks and escape rooms for horror enthusiasts to check out. LA has such a great horror culture as is, so I'm sure this event is going to be over the top awesome,” says Andrea.
Ghost shadow box collaboration with @kiahysjulien.
Rest in Peace Pillow. Images courtesy of @kmsxco
The sheer amount of frighteningly fantastic activities to do in LA is almost as scary as ScareLA itself. But before you get yourself tangled in the spiderweb of ScareLA amusements, read up on all the places Andrea wants to check out in Los Angeles before pushing up daisies:
Deandri LA
(DTLA location recently closed)
Andrea Gilletti: Deandri LA makes incredible garments‚ cute (black) dresses, super high platform shoes and mini skirts—as well as harnesses and collars. Think Wednesday Addams meets light bondage. Everything looks like it’s made at the highest level of quality. I definitely look forward to adding some Deandri to my wardrobe soon.
@princessgollum wearing the priest collar Roselle dress.
Zeta and Zenon top. Images courtesy of @deandri
Halloween Town
Burbank
AG: I'd also love to visit Halloween Town, which is a huge year-round Halloween store. It promises to be so much more than your typical seasonal pop-up shop. They have decorations, props, costumes and clothing—all the spooky stuff you could possibly need. I'm sure I could probably spend a whole day there!
Ghost dog and ghost kitty. Images courtesy of @halloweentownstore
Monster collage skater dress.
Gallery 1988
Hollywood / DTLA
AG: Aside from retail, I've really wanted to visit (and maybe someday have a piece displayed in ...) Gallery 1988, a small independent art gallery. They have the coolest themes for their shows, mostly nostalgic, like 90s TV shows and movies. I never seem to be in town while they're open but it's definitely high up on my list. I love following them on Instagram and seeing what new events they have coming up and finding out about the amazing artists that they feature.
Gallery 1988.
Images courtesy of @galleries1988
Honey & Butter Macarons
Costa Mesa
AG: I've been ogling Honey & Butter's Macarons on Instagram for a long time now. They make the most adorable macarons and even made little characters and pumpkins last year for Halloween. I don't even think I could eat them because they're so cute.
Images courtesy of @honeyandbutter
Disneyland Park
Anaheim
AG: Bats Day in the Fun Park is a yearly event I've been dying to attend. Thousands of goth inclined folks flock to Disneyland for one day every year and the photos are just surreal. Black clothing and platform boots as far as the eye can see. Disney has even gotten into the spirit of the event for the past couple years by making special bat shaped sweets. It just seems like so much fun!
Dapper Bats at Disney. Image courtesy of @ireneismean
Image courtesy of @mandonator
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood
I'd also love to see Rocky Horror Picture Show at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Cinespia shows it every year on Halloween. I'm a sucker for old cemeteries—I try to see one in every city I visit. So this event is a must for me. And who doesn't love Rocky Horror?
Cinespia screenings. Image courtesy of @marie_516
Rocky Horror at Hollywood Forever. Image courtesy of @leahstar7
What are you most excited for at ScareLA?
AG: I'm really excited to see (and honestly probably buy) a lot of the awesome things other vendors will be selling. I just love supporting other small business and finding special new things to share with my friends and followers. I definitely look forward to buying lots of ghost adorned, coffin shaped goodies. Halloween is no doubt my favorite time of year (yes, it's a time of year, not just a day), so ScareLA will just be a jump start on the greatest season. All spooky girls know fall is the time you do your shopping for the rest of the year so stock up on all the spiderweb tights and pumpkin spice you can!
Little Creepers for ScareLA. Image courtesy of @littleshopofgore
ScareLA—for all your witchy needs. Image courtesy of @scarelosangeles
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Alethea Cho AKA Lady Lovesblood is a “spooky girl” through and through. She is currently mourning the fact that she can’t be at ScareLA this year or get her hands on a Wednesday doll as a fond reminder of one of her first Halloween costumes. Catch her haunting the internet @Ladylovesblood or @horrorexplorers.
Featured Image courtesy of Andrea Gilletti
