Nowadays, an evening at one in all SoCal’s hottest haunted sights often begins with attendants scanning digital tickets at a clearly marked entrance.
At Coffin Creek, issues had been a little bit totally different.
Those that made the journey to Corona’s annual hang-out entered an eerie scene the second they veered off the 71 Freeway and down the desolate roads to Riverview Recreation Park, the place Coffin Creek made its dwelling. Within the parking space, the mud kicked up by the autos created its personal layer of fog, and sounds could possibly be heard within the darkness — faint screams, the echo of chain saws and the nervous chatter of the hauntgoers. There was all the time a way of thriller and pleasure: With its impartial, grassroots vibe, Coffin Creek — one of many longest-running Halloween sights in Southern California — was the little hang-out that would.
Coffin Creek has had its ultimate run. Its founder and operator, Gary Shireman, handed away final month on the age of 74. However its legend lives on in the neighborhood of Halloween fanatics.
Coffin Creek, located at Riverview Recreation Park, had a country really feel, which added to the spookiness.
(Warren So)
Whereas Coffin Creek, which at occasions glided by the title Crossroads Haunted Village, was primarily a vacation spot populated by a number of independently owned and operated haunted mazes, Shireman was the top of the operation. An electrician by commerce and a longtime horror fan, Shireman launched the enterprise in 2007 after spending years looking for a location. He landed upon 180 acres of a park in Corona close to the Santa Ana River. And as he quickly found, it was already haunted, maybe.
The backstory of the Coffin Creek locale — at the least because it’s informed by means of a newspaper story on the hang-out’s web site — is that in 1938, an enormous flood hit Southern California, unearthing 13 coffins in Corona from an deserted cemetery. Solely a few of the human stays from these coffins had been recovered, and shortly individuals within the space started seeing and listening to unusual issues at evening.
Native artists and volunteers labored all yr to open Coffin Creek, which was by no means a manufacturing as flashy or refined as Common’s Halloween Horror Nights, Knott’s Scary Farm or any of SoCal’s well-established haunted maze locations — however that was a part of the attract. The darkness of the woods and muddy terrain was simply as efficient surroundings as any of the bedsheet material or picket flats that had been arrange. Whereas a discerning visitor could have seen that a few of the haunted set items had been lacking a little bit paint or not lighted all that effectively, the cackling heard from the darkish areas in between reminded people that it was all in regards to the ultimate thrill. One might by no means inform when a chain-saw-wielding madman was about to leap out from behind a wall.
The signal for the Coffin Creek Manor maze.
(Scott Feinblatt)
“Gary’s mazes had been very old-school and really low-tech, and he was an enormous proponent of that,” mentioned Warren So, a contributor for Hollywood Gothique, an internet information to all issues horror in L.A. “He felt that every one we want is an efficient old-school scare. So long as individuals scream, then it’s profitable.”
In a single 2011 interview, Shireman mentioned he would work all yr for that “first scream of the season.” Some attendees would take one step by means of the entrance door and are available proper again out.
The mazes at Coffin Creek had names like Chambers of the Mausoleum, Labyrinth of Misplaced Relics, Bathroom of the Abyss, the Darkish Realm and Coffin Creek Manor, the legend’s namesake. One of the crucial endearing features of the vacation spot was that a number of of the mazes took residence within the everlasting constructions that composed the medieval-inspired village of the Koroneburg Renaissance Competition on the park’s grounds.
A scare actor prepared for his subsequent sufferer.
(Scott Feinblatt)
Actors performed all varieties of ghoulish creatures, together with orcs and vampires. Uncle Zed’s Zombie Safari, which was one in all a number of haunted hayride-style sights that appeared through the years, even featured one thing of a community-sourced assortment of monsters, all of which originated from impartial contributions to the Safe, Comprise, Shield (SCP) horror subgenre. Company of this Coffin Creek attraction had been carted alongside from one breached containment situation to the subsequent, with roving monsters periodically stunning them within the darkness between the scantily lighted vignettes.
Steve Biodrowski, the proprietor and operator of Hollywood Gothique, mentioned Shireman labored tirelessly behind the scenes, dealing not solely with the hang-out’s creation but additionally with all of the crimson tape that got here with working on the Corona park. Biodrowski recalled Shireman telling him in regards to the complicated nature of its possession. “There have been like 4 totally different house owners,” Biodrowsky defined. “One was federal, and I consider it had one thing to do with the Military; then there have been state and native departments concerned. Getting everyone to signal on to a deal or agree to permit the haunted village to function was simply close to unattainable.”
Clowns haunted the premises — and guests’ desires.
(Scott Feinblatt)
Through the years of Coffin Creek’s varied incarnations, quite a lot of ancillary sights complemented the mazes: a magic present, horror merchandise distributors and meals stands. Among the haunts included greater manufacturing worth results — Chambers of the Mausoleum, as an illustration, featured creative animatronics from its principal operator, Figment Foundry. Even by the mid-2010s throughout a proliferation of native haunted sights, the village downsized however the mazes by no means misplaced their allure. By regularly using veneers and parts from previous maze builds, the distinctive panorama and the abilities of passionate, volunteers, Shireman continued to conjure an entertaining enterprise.
His ardour for haunted sights didn’t finish at Coffin Creek. In 2022, Shireman partnered with hang-out producer Jason Thompson to host the Hang-out X conference on the Fairplex in Pomona. The occasion offered impartial hang-out house owners and artisans a chance to community, be taught commerce methods and showcase their enterprises and items with each other and with their followers.
“He wasn’t simply into haunted homes,” So mentioned of Shireman. “He was all the time bouncing concepts about different Halloween stuff that was family-friendly — not scary — for the youngsters.” Moreover, So mentioned that Shireman was beneficiant with the group. “He liked speaking to you about your hang-out and his hang-out and sharing concepts. I believe everyone would agree that he was all the time prepared to assist. One other buddy of mine was constructing his haunted home, and although it had nothing to do with Gary, he was down to assist out and construct out within the warmth, within the desert. And Gary didn’t profit one single cent. That’s simply the man he was — he doesn’t ask for something and simply needs to make a pal and assist make a superb hang-out.”
The legend of the Coffin Creek location is {that a} flood hit Southern California, unearthing 13 coffins from an deserted cemetery.
(Scott Feinblatt)
Shortly earlier than his demise, Shireman expressed enthusiasm about Coffin Creek’s future. He had introduced that the hang-out can be shifting to a brand new Riverside location, the Lake Perris Fairgrounds, the place it could function in tandem with the Perris Pumpkin Patch. That couldn’t occur, however the Perris Pumpkin Patch has been operational this season and stays a family-friendly vacation spot.
And whereas the hang-out could have ended, like with any good maze, there could all the time be one thing extra lurking forward.
