Dateline>City of Angels

Who doesn’t enjoy those first telltale signs of autumn returning to Southern California? Shorter days… Cool and breezy evenings… The  appearance of neighborhood Halloween superstores like this one in Silver Lake.

Yes, it seems the Witching Season is upon us again, earlier than ever.

Remember when Halloween was a minor holiday, with its merchandising confined to the seasonal aisle of the average drug or toy store? Those days are long gone. Trick-or-Treat marketing has become a full-blown niche industry in America, generating an estimated $6 billion annually from a calendar of shopping days second only to Christmas.

Thankfully, however, there are plenty of non-commercial chills and thrills to be found throughout our region.

To help Angelenos explore it all, local blogger David Markland has announced the re-materialization of CreepyLA. Similar to last year, Markland says the site’s posts will “relate to the supernatural, horror films, costumes, Day of the Dead, pumpkins, Halloween stuff, and just about anything that makes the hair stick up on the back of your neck.”

Meanwhile, here at Dateline>City of Angels, your humble citizen journalist also plans stepped-up ghost posts and assorted goodies to help celebrate what is admittedly one of his favorite holidays. Stay tuned.