What began as a low budget run-and-gun slasher film not only resulted in an iconic horror franchise, it marked the town of South Pasadena with a unique brand of history that seems to shine brightest this time of year.
The 1978 film “Halloween,” which earned Jamie Lee Curtis her first starring role and early reputation as the quintessential scream queen, was filmed largely on location in this quiet community.
Consequently, while thousands of film fans travel from all over to visit some of the exterior locations and see the spots where Curtis first interacted with the legendary madman Michael Myers, some locals keep the jack o’ lantern burning with ongoing homages to their favorite fright flick.
“‘Halloween’ is my favorite movie,” declared Briana Arebalo of Arcadia, who took a trip out to visit the fictional home of Laurie Strode, Curtis’s character, located at 1115 Oxley Street, near the South Pasadena Library.
“We went to the Michael Myers house last year,” she said, along with her friend, Yolanda Allen of Arcadia, who photographed her on this visit.
Both of them love the movie, as well as the opportunity to feel close to it by visiting these locations.
“It’s kind of iconic,” Allen said. “Knowing that the movie was shot there, you can almost recreate a moment from the movie … . It’s cool.”
Michael Roffman did one better, moving from Chicago to South Pasadena after learning an apartment in the fictional home of Laurie Strode had become available.
“I fell in love with the house ages ago as a young kid obsessed with “Halloween” and John Carpenter. I even had a little AOL fan site called ‘Haddonfield, Illinois,’ in the 90s,” he said, in homage to the movie’s fictional town, which was named in homage of co-writer and producer Debra Hill’s childhood town of Haddonfield, New Jersey.
Now that Halloween is near, Roffman and his wife are getting into the spirit, erecting a tombstone for Judith Myers, the sister killed by a six-year-old Myers at the beginning of the movie, as well as a sign for Strode Realty, the family business referenced in the film.
“Everyone fixates on the Myers’ place, but for me, I’ve always been partial to Laurie’s,” he said, noting he often sees visitors taking photographs out front.
The sign on the window of the Sugarmynt Gallery at 810 Meridian Avenue reads “Welcome to Haddonfield.” While it’s not an actual film location, it’s a spiritual center for the fanbase, featuring a range of movie memorabilia, as well as a collection of unique production stills from the original movie.
“I love South Pasadena because it always feels like Halloween, even in the summer,” stated SaraRose Orlandini, owner and curator. “It’s like Salem. That’s why they filmed it here.”
Growing up in Pasadena, fate brought her to this particular location 10 years ago, which happens to be directly adjacent to the Myers’ house at 1000 Mission Street, and just across from that house’s original location at 707 Meridian Avenue, which is where it appears in the film.
“This gallery is all about me and my obsession with Halloween,” both the film and the holiday, Orlandini said.
Prior to her opening the gallery, which also offers film screenings and other Halloween-related events, she said many people in the community weren’t as aware of the impact of the film.
“I don’t think as many people really knew how important the movie is,” she said. “People come from all over the world to South Pasadena because of that film and the locations and that house.”
Though it was run down and abandoned at the time it was used for the film, the Myers house itself — a 1888 structure officially known as the Century House — has been refurbished and now houses several offices.
“It’s a historic landmark,” said one of the renters, who asked not to be identified.
“I love South Pasadena because it always feels like Halloween, even in the summer. It’s like Salem. That’s why they filmed it here.” — SaraRose Orlandini, owner and curator of Sugarmynt Gallery, in South Pasadena.
He said there are regular visitors, with people stopping often to photograph outside the building, which looks out over the crossroads of the train line and Mission Street.
Asked if the constant traffic of people was ever annoying, the man said, “It can be at times, but I don’t chase anybody off.”
A small sign taped to the front door of the building states, “One of Michael Myers’ enduring qualities is SILENCE. I respect that. You should too. DO NOT KNOCK. NO ONE IS GOING TO LET YOU IN.”
Gabriel Bomfiglio, 18, has lived down the street from the house for seven years.
“It’s such a fun street to live on,” he said, noting that Halloween night will literally bring more than a thousand visitors to the neighborhood.
“I feel like it brings a whole unique vibe to South Pasadena,” he said. “Having the ‘Halloween’ history is something we talk about all the time.”
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Perhaps the most visually iconic location in the original film is the famous hedge, from behind which Laurie Strode sees a masked Michael Myers peer out. Located on Montrose Avenue, it’s another favorite site for visitors and picture takers.
“Over time it has changed,” Bernard Tsui, who has lived in one of the adjacent houses for almost 30 years, said of the visitor traffic. “In the beginning it was mostly around Halloween, but today it’s more year-round.”
Still, he doesn’t mind the visitors, whether they’re shooting with their phones or actually setting up elaborate tripod rigs to pose themselves wearing a Michael Myers mask.
“They don’t bother me too much,” he said. “We’re used to it. Nobody’s bothering us or anything, and they’re pretty respectful, for the most part.”
His only wish, he joked, is that he would have liked to have thought of charging each visitor a dollar for the opportunity to visit the spot.
“I could retire,” he said.
Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-area-based freelance writer and photographer.
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