In the magic of movies, multiple locations are often used as one. Dunsmuir House, for example, is in Oakland Ca.
It was used as the Morningside Cemetery Mortuary and Mausoleum in Phantasm. The Cemetery gate, however, is located 373 miles south in Altadena, Ca. It’s the entrance of the Sam Merrill Hiking Trail.
A few years before Phantasm, the Dunsmuir house was used in the 1976 horror film Burnt Offerings, starring Oliver Reed, Karen Black, and Bette Davis.
Fun Fact: The Dunsmuir House was built in 1899 by Alexander Dunsmuir as a wedding gift for his new wife. He unfortunately never got to live in it, as he fell ill and died while on his honeymoon in New York. His wife lived in the house until her death in 1901.
Dunsmuir House is located at 2960 Peralta Oaks Ct. Oakland, Ca. You can visit the house Monday thru Friday between the hours of 10 AM and 4 PM.
The Sam Merrill Hiking Trail is located at Lake Ave. and E. Loma Alta Dr. Altadena, Ca.
46 Miles north of Oakland, you’ll find Point Reyes Station. This is the home of the Point Reyes lighthouse from John Carpenter’s The Fog.
The lighthouse was built in 1870 and retired in 1975. It’s open to the public but is often closed due to weather or renovation. It’s best to check the lighthouse website for updates. I tried to visit the lighthouse recently and was not only met with a closed for renovation sign but a wall of fog so thick you could cut it with a machete.
The Point Reyes lighthouse doesn’t have an actual address, but you can Google the directions.
Much of Point Reyes and Inverness, Ca., was used as the fictional seashore town of Antonio Bay, but the church is located 439 miles south in Sierra Madre, CA. The Episcopal Church of the Ascension was built in 1888 and was also used in The Return of the Living Dead 2.
The Episcopal Church of the Ascension is located at 25 E Laurel Ave, Sierra Madre, CA.
Probably the best example of a movie town made up of multiple locations that are miles apart is Santa Carla in The Lost Boys. Santa Carla is primarily played by Santa Cruz with the Boardwalk taking the central focus.
The Boardwalk is located at 400 Beach St. Santa Cruz, Ca. 95060.
It’s gone under some minor changes since the movie was shot, but much of it is the same, including the Merry Go Round and the steps that Michael and the Vampires ride their motorcycles down.
You can take the best photos of the Boardwalk from the Warf, which is where Max’s Video Store was located. The Frog Brothers Comic Book Store was made to look as if it were on the Boardwalk but is a half-mile away at 1020 Cedar St. in Santa Cruz. The actual store is called Atlantis Fantasyworld and the outside makes for a boring photo, so I passed, but they do have one of the original Vampires Everywhere prop comics up on the wall, and they’ll let you look at it if you ask them nicely.
The real treasure in Santa Cruz is Grandpa’s house.
Located at 333 Golf Club Dr. in Santa Cruz.
It was built in 1911 and served as the Casa del Rey Golf and Country Clubhouse. In 1935 it became the Pogonip Country Club and today is the Pogonip park and trail. Thankfully the house is still there. It’s a little bit of hike to get to the house. At the park entrance, there’s a paved and a dirt trail. Take the paved trail which is the old road to the house. As you begin the hike, look up and you’ll see a lone tall palm tree. That tree is right next to the house and you can use it as a marker. The interior of the house was shot on Stage 15 on the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank, Ca.
Also, on the Warner Brothers lot in the Midwest section of the Backlot, you’ll find the church that Sam and The Frog Brothers stock up on holy water.
About 300 miles south of Grandpa’s house, you’ll find the Railroad trestle the boys hang off of at Iron Horse Trailhead in Valencia, Ca. There is a railroad trestle in Santa Cruz that was used for the establishing shot, but this is the trestle they shot on. The trestle was erected in 1898. It is no longer active and serves as a bridge for people to cross the dry riverbed beneath.
Located at 25311 Magic Mountain Pkwy. Valencia, Ca
65 miles south of the trestle in Ranchos Palos Verdes, Ca. is the Vampire cave.
The Hudson's Bluff Sea Cave is located behind the Terranea Resort at 100 Terranea Way Rancho Palos Verdes, Ca. 90275.
You can either park at the resort and pay anywhere from 25 to 40 dollars to walk down to the cave or you can park in The Pelican Cove parking lot for free and take the Point Vicente trail to the cave. On your way, you will enjoy breathtaking views of the ocean, and may even catch sight of a sea lion or two. To see the cave, you will have to scale a 6-foot rock wall. It’s an easy climb but be careful, if you fall, it’s not a soft bed of sand you’re going to land on, it’s a bed of boulders. If the tide is low, you can walk into the cave for a bit until you reach the point where it’s been sealed (no pun intended).
That’s it for today's tour. Come back next time for a tour of NYC, including a visit to the real Amityville Horror house.
By PJ Baio
PJ Baio is a Standup Comedian, Avid Horror Movie Fan, Producer and host of Cinema Poo-Radiso, the good bad and ugly podcast.