Haunted Soiree, the two-hour Halloween party with drinks and immersive theatre at the Nocturne Theatre in Glendale, takes on true crime for 2026. Its new story is built on Pennsylvania’s 1928 Hex Hollow Murder, a killing over a book of German-American folk magic, and it runs select nights October 10 through 31.
The Story
Each year Haunted Soiree becomes a new immersive world. This year’s is set nearly a century after a suspected warlock was killed over a mysterious book of German-American folk magic. The secretive Autumn Society keeps his strange traditions alive through a festival of drinks, music, masks, ghost stories, and games that the ticket page calls HauntOberfest. As the night goes on, guests find out the festivities aren’t what they seem, and every toast, game, and tradition is part of a ritual.
Each room reveals another chapter of the mystery, including the story behind The Long Lost Friend, the book of spells at the center of the 1928 crime.
“The most unsettling stories are the ones that are already true,” said Justin Meyer, creator of Haunted Soiree. “We started with a real murder, a real book and a community where belief in folk magic had very real consequences.”
Haunted Soiree puts guests inside a Halloween celebration where the drinks, music, characters, entertainment, and traditions are all part of the story, so they can raise a glass and enjoy the party or follow the clues and dig into the mystery. The bar has themed cocktails, wines, beers, and mocktails, and guests are encouraged to dress in Oktoberfest attire, cocktail wear, or Halloween costumes.
Dates, Tickets, and Ages
Haunted Soiree runs at the Nocturne Theatre, 324 North Orange Street, Glendale, on October 10, 11, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, and 31, and each performance runs two hours. Tickets come in three tiers:
- SilverMeister: two hours, one complimentary drink, Hansel & Gretel’s Trick or Treat, interactive experiences, roaming characters, and live performances
- GoldMeister: everything in SilverMeister plus a second complimentary drink from the featured menu and a larger cup, for $12 more
- PlatinumMeister: everything in GoldMeister plus expedited check-in, first entry, and a souvenir German dimple glass, for $24 more
Tickets start at $59 with the $2 booking fee, but only on October 25, and that night’s SilverMeister tickets have sold out. As of September 25, SilverMeister cost $69 or $77 with the fee on most other nights, and it was already sold out for the 6:30 p.m. show on October 10.
Most performances are 21+. Select dates are dry performances open to guests under 21, but the ticket calendar doesn’t mark which nights those are yet.
Haunted Soiree also runs in Seattle this year, at the Rainier Chapter House on select nights October 2 through 31, with the same story and ticket tiers.
The Real Hex Hollow Case
The real case happened in York County, Pennsylvania, in November 1928. Nelson Rehmeyer was a powwow doctor, a practitioner of the Pennsylvania Dutch folk magic built around The Long Lost Friend, a book of magical recipes by Johann Georg Hohman. According to Atlas Obscura, John H. Blymire believed Rehmeyer had put a hex on him that caused his bad health, so Blymire and two teenage accomplices broke into Rehmeyer’s house for his copy of the book and demanded that the hex be undone. They beat Rehmeyer to death and set the house on fire, but it didn’t burn. The “York Witch Trial” that followed was a sensation, and all three men were convicted and imprisoned. Rehmeyer’s descendants opened the house, known locally as the Hex House, to the public in 2007.
More From the Nocturne
Haunted Soiree comes from Meyer2Meyer Entertainment, founded by Melissa and Justin Meyer, who also run the Nocturne. The release says the theatre has four resident spirits, including a lady in white seen in the lobby after dark. This fall it is also staging Justin Meyer’s Frankenstein: Resurrection musical through November 1, and its paranormal play The Eaves has run in an upstairs space since April 30. For more Halloween nights out, see my guide to haunted houses in Los Angeles. Tickets are at hauntedsoiree.com.
