That's Incredible: Haunted Toys 'R Us (1978)

This segment from That's Incredible! investigates the story of a haunted Toys 'R Us in Sunnyvale, California. Apparently, the toy store was built on the property where a man died after a wood-chopping accident, and psychic Sylvia Brown claims that this man's spirit is haunting the store. A séance is staged in the toy store for That's Incredible! As Brown attempts to make contact with the spirit, a photographer captures some interesting images.

Whaley House hauntings (1991)

The Whaley House, located in Old Town San Diego, is one of the most important historic buildings in the area. Built in 1857, it was at that time the first two-story brick building in San Diego. For a time, the structure served not only as the Whaley residence, but as the county courthouse, San Diego's first commercial theater, and the Whaley and Crosthwaite General Store.

KNSD News played this segment on Halloween 1991. The director of the Whaley House recounts strange occurrences and speculates about who the spirits are that haunt the property.

Halloween at the old Margo Theater (1988)

Jack White, for 10 News San Diego, remembers Halloweens past at the old Margo Theater in Oceanside, California. The movie theater opened in 1936 downtown. Around 1949, it was renamed the Towne, and it continued to show movies throughout the 1970s. In the 1980s, after being reduced to showing adult movies, the Towne closed and was used as a karate studio for several years. After being refurbished by the city of Oceanside and renamed the Sunshine Brooks Theater, it has continued a new life as a venue for live theater events.

Halloween haunted house in Escondido (1991)

Are the horrific scenes being presented inside this attraction causing people to look toward the Christian message of redemption, or are they inviting people to be entertained by depictions of evil? From Halloween 1991, 10 News San Diego reports on a controversial haunted house at the First Christian Church in Escondido, California.

Watch for the kid in the nappy Chewbacca mask at the beginning.

The Search for Houdini (1987)

This TV special aired when I was 11 years old. Around this time I was very interested in magicians and performing magic. The previous year I remember visiting the Magic Shop at Disneyland and buying the "Siberian Chain" (one of the many packaged Adams magic tricks they sold). My friends and I pretended we were great escape artists and took turns chaining each other's hands up.

The Search for Houdini was very appealing to me because it involved magicians and another one of my interests: Halloween. The special featured many magicians paying tribute to Houdini, including the Amazing Randi, Dean Gunnarson, Steve Shaw, Harry Blackstone, Jr., and The Pendragons. Host William Shatner kept the show lively and provided a lot of humor. Even though the televised séance near the end of the show was pretty anti-climactic, the program remains one of the most unique Halloween specials that I ever remember seeing. It was filmed live in Los Angeles at the Orpheum Theater.