What to KnowHaunted CarwashOct. 2 through 31 (select nights)Big Wave Car Wash in Anaheim, Carwood Car Wash in Lakewood, Splash N Go Car Wash in Montclair, and Eco Friendly Auto Spa in Carlsbad$30 and up per vehicle
Popping a vintage cassette into your car stereo in order to hear a bunch of haunted house sounds, the atmospheric rattles and wind of autumn, is one way to connect with Halloween while on the roll.
Of course, you may no longer have a tape or CD player in your car, nor the haunted house sounds cassette you played a million times. But there is a wicked way to experience an eerie outing while sitting in the driver’s seat, or as a passenger, this sudsy season.
“Sudsy” is the ghoulish giveaway here, for it is the Haunted Carwash we’re cautiously turning our headlights upon.
The offbeat soaks-and-shrieks event began in 2020, when activities built around distance abounded during the pandemic.
The Haunted Carwash stayed around into the early 2020s, growing from a single spot to encompass a frightful total of four carwashes in 2026.
These locations stretch from Montclair to Carlsbad, with Lakewood and Anaheim in the monstrous mix.
One ticket covers your entire vehicle and passengers, and there are a few details to know before you arrive and enter the tunnel of terror. A tunnel that, indeed, has an assortment of freaky figures that may be lurking just beyond the brushers and sprayers.
Adding to the drenched and devious setting? Lighting that lends a sense of dread will play a role, and a foreboding fog makes it difficult to detect what might be just outside your window.
Guests remain in their vehicles throughout the Haunted Carwash, which means you won’t leave the experience in both a sopping and scared state.
It all begins in Anaheim on Oct. 2, with the carwash chaos visiting all four participating locations on select October nights.
Southern California is hauntingly home to a caboodle of creative fall attractions, those scream-it-out spectaculars that deftly use a variety of unusual locations to tell a spooky and surprising story.
But the Haunted Carwash is truly a stand-out among strange venues, making it a draw for Halloween fans seeking an unusual and unusually damp experience.
“Whatever You Do… Don’t Unlock the Doors” is the quiver-filled warning every guest seeking a fresh wash and misty monsters should heed.