If you’re looking for spooky and fun Halloween magic, you should go to a haunted house in East Long Beach before the ghosts and goblins disappear.
In the front yard of that house, you will see a stunning light display featuring singing pumpkins, videos of movie villains, a bubble machine, a fog-and-smoke machine, and dozens of skeletons, witches, smoke-breathing dragons and other creepy characters.
“I like everything here, especially the man without a head,” said 6-year-old Carter Matte, who was visiting the home last week with his father, Corey Matte, and his 8-year-old sister,Olivia. Carter was referring to the Headless Horseman.
“This is fantastic,” said his dad. “It’s great for the community.”
Ann and Jeff Haberman welcome visitors to their elaborately decorated house for Halloween on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Crowds flock to see Jeff and Ann Haberman’s elaborately decorated Halloween house in Long Beach on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jeff and Ann Haberman’s house in Long Beach takes Halloween decorations to another level on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jeff and Ann Haberman’s house in Long Beach takes Halloween decorations to another level on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jeff and Ann Haberman’s house in Long Beach takes Halloween decorations to another level on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jeff and Ann Haberman’s house in Long Beach takes Halloween decorations to another level on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jeff and Ann Haberman’s house in Long Beach takes Halloween decorations to another level on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jeff and Ann Haberman’s house in Long Beach takes Halloween decorations to another level on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jeff and Ann Haberman’s house in Long Beach takes Halloween decorations to another level on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Ann and Jeff Haberman welcome visitors to their elaborately decorated house for Halloween on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jeff and Ann Haberman’s house in Long Beach takes Halloween decorations to another level on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jeff and Ann Haberman’s house in Long Beach takes Halloween decorations to another level on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jeff and Ann Haberman’s house in Long Beach takes Halloween decorations to another level on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jeff and Ann Haberman’s house in Long Beach takes Halloween decorations to another level on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jeff and Ann Haberman’s house in Long Beach takes Halloween decorations to another level on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jeff and Ann Haberman’s house in Long Beach takes Halloween decorations to another level on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jeff and Ann Haberman’s house in Long Beach takes Halloween decorations to another level on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jeff and Ann Haberman’s house in Long Beach takes Halloween decorations to another level on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Adam LaFreniere of Seal Beach holds his daughter, Stevie, 2, as they view Jeff and Ann Haberman’s elaborately decorated Halloween house in Long Beach on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Crowds flock to see Jeff and Ann Haberman’s elaborately decorated Halloween house in Long Beach on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
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Ann and Jeff Haberman welcome visitors to their elaborately decorated house for Halloween on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Thousands of visitors have enjoyed the show since it started 14 years ago at 3343 Chatwin Ave., which is at the corner of Chatwin and Wardlow Road, near St. Cornelius Catholic Church.
The Halloween show starts at 6:45 p.m. and ends at 9:15 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. On Friday and Saturday, the show ends at 10 p.m.
Among the crowds last week was the Hofland family, with parents Andrea and John Hofland, and their children, Lukas, 5, and Sophia, 2.
“Our kids just love this show,” Andrea said. “We come every night.”
The Hoflands are neighbors — so they can walk to the Halloween house.
“I like the skeleton bones,” Lukas said.
There are plenty of those to see.
Emily and Will Sisto were also there with their children, Liam, 4, and Ellis, 2.
One of Liam’s favorite things to see and hear, he said, was the song, “This Is Halloween,” from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
Playing from the big screen on the front of the house was that song with the lyrics, “Boys and girls, want to see something strange? Come with us and you will see our town of Halloween. I am the one hiding under your stairs. Life’s no fun without a good scare.”
Other crowd favorites included Zero, the dog from “Night Before Christmas” flying around the house chimney, and skeletons for characters such as Snow White, Pocahontas, Tinker Bell and Rapunzel, as well as Harry Potter villains.
The Halloween show, as well as a soon-to-come Christmas show, is the brainchild of Jeff Haberman, a retired controls engineer at McDonnell Douglas and Boeing.
“We started off slow 13 years ago, and the shows just grew and grew, and got better each year,” he said. “We keep working to improve the shows.”
The “we” in that sentence includes Haberman’s wife, Ann, who has retired after working for 45 years at Disneyland’s Blue Bayou Restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.
“This takes a lot of work,” she said, “but it really is a labor of love for us.”
“The shows bring us a tremendous amount of joy,” Jeff added, “seeing the happiness it brings to children and adults.”
The house displays are technical marvels, using 28 computers to control thousands of twinkling lights, moving spotlights, film clips, music and smoke.
Located on a corner, the Habermans have also decorated the side of their home facing Wardlow Road. On that side are several posing props people can use for taking photos.
They used to put up more traditional house decorations, Jeff said, but they decided they wanted to use technology to be more creative.
By using lights, images, music and special effects, he added, he can enhance emotions and give viewers a sense of awe and joy.
During his career, Jeff has received many awards for his work in energy conservations, including energy manager of the year from the Association of Energy Engineers.
He also is a musician, singing and playing low brass and bagpipes across the country, including a stint at Disneyland. He also performs with the Civil War Brass Band.
Early in his career, he recorded, edited and mixed sound for radio commercials and film. He has always been interested in theatrical lighting and film editing, Jeff said, and wanted to put those skills to use with his holiday house shows.
Both Jeff and Ann are Long Beach natives. He was born at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center, while she was born at Dignity Health — St. Mary Medical Center. He graduated from Millikan High School, where he was a drum major in the school’s marching band. She graduated from Wilson High.
When the Halloween show ends Oct. 31, the Habermans will prepare the front of their house for another extravaganza, a monthlong Christmas show, which starts Dec. 1. Every year, they like to add a few new features and displays to their remarkable collection.
Watching the show and decoration display is free.
But the Habermans do have a GoFundMe account that supports “For the Child,” a nonprofit that provides mental health services for children. The link is gofund.me/d1a6c3972.