If there wasn’t an age stipulation for going trick-or-treating, HARD Haunted Mansion might not have made it past the four-year mark. Having just completed a successful fourth installment to its steadily growing Halloween party, Los Angeles’ Shrine Exposition Hall played host to all the adults who want to satisfy their Halloween desires without risking the door-to-door candy gathering which would land them in jail. Look at it like this; HARD Haunted Mansion is like the house you always went to on Halloween who gave you full-sized candy bars from the big brands you actually liked.

Downtown Los Angeles is quite a sight on any given night, but Halloween weekend is when you can safely walk around in a Pokemon-themed outfit and not catch a second glance from anyone. The Shrine Exposition Hall housed approximately 15,000 festival goers over the weekend, the majority of whom came to party in costume to the soundtracks of their favorite dance music acts. The HARD events are known for their unique and carefully selected lineups. This year, festival goers were treated to headliners Fatboy Slim, Soulwax, Rusko and Skrillex. Although this seems impressive enough as it is, the undercard is what really drew me in.

On Friday, BBC Radio1 host Annie Mac was the first standout act of the evening, prepping the Main (HARD) Stage for what would be one hell of an evening. Over on the Second (Harder) Stage, the Gaslamp Killer, best known for his unusual style of sample-based DJing, raised the bar for the night, turning non-believers into believers. Annie Mac even exclaimed via Twitter, “Ok led zepp to lil weezy to siriusmo to radiohead? Gaslamp Killer. I am 100% sold.” Housemeister and L-Vis 1990 followed suit and it was a sight for sore eyes to finally see these acts receive a proper American crowd.

David and Stephen Dewaele—a.k.a. 2ManyDJ and half of electro-rock group, Soulwax—kicked HARD Haunted Mansion into overdrive when they began playing after first-time HARD Halloween performer, Laidback Luke. This was one of the most hyped sets of the weekend and far from disappointing. Having recently begun broadcasting a 24-hour visual and audio experience on their website, 2manyDJ’s brought their unique Radio Soulwax performance to the main stage. If you can successfully pull of a dance-infused version of P. Diddy’s “Bad Boy For Life” and mix into Afrojack’s “Pacha on Acid,” you will have won many people over.

Fatboy Slim was arguably the most exciting set of the weekend. The entire outdoor area before the main stage was packed as Norman Cook greeted the anxious crowd sporting a Guy Fawkes mask and begun his set, which included CGI visual models of his face and a laser-setup that would please the most veteran of concertgoers. Whether he was leading the crowd in an a’cappella rendition of his ever-famous “Praise You” or dancing behind the turntables as the crowd sung Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” Fatboy Slim was the one you remembered when you went home that evening.

Words by Alexander Rose. Photos by E.M.S.