Hollywood’s famous Magic Castle was damaged in a greater-alarm fire around noon on October 31, forcing cancellation of its Halloween event.

The blaze, fought by 125 LA firemen, was confined to the attic and walls but there may be substantial water damage. The fire’s cause has yet to be determined. Management hopes to reopen Friday, November 4.

[The] Franklin Avenue manse-turned boarding house-turned club and restaurant’s labyrinth of rooms on its upper floors had the potential to be a firefighter’s nightmare, [Los Angeles Fire Capt. Jaime] Moore said.

“It’s compartmentalized in miniature dining rooms that you could imagine would be found in a haunted mansion,” Moore said. “It creates the ambience that the Magic Castle is so famous for, but a fire can spread in hidden spaces and through multiple walls. It’s no ordinary house.”

The Magic Castle occupies a Victorian mansion built in 1908 (wait, doesn’t that make it an Edwardian mansion?) for the family of a banker. It now belongs to the Academy of Magical Arts and has become a training ground for professional and amateur magicians.

[Thanks to John King Tarpinian for the link.]