Midsummer Scream has wrapped yet another year down at the Long Beach Convention (And Entertainment) Center. While nothing radically changed from last year, it ran like a well-oiled machine. 
While tickets were available once the convention kicked off, they eventually sold out. After last year’s Friday preview night, which was a low-key event, it was much busier this time around. The secret got out! 
There was a constant stream of panels to attend at the stages all around. It’s easy to assume the convention is merely a show floor, a sampling of mazes and announcements from theme parks, but there’s a lot more going on. Live Podcast tapings, interactive theater, and much more. 
The show floor area is always the most packed area. It’s a fascinating mix of spooky and scary merchandise, with a good mix across all kinds of Halloween/Horror items. This year Beetlejuice was by far the most visible of IPs, due to the long-awaited sequel coming out soon.
Every year the Hall of Shadows has a theme for the entrance area, decorated for a short walk inside, and this year it was a western take, in the town of Duskfall Hollow.
The “Hall of Shadows” has grown in size, in a way that we love. Gone are the mini-mazes that are just one or two rooms. This year we had mazes with waits of over 2 hours from big names like Lionsgate.
The effort going into these, for something that’s only for a single weekend, is admirable. I’m not sure what to call the scale of these mazes, but we’re closer to full-fledged haunted houses than the simple previews we had in the past. One of them even had an interactive haunted bar.
And not everything in the dark was scary. The Magic of the Jack’o’Lanterns had a mini-show going on, along with a 360-photo from the Haunted Car Wash, and other photo ops. 
But yes, there were still mazes inside to give you a few scares.
The vendors are always creative in ways that keep surprising us. Vampons had one of my favorite booths, that I sadly couldn’t take advantage of.
And this was a welcome site to see, with Dark Harbor making a return, under new management. We’ll have an article covering all the new details later this week.
While the theme park Halloween panels get the attention, it’s the fantastic booths that truly set the creepy mood for the upcoming fall season.
Jeff Heimbuch and his puppet Barry did their game show again this year, and it was an absolute delight, but definitely not for the kids, despite the host being covered in felt.
But there were options for young kids all around. The pumpkin patch stage right in the front had magicians and shows all weekend, with folks such as Jimmy H. performing for the kiddos.
There was one vaudeville-style show that was a fun experience, too, and it was for all ages. Always left wishing for more, as you dash off to the next item on your schedule. 
In the far corner of the show floor was the Shady Yew Pub, which was the home to Force of Nature Productions, performing an interactive bit of theater all weekend. 
Early on we had our fortunes told, but later bobbed for coins, and played games with the Dullahan, better known here as the “Headless Horseman”.
On Friday evening, those same folks led a candlelight procession back to the pub. The wide variety of characters was on display for all to see here. The full experience is called ‘The Body of Ciara Molloy: A Fallen Saints Tale’ and will be performed throughout September. More information can be found here.
Of course, the Decayed Brigade held their awesome shows all weekend. The layout worked a lot better this year, giving them a more dedicated space, rather than having them take up the entire center of the Hall of Shadows, causing a crowdflow issue every performance.
While the event has passed this year, the dates for next year are known, and this time, it’s in the middle of August. Eagle-eyed readers will also notice a lack of venue, so I’m sure that’ll be revealed in due time, as well. If you want to join us next year, tickets and more information are always available at https://midsummerscream.org/.
