MIDSUMMER SCREAM 2024 - THE HOME FOR HALLOWEEN

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As the seasonal Halloween events are on the horizon, we want to take a step back and talk about Midsummer Scream. The yearly gathering of horror and halloween junkies continues to grow, change, and evolve. 2024 being it’s biggest event yet! Identified by it’s unique Hall of Shadows and being a destination for major season announcements, Midsummer Scream constantly sets itself as a MUST SEE event.

For us and many people, Midsummer Scream is the TRUE official start to the spooky season…no matter how early the Karens says it is. It brings us all together to celebrate the season and genres we love. It’s the primer that gets us ready for: Knott’s Scary Farm, Halloween Horror Nights, Fright Fest, Dark Harbor, and so many more. As you can probably tell, it plays many roles for many different people.

And I guess, that’s truly the best part of Midsummer Scream…it can be what you need it to be. If you are an avid home haunter, then the major draw might be the different vendor booths offering new and interesting ideas/techniques to take haunt or yard display to the next level. If you’re anything like our Daughter, you’re there for vibes and the Black Cat Lounge.

For this Duo, we continued the tradition of bringing our little monster along for the spooky fun. Midsummer Scream has truly become an event we can attend and enjoy as a family! We all look forward to this epic weekend of spooky fun and reunions with our favorite friends and monsters.

This year we took the time to head out early and take full advantage of the convention opening on Friday evening. Not only did this give us ample time to casually explore the various vendor booths (and plan our purchases for the weekend) but it also allowed us to catch an early Decayed Brigade slider show! The Slider Show is definitely a can’t miss part of Midsummer Scream. This was unfortunately the only show that Nikki and the kiddo were able to catch due to our jam-packed schedule.

Before we get into the big hitters of the weekend, we will discuss some of the offerings that we were able to enjoy with our little one. First off: The Pumpkin Patch! Located almost immediately in front of the entrance to the show floor, the kids area truly was a great space to take a break while still enjoying spooky fun. Arts and crafts were readily available and the area had its entirely own slate of performances and other offerings. From magic shows to sad clowns and drag story time. We caught the ‘Drag Story Time’ and I’m not sure who had more fun during the reading of “A Little Old Woman Who Swallowed a Bat”, Nikki or the kiddo!

The one other offering that was a definite can’t-miss for our little monster was the Black Cat Lounge! Not only is this a place to adore some adorable kittens, but it’s a place to help them find a forever home. It’s quickly turned into a beloved part of Midsummer Scream for so many people. Every year there is a stand by line to enter the lounge as well as a priority line for those individuals who purchase a special pin at the Midsummer Scream main booth on the show floor. The stand-by line can take a while to get through, so we bought the pins (one per person). At $15 each it is not a bad price for saving some time, and the money raised goes to the kitties! Win-win! Although we still feel like there has to be an easier way to balance the priority line and the stand-by line.

Let’s not forget the full slate of panels that’s offered during the event, hitting all the niche aspect of the halloween season. But for us, it’s about hearing announcements and news from our favorite large scale haunted events. This year marked the return of Dark Harbor to Midsummer Scream and the SoCal Haunt landscape. We simply cannot express how happy we were seeing the Ringmaster and The Captain get into a battle of words and double entendre. It’s one of those moments where you didn’t realize how much you missed it, till you were able to have it again.

Additionally, as is always the case, Halloween Horror Nights is the craziest of all the panels at Midsummer Scream. In past years, the lines for this panel were overwhelming and completely out of control. This is something we’ve brought up in our wrap up episodes and discussions in the past plenty of times. Thankfully, this year they’ve completely changed how they handled the general admission queue. It helped out tremendously with overcrowding in the smaller second floor of the Long Beach Convention Center.

Last, but certainly not least, is the Hall of Shadows. This year, the entry was created by Fear Farm where they created a small western town. This years iteration of HOS felt a bit more open, which helps when thousands of people flow through there every minute. The pathways through either side of the HOS were much easier to navigate. Also, this year marked the first time a major studio placed a haunted attraction inside the HOS. Lionsgate worked with Plague Productions to bring some of it’s most famous horror franchises to life during Midsummer Scream. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t the highlight of the HOS this year. But even if that isn’t your speed, there was plenty to encounter within a broad scope of experiences.

OVERALL

Every year, we find ourselves in the same situation. How do we possibly summarize our thoughts and feelings about Midsummer Scream. The event has quickly transcended the simple halloween convention and become a part of our families traditions. Bringing our Daughter to this event has truly turned into something magical for us. The amount of friends and monsters who went out of their way to make her feel special, or to explain how part of their costume worked, was truly staggering and filled our Halloween hearts with so much joy. It’s these little interactions and memories that are going to carry with her throughout the spooky season and throughout the years. This is where the magic happens and this is where you make a fan for life. We are forever grateful to Midsummer Scream for bringing our wonderfully spooky community together in one place to truly showcase how warm and friendly and inclusive we all are. It is one big family, and there is nowhere that is more evident than when we are introducing the next generation to this world we all love so dearly.