Review: Midsummer Scream Halloween Festival 2018 (Long Beach, CA)

Yessssss!  It’s finally time for the Halloween convention season, and what better way to kick it off this year than with a trip to the Midsummer Scream Halloween Festival in downtown Long Beach, California!

This was my third year going to Midsummer Scream, and it keeps getting bigger and better every year.  And unfortunately more crowded.  It’s a gift and a curse.  But yes, everything that made last year’s convention stand out was back this year:  The Hall Of Shadows (individual mini haunted houses in a darkly lit massive area), The Black Cat Lounge (where you can pet and play with a bunch of adorable kittens in a creepy circus environment), and of course……all of the creepy costume-goers who roam about the area eagerly awaiting your arrival to give you a good fright.  Oh my god – here comes one now!

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Nothing gets me more into the ‘spirit’ of Halloween than a good convention, and specifically Midsummer Scream.  Focusing on the haunts and everything that is Halloween – there were also tons of vendors selling their ghoulish goodies, a picture and meet & greet opportunity with Elvira herself (Cassandra Peterson), and you could even get a hot pretzel with cheese sauce!  Ok, the last thing was not impressive – but everything else this year was.  Except the aforementioned size of the crowd, which keeps getting bigger each go around.  If they can find a way to make it a little less claustrophobic in the vending aisles, then I feel that would make a big difference.

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Other than that one little negative, Midsummer Scream was frightfully good this year and they’ve already announced next year’s dates of August 3rd & 4th!  Plenty of time to think and prepare a good costume and plenty of time to think about an escape plan if you get too scared in The Hall Of Shadows.  Spooooooooky.  Thanks again to Midsummer Scream for another BOOtiful convention!

Review: Midsummer Scream Halloween Festival (Long Beach, CA)

It’s no secret that I love Halloween.  So naturally, I was more than excited to see the return of the Midsummer Scream Halloween Festival to Long Beach, California last weekend! This was the second year for this particular event, and to be honest – it was bigger, better, and much spoooookier this time around. Continue reading

Review: Midsummer Scream Halloween Festival (Long Beach, CA)

Halloween is only about 3 months away!  And if you can tell by the excitement in my voice (even though I wrote that and didn’t really speak it), then you know that I’m more than ready for all of the ghosts and ghouls to come out and inhabit their haunted houses.  Good thing that the Midsummer Scream Halloween Festival came to downtown Long Beach in California this weekend, because it definitely got me in the mood!

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The Midsummer Scream Halloween Festival is a brand new addition to the convention circuit, put on by folks who have experience in previous horror and Halloween festivals.  Being that I live in downtown Long Beach, how convenient was it that this was right up the street?  What makes Midsummer Scream different is that they have a huge section dedicated to local Southern California haunted houses, in mini form of course, so you can have a taste and see if you want to shell out the money for the real thing come Halloween time.

In addition to the bite-size editions of the haunted houses, there were tons of artists and vendors on hand selling their merchandise, stilt walkers and knee-sliders mingling with the crowd, and tasty Halloween-themed pastries.  Oh – and a few celebrities popped up like Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp) and David Naughton (An American Werewolf In London).  Being that this was the first year for Midsummer Scream, I would personally have to say it was a success (minus the wonky air conditioning in the convention center) and from the look of the crowd, it will return next year.  Now let’s end this with some sexy cosplay no-face nurses from Silent Hill!

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