It's alive! Midsummer Scream returns
Halloween-themed convention will bring celebs, workshops and more after pandemic pause
Following a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Midsummer Scream Halloween and Horror Convention will rise from the grave at the Long Beach Convention Center Friday through July 31.
“We're feeling good,” said David Markland, executive director of the convention. “We've been gearing up for this for three years, so it's really nice to finally set it loose.”
The horror-themed event, which typically draws about 30,000 fans to Long Beach each year, is also debuting its new Museum of Halloween.
“It's multiple collections made up of items from Halloween history that mark how Halloween has been celebrated over the last century,” Markland said.
Midsummer Scream will include over 350 vendors selling everything from costumes and props to comic books and just about everything else Halloweenand horror-related. There will also be panel discussions, celebrity signings, haunted house building and special effects makeup tutorials and a horror film festival.
The wildly popular Hall of Shadows will return this year, too. It's located on the low-lit ground level of the convention center, where patrons can walk through more than a dozen miniversions of the home and professional haunts that pop up throughout Southern California around Halloween.
It's a lot to take in, so to help plan for maximum scares and fun, here are 13 things to see and do at Midsummer Scream:
director and special effects makeup supervisor of AMC's hit zombie show, “The Walking Dead.” Nicotero will talk about his career with LeeAnna Vamp, host of the “Let's Get Spooky” podcast.
Get a taste of old school horror with this performance, a stage show with a vintage radio format.
This dance is definitely for the 18-and-older crowd because it mixes gore, blood and other dark themes.
The grown children of some of horror's best-known movie monsters and legends will get together to share childhood memories, stories, photos and even home movies of their famous parents. The panel will include Sara Karloff, daughter of Boris Karloff, who played Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 classic Universal film, as well as Lynne Lugosi Sparks, granddaughter of Bela Lugosi of “Dracula” fame, and Victoria Price, daughter of actor and horror host Vincent Price. The panel will be moderated by Metallica guitarist and avid horror fan Kirk Hammett.
You can be a scary rock star around your next campfire after taking this storytelling class taught by podcaster Sapphire Sandalo.
What do a dancing vampire, a werewolf ventriloquist and a zombie comedian have in common? They'll be part of this 20-minute variety show that mixes comedy, music and horror.