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Happy Monday everybody and welcome to our update for Midsummer Scream 2024. It's been a week now since the event ended and it's taken us pretty much that long to recover. Of course, we did post some videos last week that will be included below.
Before we get there I want to re-post a note that I put on our Facebook page 5 years ago today. Because it still absolutely holds true. August 5, 2019: Before we get too deep into the in's and out's of panels and more, just wanted to share a few thoughts on the experience of the weekend. More than amazing panels, or fog, or mazes or aisles upon aisles of amazing things to spend all your money on, what I take most out of this past weekend is love. People who have never been to any Halloween event or MSS are missing out. Halloween brought all of these people together. Some were there to see Theme Park panels. Others to learn about scaring, or just to shop. But all were there because we love Halloween and all things that go bump in the night. Not once the entire weekend did I see anybody acting out, everybody was polite, considerate and amazing. And it was CROWDED. We talked with people we know, and met so many new people just standing around waiting in line. None of the actual horrors that exist out in the world made it's way into Midsummer Scream. I know it may sound hard to separate the two, but it's not. It's all about a shared love of horror and Halloween. And it comes down to the 4 people in charge. They've helped to create a culture of love and acceptance that is at the core of the Haunt Community. And it's so amazing. - Gregg
Hall of Shadows
As always with our Midsummer Scream updates we're going to start with the Hall of Shadows. Because, to us, this is the heart of the event. And for the panels and announcements we are typically there for, this is really where it started for many of those haunters. With their home haunts. And there were some amazing ones this year.
This years entry was created by the one and only Fear Farm!
Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest Extreme
Our first panel of the weekend was the Fright Fest Extreme Panel from our friends at Six Flags Magic Mountain. I'm not going to go into too much detail because we have a recording of the full panel, but this years event sounds amazing.
I have to be honest, I was shocked that they're bringing back all of the previous mazes in addition to the new ones, but happy to see Aftermath getting a facelift.
The park also had an awesome display on the show floor where we got to chat with a lot of the crew throughout the weekend. They're all super excited for this years event.
Queen Mary's Dark Harbor
A couple of months ago we were excited to be on The Queen Mary as they announced the return of the fantastic Dark Harbor. And we got some details about this years event!
First up was a quick history lesson about Dark Harbor.
As they were planning for Dark Harbor 2024 they found a lot of props and costumes that had just been sitting on the ship since 2019. Some was salvageable. Some was not.
Preparing for 2024 Dark Harbor photo shoots.
The swings are back!
And so is Lullaby!
Some new and returning characters!
In addition to the swings, they are also bringing with it a new fully restored Carousel.
A new maze featuring the Ringmaster
And of course it wouldn't be Dark Harbor without The Captain, but maybe The Admiral now? Hmm. =)
Lots of returning food and of course bars.
They then started discussing the classic B340 ...
Which led into another maze announcement continuing the story of Samuel The Savage ... Breakout!
And lastly, a new maze announcement. Infirmary.
Knott's Scary Farm
The other "announcement" panel we did was for Knott's Scary Farm, which didn't really have any announcements other than confirming that this will be the last year for Wax Works.
While light on announcements, we did get a great deep dive into this classic maze from Daniel Miller. 
We've included a video of Daniel's walkthrough of this classic maze.
There were a few other things talked about at the panel including Entertainment and the return of The Hanging last year.
What it takes to actually dress and get make-up on all of our monster friends ...
And of course the overall atmosphere of Knott's Scary Farm
All Knott's Scary Farm info for 2024 will be announced on August 22nd. We will unfortunately not be there but I'm sure it will be great.
Halloween Horror Nights
Of course the most popular panel of the entire weekend was Halloween Horror Nights, and we've got a few videos to share from that super long panel. We figured we'd break it up by topic for you.
​Universal also had a pretty amazing set up on the show floor.
Show Floor
Let's end this look at Midsummer Scream 2024 with some of the show floor, some amazing cosplay and just general pictures throughout the event.
Our HHN Panel Crew!! Some legends here. And then me. =)
Would be remiss if we didn't send a shout out to all of the amazing White Bat's. One of the biggest things we heard about previous events was the crowd control for the large panels (namely the HHN panel). This year it was flawless. Congrats everybody!
Make your plans to visit Midsummer Scream in 2025! And we'll see you there!
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With Theme of ‘Dungeons & Demons’, Renowned Dark Zone Features More Haunted Attractions, Photo Ops and Entertainment Than Ever Before  LONG BEACH, CA — When Midsummer Scream, the world’s largest Halloween and horror convention, returns to the Long Beach Convention Center from July 28 to 30, its centerpiece will be the Hall of Shadows, a massive dark zone that features a stunning array of haunted attractions, interactive photo ops, and live entertainment as creatures lurk and screams flow from the swirling fog. All passes for Midsummer Scream include admission to every attraction within the Hall of Shadows, which for the first time ever, will be open to guests all three days of the fan convention: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. One- and three-day passes to Midsummer Scream are available now at www.MidsummerScream.org. Additionally, guests holding the Gold Bat VIP pass will receive “fast lane” access to most attractions within the Hall of Shadows, bypassing general admission standby queues. “As we celebrate horror games of all types this year at Midsummer Scream, the theme of this year’s Hall of Shadows is ‘Dungeons & Demons,’ which pays homage to the OG ‘monster’ game that we all grew up with and still love to this day: Dungeons & Dragons,” says Rick West, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Midsummer Scream. “We’ve invited our haunters this year to let their imaginations run wild, and where possible, to incorporate some kind of gamification or interactive element into their Hall of Shadows creations. Everyone is excited and hard at work to bring fans the most epic Hall of Shadows yet!” Guests will enter this year’s Hall of Shadows through ancient ruins filled with traps, treasure, and classic D&D monsters, thanks to the talent of the always amazing CalHauntS team. Roll for initiative and step lively into the darkness ahead — guests who linger too long are in danger of becoming a permanent fixture of this ancient dungeon!  Emerging into the foggy expanse of the Hall of Shadows, guests are free to explore and engage more than a dozen spooky attractions, elaborate displays, and frightening photo ops at will, created by some of the best haunters in Southern California… and beyond. Among them:
In addition, the Decayed Brigade will present three shows daily both Saturday and Sunday on their massive Hall of Shadows “runway,” as they thrill hundreds of onlookers with high-energy sliding maneuvers and pulse-pounding stunts in a slider exhibition like none other! All of that and more will be waiting in the darkness of the Hall of Shadows for fans when the doors to Midsummer Scream 2023 creak open the evening of Friday, July 28, in Long Beach. To receive breaking information about Midsummer Scream, fans can sign up for a digital newsletter at MidsummerScream.org or follow Midsummer Scream on Instagram and Facebook by searching @midsummerscream. About Midsummer Scream Midsummer Scream is presented by David Markland (Co-Founder/Executive Director), Gary Baker (Co-Founder/Executive Producer), Claire Dunlap (Co-Founder/Producer), and Rick West (Co-Founder/Creative Director). Their goal is to showcase the diversity of Southern California’s haunt and horror community as a welcoming beacon for fans around the world to converge on Los Angeles for a weekend of excitement, networking, and non-stop spooky fun! Related Videos
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 It was finally back! After a 2 year wait with a couple of mini events sprinkled in between, it was back to Long Beach for Midsummer Scream!  The first indication on how much the event has grown were the ads in the lobby.  Click that code to get your Delusion tickets!!!  Our first stop in this update (not our first stop at the event) was the Museum of Halloween. Video walkthrough is below.  We really enjoyed this and can only hope it not only comes back in future years, but expands.  
 So much cool stuff to see (and for us older folks, remember)    Let's head to the show floor. We could have spent SO MUCH money here. They're going all in for Shaqtoberfest!  Cannot wait for the Haunted Hayride!  Lots of little Halloween touches everywhere
 Even the Pizza Planet Truck got a Halloween makeover  The best investment at any Con, or Fair  They've even got stuff for those of you who love plants  I tried to think of the most harmless thing  So much unbelievably cool artwork. We got this for our oldest.
 The event however wasn't without it's hiccups, as all large events have. Saturday was easily the busiest we'd ever seen the event. And the lines to get in, and for the HHN panel were outrageously ridiculous. But the panel itself went off without a hitch. You can see our live-stream of the panel below, as well as our full breakdown of the HHN Panel here.  Saturday Night was the Deadly Disco, so we stopped by to join in on the fun!   So fun seeing everybody in their scary best getting down with some spooky music (once the DJ stopped playing Reggae and realized their audience was there to party down)  Of course, for us, the heart of Midsummer Scream is the Hall of Shadows  It really gets our happy little Halloween hearts ready for 2 months of scary fun
 So much great stuff on display   Clown Town has been added to the list of SCV Haunts!    Some of the lighting in these mini haunts and displays is simply amazing. And they do all of this in about 1 1/2 days.  Until next time Midsummer Screamers! Related Videos
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