For those of us in the Southern California area, Midsummer Scream kicks off the Halloween season. All the biggest and best Halloween events were in attendance, including horror movie actors, icons, shopping, The Hall of Shadows, panels, and so much more. The event this year featured massive panels from Knott’s Scary Farm, Six Flags Fright Fest, Dark Harbor, Thirteenth Floor, Winchester Mystery House, and Halloween Horror Nights.

The Hall of Shadows, which is basically a preview of other local area haunts that put on mini haunts, was magnificent for another year. This time around, Lionsgate got in on the action with Gears of Fear, a showcase of their various horror properties like Saw, My Bloody Valentine, and The Strangers. This particular maze was basically the same type of thing that you’d see at Halloween Horror Nights or other theme park haunts. It was high quality, had some really good scares, and showed off all their various horror properties really well. I enjoyed it so much that I went through it four times just to experience everything. Also, seeing the Miner from My Bloody Valentine was a treat.

Midsummer Scream 2024

Midsummer Scream was expecting record numbers of attendees this year and they were spot on. There was a massive amount of people shuffling through the Long Beach Convention Center over the course of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Saturday was the heaviest day with the showfloor and panels looking like they were at maximum capacity. If you had a Gold Bat pass, it didn’t seem like an issue getting into panels of any kind. The only panel that was truly completely full was Halloween Horror Nights at the very end of Sunday.

The show floor was populated with plenty of different kinds of booths offering everything from books, movies, shirts, candles, cakes, coffee (shout out to Horror Vibes Coffee; their booth looked packed all day, every day of the convention), magazines (shoutout to the Fangoria booth as well), and anything else you can think of under the horror night sky. It was heaven (or hell) for anyone who loves these kinds of conventions. Even the theme park haunts got in on the fun with booths devoted to showing off what they’re doing for the Halloween season in 2024. Outside of the hall were food trucks that were equally as busy, but they kept people fed all weekend long.

As for the panels, the weakest one was Knott’s Scary Farm. They didn’t announce anything new, and it was really all about the last year, and not the upcoming year. They even went as far as announcing that they have an event coming up in August to show off their 2024 slate. It was disappointing, considering they had an energetic and awesome panel last year for their 50th anniversary. The other main Halloween haunts, Thirteenth Floor (LA Haunted Hayride, Dark Harbor, Delusion, Magic of the Jack O’Lanterns), Halloween Horror Nights, Fright Fest, and Winchester Mystery House, all had exceptional panels that showed off what guests could expect. I was particularly struck by the Winchester Mystery House and the storyline they have planned for 2024.

Finally, for those looking for a bit of nightlife, they had it with the Saturday party; this time themed after Beetlejuice, The Party For The Recently Deceased. They had a movie screening of For Sale By Exorcist from some of the filmmakers behind WNUF Halloween Special. They also had a costume contest and a dance party with drinks in the main ballroom. It was a nice way for guests to unwind after a long day of the convention.

If you’re in the mood to kick off the Halloween season, Midsummer Scream is the absolute best way. There’s something for every horror fan at the convention. Here’s hoping that next year’s event is even better (and also not the same weekend as San Diego Comic-Con), it’ll be held at the Long Beach Convention Center from August 15th-17th, 2025.

For more on Halloween, make sure to check back to That Hashtag Show.

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