Midsummer Scream 2019 - Highlights
Every Summer in Long Beach, CA ghosts, ghouls and goblins come out to play at the Long Beach Convention Center. The weekend of August 1st and 2nd Midsummer Scream held their annual horror convention. This is the largest horror convention in California and people come from all over the country to go to it. There are endless things to do at Midsummer Scream from panels and shows to autograph signings and shopping, horror mazes, spooky entertainment and art exhibits. There is even an after party on Saturday nights with a DJ and bar serving all kinds of delicious “boo”zy beverages.
The line to get into the convention center.
I went to this convention with my sister and her and I just bought a Weekend General Admission ticket. It was a hot and humid day in Long Beach with lines that wrapped around the side of the convention center, so I highly recommend bringing sunscreen, an umbrella and water. The line moved pretty fast, so it wasn’t too bad. They let VIP in at 10am and General Admission in at 11am. The first thing we noticed as we walked inside was the scale of this convention center. There were multiple floors and halls to explore and we attempted to do just that.
Meeting Kimberly J Brown
“Marnie” from Halloweentown
In the main vendor hall, we were greeted by monsters and cosplayers. This was my first horror convention, so I kept forgetting that it is perfectly normal to get startled by Michael Myers and Freddy Kreuger varieties popping up from behind you while you’re shopping. If you’re a true horror fan then you will love every second of it. I love horror but also startle easily, so it took me a second to realize where I was. This was not your typical comic book convention. There were a lot of vendors, so much so it was nearly impossible to go down every aisle. They had some really cool stuff like art and other handmade horror items. I ended up meeting a few guests who were there signing autographs and taking photos. Kimberly J. Brown from Disney Channel’s Halloweentown was there and I got to meet her. She was lovely and a huge part of my childhood growing up. I met Chad Lindberg who played Ash on the TV series Supernatural. He was great. I got him to sign a photo of his character sporting the iconic mullet. We took a photo and before I left he decided to sign my Supernatural shirt I was wearing. Across from him was Miko Hughes. A lot of horror fans know him as the baby Gage from the original Pet Sematary movie or the kid from Kindergarten Cop. I told him I loved him in the movie Cops and Robbersons and he seemed surprised that I knew that movie. It’s a Chevy Chase and Jack Palance buddy cop movie. His character played Chase’s son. It’s one of my comfort movies. We took a photo together as well. At some point during the day as a last minute thing I decided to get in line for a photo op with Shane Madej and Ryan Bergara from Buzzfeed Unsolved. I was obsessed with their paranormal show. They are so funny together and the show itself is a nice balance of horror and comedy. When I walked up to them all I could say was “I love you guys” to which Ryan replied, “Aww I love you”. Shane had the perfect response ever which was, “Thank you.” I might have also said that the two of them make me so happy which is true. I could watch them sit in a room while they watch paint dry and it would be the most entertaining thing in the world.
Later that day Harvey Guillen from FX’s show, What We Do in the Shadows announced he was going to be there to sign autographs and meet people. I was elated. That show is amazing and his character Guillermo was/is my favorite. Because this was 2019, the show was popular but didn’t start to gain momentum until probably 2020 and 2021, so not many people were familiar with Harvey at the convention. There wasn’t a line, so I went up to him and told him I loved the show and told him how my friend introduced me to it. He asked me what my favorite episode was and I said all of them, which wasn’t a cop out answer. They have all been pretty great so far. Taika Waititi gets my sense of humor and all of the actors on the show are so good at committing to their characters 100%. I asked when the next season would be coming out and at the time he said 2020, but COVID happened so it didn’t actually come out until 2021. We took a photo together. He is just as lovable in-person as he is on-screen. I’m so happy to see his success grow and blossom.
Attractions Panel
That was enough socializing for this introvert, so my sister and I tried to attend a panel. We saw part of the Attractions panel where John Murdy talked about what’s new and upcoming for Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights. There were also discussions based around Knott’s Scary Farm and Dark Harbor. It was pretty packed inside so we didn’t stay for the entirety of it. Instead, we went back downstairs to see a show. A show that I was tricked into seeing by my sister and my friend who had joined us later that day. I don’t recall the name of the show, but they did a live performance for a group of us in a dimly lit room that involved a lot of theatrics and nudity. They were great performances and I like abstract theater. I just wish I was warned, but maybe it was better that I wasn’t because it made for a very memorable experience. My sister and my friend to this day never let me live it down how shocked my reaction was. Kudos to these performers for literally laying it all out there for us to see. Now that I was wide awake, we headed over into the Hall of Shadows.
The Hall of Shadows is a hall of horror mazes. A lot of which are local haunts advertising their businesses. They let guests be the first to test out their attractions. We did a few of those and they were fun. It definitely puts you in the Halloween mood. In the middle of the hall they will sometimes have shows going on. We saw a Sliders show. Sliders are the characters you see at theme parks or haunts that slide on their knees wearing metal knee pads and metal gloves that spark as they drag them across the ground. This was like a stunt show with multiple sliders sliding over each other and doing tricks. It was like watching figure skating but on their hands and knees. We hung out in the hall for a little while and took some pictures, hit up a few more mazes and then headed back to our hotel room.
Hall of Shadows
Selfie in the Hall of Shadows with my favorite ghouls
Midsummer Scream After Party
Ready to strap on our “boo”gey shoes
Later that night, we attended the Midsummer Scream After Party. It’s a casual party they put on with a DJ that plays classic spooky songs and a full bar. They encouraged everyone to come in costumes, but it wasn’t required. Most of us were just wearing jeans and a t-shirt. It was a low key party and something fun to do to keep the Halloween spirit alive. While this was happening, they were showing a screening of Disney’s The Haunted Mansion in another room with the director, producer and writer of the film. We happened to catch the tail end of the movie and stayed for the Q&A. As much hate as this film gets, seeing the filmmakers watch their movie back and the amount of joy they had rewatching it, really changed my perception of it. Nobody sets out to make a “bad” movie. They even revealed Disney was going to try and remake The Haunted Mansion which was quite the tea spill considering we didn’t hear about this until a few years later when it was publicly announced.
We came, we were afraid, and we partied the night away at Midsummer Scream 2019. Prior to this convention, I had only been to one and had a negative experience there, so this changed my attitude about cons and especially horror cons which have now become my favorite to attend. I’m grateful I got to experience all the good that comes with attending a con like this one rather than the stress and disappointment I’ve had at other cons (who shall not be named). I plan on attending Midsummer Scream 2023 this July and bought the VIP Gold Bat Pass so I’m excited to see what’s new!
