{"id":75907,"date":"2023-07-29T17:04:47","date_gmt":"2023-07-30T00:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=75907"},"modified":"2023-07-29T17:05:53","modified_gmt":"2023-07-30T00:05:53","slug":"fright-fans-descend-on-long-beach-for-the-6th-annual-midsummer-scream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/fright-fans-descend-on-long-beach-for-the-6th-annual-midsummer-scream","title":{"rendered":"Fright fans descend on Long Beach for the 6th annual Midsummer Scream"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Amee Flipin, Long Beach\u2019s annual Midsummer Scream gives her that same \u201ccozy\u201d feeling that Halloween did when she was a child.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe creepy things that go bump in the night,\u201d Flipin, a Bluff Heights resident, told the Post. \u201cIt gives you that delicious feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flipin and her husband were among thousands of horror fans who gathered in and around the Long Beach Convention Center on Saturday for the three-day fright fest. Despite the 80-plus degree weather, droves of horror fans came dressed as monsters, creepy clowns, gory freaks, demons, witches and more\u2014much more.<\/p>\n

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Three costumed Midsummer Scream attendees stroll silently toward the Long Beach Convention Center on Saturday, July 29, 2023. Photo By Kat Schuster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Flipin, dressed as a 1950s pinup girl, said she\u2019s been attending the annual Halloween convention since 2016, its inaugural year.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first, it was more of an underground sort of industry-specific thing and it was more word of mouth,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then it blew up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A
A light is cast on Fryboy 101, a member of the Decayed Brigade Southern California Sliders, just before the high-energy performance begins. Photo by Kat Schuster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over the weekend, some 40,000 were expected to attend the horror fest, but its actual attendance came in around 45,000, a spokesperson for Midsummer Scream said on Saturday. It has become one of the biggest Halloween celebrations in Southern California.<\/p>\n

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A strange character with a bag of their head drew ominous messages for guests entering the Long Beach Convention Center for the 2023 Midsummer Scream. Photo by Kat Schuster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The beloved niche celebration returned last year after a two-year COVID-induced hiatus. During the sixth annual event weekend, scare fans indulged in haunted mazes, panels on popular movies such as \u201cSaw,\u201d sneak peaks of other horror events, celebrity meet-and-greets and live performances. On the showroom floor, thousands of vendors offered photo and shopping opportunities.<\/p>\n

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Members of the Decayed Brigade Southern California Sliders perform inside the Hall of Horrors at the 2023 Midsummer Scream. Photo by Kat Schuster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many fans were particularly excited to enter the Hall of Shadows, a large area inside the convention center that was transformed into an immersive horror experience with mazes, haunted houses and performances. If you\u2019ve ever been to Knott\u2019s Scary Farm, this is a mini-version of that Halloween event.<\/p>\n

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Simone Rochelle created a “Gore Candyland” character to suite the 2023 Midsummer Scream theme Ghoulish Games. Photo by Kat Schuster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Just before 1 p.m., hundreds scrambled into the Hall of Shadows to pick a spot to watch the Decayed Brigade Southern California Sliders. Fans delighted in watching the rag-tag group as they skidded across the floor, leaping over each other, mock-fighting and heaving themselves perilously close to one another\u2014in full ghoulish character, of course.<\/p>\n

Since the theme this year is Ghoulish Games, Los Angeles resident Simone Rochelle came dressed as \u201cGore Candyland.\u201d<\/p>\n

For her, Midsummer Scream is really about \u201cseeing everybody\u2019s creativity come to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
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Michael Silva, a Barstow resident who travels to many different horror conventions, strikes a pose. Photo by Kat Schuster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A couple dressed as a pair of mimes. They did not give their names because, well, mimes typically do not speak. Photo by Kat Schuster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Art
Art Barajas and Casey Lara, dressed as demons, said they were excited to explore the many vendors of the annual pre-Halloween celebration. Photo by Kat Schuster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The Decayed Brigade Southern California Sliders position themselves just before fellow sliders leap over them in a high-inensity routine. Photo by Kat Schuster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Vendors at the 2023 Midsummer Scream offered costume accessories such as wigs, masks, hair clips, earrings, wings, flower crowns, fake blood and pretty much any other fantastical item imaginable. Photo by Kat Schuster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some 45,000 horror fans took over the Long Beach Convention Center on Saturday to celebrate their favorite holiday three months early.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":75912,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1140,717],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[9454],"class_list":["post-75907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","tag-long-beach-convention-center","tag-midsummer-scream","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/302"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75907"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75926,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75907\/revisions\/75926"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75907"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=75907"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=75907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}