For Amee Flipin, Long Beach’s annual Midsummer Scream gives her that same “cozy” feeling that Halloween did when she was a child.

“The creepy things that go bump in the night,” Flipin, a Bluff Heights resident, told the Post. “It gives you that delicious feeling.”

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—much more.

Three costumed Midsummer Scream attendees stroll silently toward the Long Beach Convention Center on Saturday, July 29, 2023. Photo By Kat Schuster

Flipin, dressed as a 1950s pinup girl, said she’s been attending the annual Halloween convention since 2016, its inaugural year.

“At first, it was more of an underground sort of industry-specific thing and it was more word of mouth,” she said. “And then it blew up.”

A light is cast on Fryboy 101, a member of the Decayed Brigade Southern California Sliders, just before the high-energy performance begins.
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

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.

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

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 “Saw,” 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.

Members of the Decayed Brigade Southern California Sliders perform inside the Hall of Horrors at the 2023 Midsummer Scream. Photo by Kat Schuster

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’ve ever been to Knott’s Scary Farm, this is a mini-version of that Halloween event.

Simone Rochelle created a “Gore Candyland” character to suite the 2023 Midsummer Scream theme Ghoulish Games. Photo by Kat Schuster

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—in full ghoulish character, of course.

Since the theme this year is Ghoulish Games, Los Angeles resident Simone Rochelle came dressed as “Gore Candyland.”

For her, Midsummer Scream is really about “seeing everybody’s creativity come to life.”

Michael Silva, a Barstow resident who travels to many different horror conventions, strikes a pose. Photo by Kat Schuster
A couple dressed as a pair of mimes. They did not give their names because, well, mimes typically do not speak.
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
Art Barajas and Casey Lara, dressed as demons, said they were excited to explore the many vendors of the annual pre-Halloween celebration.
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
The Decayed Brigade Southern California Sliders position themselves just before fellow sliders leap over them in a high-inensity routine.
The Decayed Brigade Southern California Sliders position themselves just before fellow sliders leap over them in a high-inensity routine. Photo by Kat Schuster
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