Midsummer Scream Halloween Festival, the West Coast’s premier Halloween, haunt, and horror convention returns July 29-30 to the Long Beach Convention Center for a weekend of world-class thrills and chills. One of the stand-out components of Midsummer Scream’s impressive array of entertainment is the Hall of Shadows – a large portion of the convention’s show floor that is shrouded in darkness and filled with billowing fog, and roaming monsters on an unprecedented scale. For 2017, the Hall of Shadows will feature 14 highly-themed “mini haunts” representing professional and home-made attractions that fans can look forward to visiting this Halloween season here in Southern California.
“Hall of Shadows is a substantial component of Midsummer Scream,” says the convention’s Creative Director, Rick West. “Last year, we featured 9 mini haunts within the Hall; this year, we are upping the count to 14. We are thrilled with the diversity of participating groups this year, from extremely popular pro haunts, to some of the greatest home haunts in existence. Add the awesome spectacle of the Decayed Brigade slider team into the mix, and you’ll find that we have a Hall of Shadows experience this year that is truly epic. Hall of Shadows is a cornerstone of Midsummer Scream, as there is nothing that defines Halloween in America more than haunted houses and lurking monsters. It’s going to be a blast, and all of our participants are raring to go!”
A Unique Challenge
Creating the Hall of Shadows is a unique and exciting challenge. Nowhere has any convention featured such a large “dark zone” with so many haunted attractions for guests to experience. Taking up approximately 1/3 of Midsummer Scream’s 92,000 square-foot show floor, installation of the Hall takes careful planning and coordination well before the doors open to the public. For months, haunters plan their attractions and fabricate them off-site; once it’s “GO time”, each group drives onto the show floor of the Long Beach Convention Center and drops off their haunts in pieces before set-up begins. With 14 attractions being installed at the same time, it’s a virtual ballet of large trucks, haunt build crews, and Midsummer Scream staff members all communicating and working in unison for 48 hours leading up to the opening of the show. Each light above the Hall must be manually turned off once the haunts are installed. To make the area even darker, an extremely large black curtain measuring roughly 325 feet in length (almost the length of a football field) is raised more than 20 feet above the show floor, creating an ominous “wall” between the living and the dead!
Hall of Shadows Entry Façade/Portal
This year’s Hall of Shadows entry portal is being designed and built by CalHauntS (California Haunting Society), a group of talented Halloween enthusiasts responsible for creating some of the most elaborate home haunts anywhere. Sleepy Hollow is the inspiration for this year’s entrance to the Hall of Shadows. Guests will transition from the show floor into the Hall of Shadows as they pass underneath a gothic archway into an eerie cemetery, complete with weathered tombstones and macabre scenic elements.
14 Haunted Attraction Experiences in 2017
For 2017, Midsummer Scream offers guests 14 haunted attractions, each measuring roughly 20’ x 20’. All attractions within the Hall of Shadows is included with a Midsummer Scream day or weekend pass. Guests with Front of Line passes to Midsummer Scream will find express queues at each attraction within Hall of Shadows, expediting their wait times.
2017 Hall of Shadows lineup:
Dead Zone 805
You are part of a special crime unit sent to investigate the work shed of a suspected killer. Once inside, you discover much more than you ever could have imagined! You think you’ve seen it all? Think again.
- Gorlesque presents: Peep Show
The twisted minds behind The Weltschmerz Society return to Midsummer Scream with “GORLESQUE presents: PEEP SHOW” – a bizarre showcase featuring the kind of lovelies Dr. Weltschmerz obsessed over. Because of the event’s multiple options for each presentation, guests are encouraged to return again and again to see them all!
- Gothic Hills
Legend tells of an old crypt, hidden away from the rest of the Gothic Hills Cemetery, that holds the remains of Julius Fitzroy, a once powerful and temperamental tycoon whose soul was cursed to be trapped for the rest of eternity inside a crystal skull. Adventurers who disappear into the undergrowth of the cemetery in search of the tomb are never heard from again! In 2017, join us as we go way back and see where it all started on the night Julius died, and how his soul was trapped in the skull by his spurned mistress, Winifred!
Higgins Manor
The walls of the Higgins estate have grown cold and silent since the disappearance of William P. Higgins III. But evil still resides inside his crumbling manor. There’s a suspected traitor… and his vicious henchmen are looking for answers.
- Hyde Street Massacre
The Hyde Street Massacre Haunted House is what your worst nightmares are made of. Go ahead and take a step through the doors of this nightmare-induced fright house… The only question is, will you survive the massacre? You’ll quickly realize the challenge you have accepted may be your last. You will then be lost within the haunting walls of Otis Hatcher’s killing chambers; a man so obsessed with Halloween, he lost his mind and became an infamous serial killer. It was a very bloody night.
- Immersive Parties’ MAC: Mutation Analysis Center
Enter this facility and encounter mutations of the undead. The zombie apocalypse is over, and all that is left are the experimental test subjects that now occupy this bizarre Mutation Analysis Center. Do you dare enter?
Mable’s 6 Feet Under
Motel 6 Feet Under “Scream Tests” are happening in the Hall of Shadows… Except this year, our little Mable will be waiting for you! Yes, it’s true – Mable has taken over the motel. And she is ready to squeeze the life out of the party. It’s Mable’s Motel now. Check in. Then get lost.
- Nightmare Productions presents The Gate
The Gate is a place of unimaginable horror. Rumored to be a sacred place – a portal between the living and the dead. It is said to have existed since the beginning of time; a dark, brooding place inhabited by the damned and those simply lost along their spiritual journeys. Mortals that venture into The Gate never return. The hellmouth stands open and waiting, its temptation too great for the foolish…
- Opechee Haunt’s Apparition Adventure: Terror Twins
Follow in the footsteps of the Specter Inspectors paranormal investigation team as you venture through the historically haunted Edwards Family Home. There are many secrets in this house; some are meant to be left undiscovered…
Phobia Productions presents: Grimm’s Hallow
Just when you thought it was safe to read old fairy tales… Come face the fears of the Old World. Monsters, nightmares, and childhood fears wait around every corner. Heed what the storyteller says, or you may never return from Grimm’s Hallow!
- Pumkin Jack’s Haunted House
Are you afraid of the dark? Beware of what lurks in the mist of Pumkin Jack’s; you may just find yourself face-to-face with your nightmares. The family that lives there – they can be deceiving, luring you to your final moments of life. You have been warned!
- The Fleshyard
It is the year 2320. Welcome aboard the USS Abyssma! As security detail for the Nexus Science Research Station located on Kepler Prime, your journey through interstellar space starts now. Using the Alcubierre warp drive, your trip will take approximately 9 months. 24th century world-class amenities await you, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight!
The Haunted Rose presents: The Maritime Horror
The Haunted Rose presents another chapter of H.P. Lovecraft-inspired horror. Enter the seaport village of Innsmouth, where something sinister is lurking beyond the shadows. Discover the long-kept secret of the Marsh family, and see if you can escape its lure.
- Unhallowed presents: The Last of Man
Gain access to an abandoned facility that once was home to a government project known as “The Last of Man”. It is believed that an airborne virus is still trapped inside…
World-Class Slider Exhibitions
Returning to the Hall of Shadows for their second year is the Decayed Brigade slider team of Southern California. Several times each day, the Brigade will take to their designated “runway” in the middle of the Hall and perform breathtaking feats of strength and agility as they run, slide, jump, and launch themselves through the air with absolute precision.
The Hall of Shadows will be open Saturday and Sunday, July 29 and 30, during show hours. It is not intended for small children; it is recommended that only guests age 13 years and older venture into the Hall itself. Each haunt will be closed periodically throughout the day for necessary crew breaks.
Tickets are now on sale! Visit MidsummerScream.org
Fans may sign up on the site for email notifications and announcements, including discounts and other special offers. Be sure to follow Midsummer Scream on social media as well – Twitter/Periscope: @MidsummerScream, Instagram: @MidsummerScream, and Facebook: facebook.com/midsummerscream. Please use #MidsummerScream to tag all social media posts regarding Midsummer Scream 2017. Halloween – It’s not just a season… it’s a lifestyle!
About Midsummer Scream Halloween Festival
Midsummer Scream is a large-scale summer festival celebrating the spirit of Halloween, haunts and horror, drawing thousands of guests to Southern California for a weekend of thrills and chills. Featuring a massive show floor of vendors and exhibitors, haunted attractions and experiences, live entertainment and world-class panel presentations, Midsummer Scream is the West Coast’s premier Halloween/horror event, offering something for fans of all ages. More information can be found at MidsummerScream.org.
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