This past weekend I attended Midsummer Scream’s Awaken the Spirits at The Pasadena Convention Center. Having missed out on Halloween season last year, I was ready to reawaken the Halloween Spirit inside of me, and this convention did just that. Featuring over 200 spooky vendors and some of the best haunt attractions in California, it was enough to whet my spooky appetite and get me geared up for the haunt season.
When you first walk into the convention, you are greeted by four giant black cat inflatables and a Midsummer Scream backdrop perfect for selfies and photos. There were quite a few fun photo opportunities throughout the vendor floor as well. My favorite of the fun photo setups was the Mystic Museums’ recreation of the bathroom scene from The Shining. You could either be Jack Torrance or Wendy Torrance and make the photo complete they had a prop ax.
The Los Angeles Haunted Hayride had a creepy display that made an excellent photo backdrop featuring a giant skeleton trying to break through a large piece of concrete. The Ghostbuster’s display by ECTOXO was a fun addition; seeing the Ecto 1 all lit up made my ghost-busting heart happy! A large Stay Puft Man loomed between the two cars and was just as adorable as he was menacing.
The Southland Ghostbusters had several screen-used props, which was a delight to see, and you could even be tested to see if you had psychic abilities. After my five failed attempts to predict what was on the card, I was determined not psychic. I saw several very creative costumes, such as an Oogie Boogie and Leatherface mashup, the pig-faced doctor and nurse from the Twilight Zone, and a mashup of Deadpool and Freddy Krueger in drag, just to name a few.
Scattered throughout were haunt actors that were fun and interactive. My favorite was Castle Dark, where I was put in the stockade and declared evil in front of a crowd of people. Halloween Horror Nights had a fun mini haunt set up with a great jump scare that made my heart skip a beat. Art’s Sideshow had a fantastic setup featuring all sorts of creeptastic famous puppets and a Beetlejuice display. Froggy’s Fog Fobble machine brought joy to the masses. Crowds formed and watched in amazement as the bubbles shot out of the machine and then drifted down and burst into a fog. The LVCRFT lounge was an excellent place to get away from the crowds and recharge. It had its’ own bar and featured some fun movie projections on the walls.
The central panel room was a sight to behold; it was made to look like a cemetery with a pumpkin head-like character as the main focal point. The panels featured some of the top haunts in California, such as The Winchester Mystery House, LA Haunted Hayride and Delusion, The Twirly Talkie Show with Barry interviewed Mr He about their home haunt and new album dropping.
The VIP line wrapped around the building waiting to get into the Universal Horror Night’s panel to hear the long-awaited announcement of the theme of this year’s maze, and they did not disappoint. The crowd stared at the screen in awe as the announcement was made that it would be “Bride of Frankenstein.” The imagery shown was incredible and breathtaking; it definitely is going to be one for the books. The panel for Resident Evil: The Village was by far my favorite one. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the actresses recount what it was like doing motion capture for the video game. It was the most engaging of the panels and made me want to play the game. Overall it was a fun, horror-filled weekend and a great start to the Halloween Season. True to its’ name, it awakened the spirits.
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2023 Halloween Horror Nights Guide (Universal Studios Florida)
