Midsummer Scream 2022: Panels & Presentations

Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, CA

We're picking up on Midsummer Scream a week after the event to dive into some of the details of the event (and serve as an excuse for me to post more photos from the premiere Halloween and horror convention in Southern California). Today, we're going look further into the panels and presentations that occurred over the Saturday and Sunday that we attended (in no specific or chronological order). From the latest in haunted attraction updates to a heart-warming and wholesome talk with the children and grandchildren of horror icons to Midsummer Scream's first-ever drag show to retrospectives on venerable attractions and documentary previews on a newer one... and more... 2022 Midsummer Scream was chock full of information and entertainment. And while the abundance of activities meant that we couldn’t stay for the entirety of every panel or presentation, we tried to take in as much as we could. So let's get right into things!

Universal Studios Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights Panel

Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood Creative Director John Murdy hosted the Saturday headlining presentation at Midsummer Scream. The HHN presentation has been the marquee event of the weekend at every Midsummer Scream, and this year was no exception. With the Grand Ballroom packed up to standing room only, there were plenty of eyes to see what Mr. Murdy would reveal or discuss for this year's Horror Nights.

Though Murdy entered by himself--with past co-presenter Chris Williams, Art Director for HHN, absent--there were two chairs noticeably set on stage. But rather than a surprise guest, John got the panel started right away with a brand new HHN 2022 maze--er, house--announcement!

John Murdy was once again the star on Saturday afternoon with his Halloween Horror Nights panel.

Scarecrow: The Reaping will be an original, non-IP haunted house based off the identically named house from Halloween Horror Nights 27 in Orlando, back in 2017. Set in the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression, this house will see scarecrows rise up and take their vengeance on those poor remaining souls who have not migrated west in search for a better life.

Right off the bat, a new haunted house announcement for this year’s HHN!

The premise is similar to the Orlando version from five years ago, but this will not be a transplanted clone. Instead, the Orlando plot serves as a jumping off point for Hollywood. The scarecrows will actually join in league with the regular crows of the barren farms, teaming up to harvest human victims to help produce more scarecrows. Murdy teased water effects from outhouses littered along the route (because, of course) and even a rookery where crows will "poop" on the guests below (because, of course of course).

Ah yes, bird poop effects—combining two of HHN’s favorite sensory gags, water effects and smelly scents!

Along the way, guests will meet a variety of scarecrows, from the original types to scarecrows that were formerly human and are in the process of transforming to even a new climactic villain character, the King Crow, who will be waiting for victims at the finale of the maze. This stilt walking scareactor will tower over guests, presenting quite a menacing appearance!

A literal murderer’s row of monsters for Scarecrow: The Reaping. Though to be honest, we’re probably going to either call it The Reopening or The Crowening.

It's great to see HHN Hollywood embracing more original haunted houses instead of relying only on IP mazes. It allows more creativity and originality and frees the designers from being forced to copy iconic scenes as the beats of the house progression. Scarecrow: The Reaping will be located at the Curious George parking structure, which will be accessed by going backstage from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

If that wasn't enough, Murdy also teased an upcoming haunted house--or scare zone--or Terror Tram theme--by telling a Hollywood ghost story about a wealthy oil heiress, Lillian Von Drake, who married a mysterious "drugstore cowboy" with a sketchy past, Maximillian Deville in 1921--much to the chagrin of Lillian's mother, Mildred. Not long after, Maxie opened an opulent hotel in Tinseltown. The hotel was not open for too long when inhabitants of the hotel began dying or being injured in sudden and tragic ways. A pair of maids were found dead--one with her head inside an oven, the other hung in the elevator. Accidents and suicides ensued. The press had a field day with this, calling it a "Hotel of Horrors."

Murdy also teased a Hollywood ghost story as the backstory behind a mystery new attraction.

And then Mildred Von Drake was found dead in her bathtub, electrocuted by a falling radio into the waters. And after that, Lillian herself was killed in a freak fire in her bedroom. Despite Maxie's best attempts to rescue his wife, she perishes. At this point, suspicion on Maxie Deville was quite high, and so an investigation ensued, and he was brought to trial, convicted of murdering Lillian when he had claimed to try to save her, and sentenced to death. After a long line of attempted appeals, Maxie is finally placed in the gas chamber at San Quentin. But just before he is executed, he cries out with sinister malice: "I'll be back!"

What will this become? We’ll have to wait and see!

And with that, Murdy left the teaser on a cliffhanger without actually specifying whether this backstory would be for a new haunted house or scare zone (likely not) or the Terror Tram, or perhaps something else? The accompanying Hollywood Tattler newspaper article indicated that Deville was cremated, but of course, his spirit surely won't be resting in peace...

At this point, the HHN presentation was more than one third over, and there was no indication who the second seat would be for. But that quickly ended after the "Hollywood Ghost Story" teaser when Murdy brought in his special guest, guitarist Slash from Guns N' Roses and composer for multiple HHN mazes--including the Universal Monsters mazes that have been quite successful the past three Horror Nights.

If that wasn’t enough, there was also a special guest! Slash from Guns N’ Roses!

Murdy and Slash went on a trip down memory lane, reminiscing about the soundtracks that the latter had scored, including his first such foray with Clowns 3D back in 2014. It was interesting to listen to Slash's differing inspirations for each maze, with the stories of each influencing a different feel or musical motif.

Then it was time to delve into this year's Universal Monsters house, Legends Collide. This haunted house is appearing at both Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood and Orlando, and Murdy revealed that the two actually function as halves of the same story, with Orlando's version starting off in Egypt and setting the action in motion, while Hollywood's iteration will pick up in London with the three icons of this year's house--Dracula, the Wolfman, and the Mummy--coming together to each try to recover a relic that can break their respective curses. This will also technically mark the first Universal production featuring these three specific characters together.

The deep dive of the presentation went into this year’s Universal Monsters maze, featuring Dracula, the Mummy, and Wolf Man!

The quest to eliminate a curse is what drives the story of the Legends Collide haunted house. There are three "Immortal Curses" that the principal players are afflicted with. Dracula is cursed with being unable to come out in sunlight and feed on more victims during the daytime. The Mummy is cursed with being a slave for all of eternity. And the Wolfman, of course, is cursed with the agony of his lycan transformation and bloodthirst every full moon.

The setting of the house will be the gritty Limehouse District in London. Dracula, Wolfman, and the Mummy will collide and battle amongst themselves to retrieve an artifact that can help them break their curses. As Murdy went through the synopsis, he noted details that fans can expect from this year's house, including a cool amulet of Amun-Ra that the Mummy will wear that keeps him alive and will pulse with his heartbeat through radio-controlled practical lighting effects built into the prop. Dracula's feature also allows the HHN crew to bring back Dracula's wives, who were an integral part of last year's Bride of Frankenstein Lives maze. There was also a debut for the title track that Slash composed for Legends Collide--fresh from HHN music director Stacey Quinealty.

The final portion of the information-packed presentation highlighted 13 Easter eggs that hardcore HHN fans can look for in the maze, from a setting called the "Alucard Building" (Dracula backwards) from the 1943 film, Son of Dracula to an appearance by Dracula's henchman, Renfield, to actual props from The Mummy film to a nod to Slash hidden in a poster at the museum, and more! The elaboration on this year's maze definitely ramped up the excitement and appreciation, similar to what Murdy did for The Bride of Frankenstein Lives last year at Awaken the Spirits. And though the Universal Monsters are most definitely an intellectual property (arguably the first and most famous IP), the maze still brings an original story, and this type of creativity is certainly exciting as the movie-immersion mazes become run through and less and less unique. At the very least, Murdy's presentation showcased all the hard work that goes into the details and execution of a HHN maze. So even though they are incredibly formulaic in terms of scares, the artistry and thought that goes into them is certainly appreciated!

13th Floor Entertainment Group Presentation

In the past, Midsummer Scream has been home to favorite presentations from big name haunts like Knott's Scary Farm, Fright Fest at Six Flags Magic Mountain, and Dark Harbor at the Queen Mary. None of those parties had a presence at this year's Midsummer Scream, but stepping in to do its part to try to fill such large, vacated shoes was 13th Floor Entertainment, which has become quite a Southern California haunt force in its own right. Operating the L.A. Haunted Hayride at Griffith Park and the interactive/immersive theater hit, Delusion, returning to the Phillips Mansion in Pomona this year, 13FEG is adding a new attraction to its SoCal line-up this year in the form of SHAQTOBERFEST, a family-friendly Halloween festival that turns scary after dark, coming this fall to the Queen Mary grounds.

The 13th Floor Entertainment folks had a plethora of news to start off Sunday afternoon.

Delusion creator Jon Braver and sound designer Victor Mathieu, writer and producer Ted Dougherty, and 13th Floor CEO Chris Stafford were present to discuss their triple threat of haunts with moderator Greg Beharrell, best known for his afternoon show on KLOS 95.5fm and also a big Halloween fan in general.

Delusion was up first, as Braver and Mathieu formally introduced the title and theme for this year's production: Valley of Hollows. They also world-premiered the trailer for this year's event to the delighted Midsummer Scream audience. Set in the 1970s--an era that Delusion has never tackled--Valley of Hollows dives into the murky world of cults, placing guests in the roles of "deprogrammers" who try to get cult members out of their organizations. In this case, the cult in question is a society of zealots called The Hollows who have rallied around the enigmatic Esther Phillips twenty years after her disappearance (last year's Delusion attendees remember her as the main character and villain the Reaper's Remorse production), convinced that her macabre dealings in death held the key to eternal life.

The trailer for this year’s all-new Delusion production, Valley of Hollows!

Valley of Hollows provides a great way to reuse the same setting as a previous Delusion as a sequel. The 1970s setting will veer away from the Gothic motifs and inspirations and incorporate the ambiance of psychedelic rock and drug-fueled fever dreams into its story of this twisted following. Delusion will once again thrill guests this September and October, and tickets will sell out fast, the way they always do. Despite an increase in capacity--sending groups in every 10 minutes instead of 15--Valley of Hollows remains a high demand event. Tickets are on sale this Friday, August 12th.

Ted Dougherty was up to bat second and spoke about this year's Los Angeles Haunted Hayride. This year will see three mazes once again, plus the hayride itself. While details on the feature attraction were scarce, Dougherty did confirm the return of the always-popular Trick or Treat maze. Slight tweaks are likely, but the premise of ringing monsters' doorbells and getting a scare and some sweets remains the same. Midnight Mortuary returns also, but with a new subtitle, Evil Earth. Presumably, the maze will retain the same general setting but with some scene adjustments to bring a little bit of freshness over last year's excellent creation. Finally and somewhat surprisingly, last year's new maze, Dead End Diner, is already being replaced by Laughterhouse, a new, clown-filled maze set in the old Midnight Falls slaughterhouse in the outskirts of town. This maze sounds like the inverse of Dead End Diner, showing the food before it gets to the restaurant vs after, only there will be psychotic clowns.

Laughterhouse (get it?) is a brand new maze at the L.A. Haunted Hayride this year.

Ted then began to talk about the Town Square and the characters that form the heart of Midnight Falls, but no sooner did he start to go into detail was he interrupted by the returning mayor of Midnight Falls, the late, great Monte Revolta, who came out onto the stage to rapturous applause. Playing a wise-cracking, semi-fourth wall breaking, quip-slinging role not unlike what The Captain used to do at Dark Harbor Midsummer Scream presentations, Monte announced his return to the L.A. Haunted Hayride and soaked in the cheers of his adoring fans, all while mercilessly ridiculing the 13FEG team on stage. He then departed to laughter and cheers, allowing Dougherty to finish his appreciation of the Midnight Falls cast and characters and features, which will be similar to that of previous years.

Monte Revolta dropped by for a raucous cameo.

Finally, it was on to Chris Stafford to talk about the event that has generated buzz and intrigue around the haunt community, simply because of its seemingly left field arrival. SHAQTOBERFEST will be produced by 13th Floor in conjunction with ABG Entertainment and Lakers superstar himself, Shaquille O'Neal. The conversations for this event have actually stretched back many years, as Shaq has increased his interest and presence in producing live events. Some might know that Shaq has a presence in the electronic dance music scene as DJ Diesel, performing in EDM festivals across the country.

Shaq is also a big Halloween fan, and SHAQTOBERFEST presents an opportunity to add to the rich Southern California market of Halloween attractions but direct the majority of its efforts toward the interestingly underserved family-friendly Halloween market. Despite the wealth of haunts in Southern California, there really aren't a lot of events that are okay to bring children, other than Disneyland and Knott's Spooky Farm and the various pumpkin patches around the region. SHAQTOBERFEST seeks to bridge that gap by bringing live entertainment, trick or treat trails, and food and drink to the Queen Mary grounds this fall.

13FEG also shed some new light on the all new SHAQTOBERFEST event!

Unlike its predecessor of sorts, this new event will not take place aboard the ship at all, as the conditions on the famed vessel are too fragile to allow such a production. Instead, it will be hosted around the parking lot and village area just outside the Queen Mary, occupying that portion with six themed zones and three treat trails. During the daytime, these are perfectly fun and innocuous. At night, however, around 8:00, they will turn into haunted trails with monsters and frights. However, Stafford was quick to mention that the scary components of the event will all be voluntary and separate, so that guests won't be in a position to be accidentally scared. This translates to no scare zones, restricting monsters to only the haunted trails. But the Halloween legacy of Long Beach is promised to be maintained in those specific scary areas.

A look at the themed areas for the even this year and their relative locations.

Instead, SHAQTOBERFEST is more about having fun, as the special message to Midsummer Scream recorded by Big Diesel himself portrayed. Shaq has been an active participant in the design and planning, and concept art like Shaq shooting free throws but with jack-o-lanterns or the reveal of Castle Shaqenstein highlight the humor and joy that this event is intending to provide. It's about the revelry of Halloween, not just the intense scares, and while there are still additional details to come, the 13th Floor presentation definitely generated some excitement for this new and definitely intriguing event! Just know that if there is no Shaqula present, we will riot.

Reign of Terror: 10 Years Retrospective

In the Theatre Macabre, Bruce Stanton discussed his personal history of haunting and how he turned that passion into the most sprawling, detailed, and still-intimate haunted attraction in all of Southern California. Reign of Terror may be located all the way in Thousand Oaks, but it attracts thousands each fall (and in the spring for its annual fundraiser event) to experience a 20-30 minute haunted house that seems to never end. Bruce first started haunting as a child, and over the years, he has built and tinkered with his craft to result in masterpiece guests find at the Janss Marketplace today. Reign of Terror actually gets the majority of its ticket purchases from guests in Los Angeles, not Ventura County, and all of it is a testament to the hardwork that Bruce and his team put into refining and expanding the haunt every year. It certainly also helps to be able to leave everything in place rather than construct and deconstruct every fall!

Bruce Stanton recounted a decade of scares at Reign of Terror.

The man is a wealth of knowledge and personal stories on excellent haunting!

30 Years of Zombie Joe's Underground Theatre

On Sunday, the Theatre Macabre was also home to another retrospective to a beloved Southern California haunt institution--Zombie Joe's Underground Theatre, celebrating its THIRTIETH year of thrills this year! For three decades, Zombie Joe's has been enabling creative, entrepreneurial performing artists to lay out their often disturbing, sometimes amusing, and incredibly emotional ideas to the black box stage. Those who have been to one of their performances like Urban Death or Cabaret Macabre are familiar with the mix of risque adult subject matter and horrifyingly demented scenes. But these productions also inspire deep emotions and make their audience feel. The cardinal sin of any theater is to leave an audience feeling nothing, and Zombie Joe's production generate no such effect. In a manner that brings no pretense of agenda, ZJU shows simply cut to the visceral heart and guts of the matter.

The Zombie Joe’s crew also celebrated a look back at their storied history in a panel moderated by our pal, Norm, of Horror Buzz.

The retrospective was fascinating to hear how the process at ZJU often unfolds--with crazy ideas that quickly coalesce into actual production. As a fully independent theater company, Zombie Joe's skips the clerical bureaucracy that might plague the creativity in larger theater houses and simply allows creators to bring their visions to fruition and showcase them in the North Hollywood stage. Over the years, ZJU alumni have gone on to create their own productions elsewhere, and though they used Zombie Joe's as a springboard, many have also returned to ZJU for occasional performances. On our end, we're glad to have been able to experience a small part of that ZJU history and support Zombie Joe's over the past half decade!

This was Norm’s visceral reaction to Zombie Joe trying to get him to appear in one of his lascivious productions!

Spook Show 17: The Reality of the 17th Door Haunt Experience

From looking back to looking forward at a haunt, The 17th Door gave fans an exciting peek at their upcoming reality show, Spook Show 17, coming this fall. Documenting the planning, construction, operations, and stories behind what it takes to create one of the more innovative and infamous haunts around Southern California, Spook Show 17 is a sarcastic yet heartfelt documentary produced by The 17th Door folks to try to capture as authentic an experience as possible.

The 17th Door’s Spook Show 17 presentation was quite a hoot.

Guests who've visited The 17th Door over the years may have noticed camera crews every night and video releases when signing their waivers. All of this was part of producing this special, which uses a mix of the infrared cameras placed throughout every room throughout the haunted attraction and a roving video crew capturing monster and guest interaction, backstage shenanigans and events, and the mountain of work that goes into setting all of this up.

Over the years, The 17th Door has certainly created an image for itself as a sort of maverick in the haunt community. An extreme haunt that requires guests to sign waivers to enter, it has employed bountiful use of "shock factor" scares involving cockroaches, copious quantities of water, literal electrocution (enough for a light but unpleasant sting), and even dead animals. In addition, it has also given its scareactors free reign to be inappropriately joking and less than politically correct. That has garnered a polarized response from haunt fans who either love the sincerity and lack of corporatization or feel that the more extreme components are excessive and unnecessary.

Clips from the upcoming documentary / reality show series were shown.

Spook Show 17 doesn't shy away from The 17th Door's trademark tone, illustrating the set-up of alley near-collision scene with a hilarious animation and wry narration or highlighting the sometimes over-the-top hysterics of a dramatic scareactor. Plus, they had a yeti going around the presentation handing out frozen ice cream sandwiches to guests and middle fingers for the panelists. But it also reconciles the reality of the hard work that the cast and crew put in and the complexity and care that does go into keeping the whole production running smoothly and safely.

Sebastian Munoz, head of Force of Nature Productions, snaps a selfie with the 17th Door yeti!

Suffice to say, Spook Show 17 proved to be one of the more entertaining panels of the weekend, though it was certainly not kid-friendly (mostly on account to language and also some of the mature content from the attraction that was discussed). It did generate a lot of interest in the upcoming reality show, though!

New & Hot Haunts for 2022

Midsummer Scream has served as a grandstand for the lesser known haunts around Southern California in the past, be they independent pro haunts or elaborate home haunts, and this was again the case on Sunday when four new or emerging haunted attractions got to present their plans for the 2022 season in a panel moderated by Midsummer Scream Creative Director, Rick West.

Some independent haunts were on the docket in the Second Stage.

First up, Kris Golojuch of Scareventures showcased his involvement with Alesmith Brewing Company in San Diego. Returning this year starting October 14th, this combination walk-through maze and excuse to drink beer (after the maze) will make guests pee themselves in fear before offering them booze to replenish said self-dehydration. The event had a successful run last year and will be bigger and better this year, with Scareventure's trademark excellent theming and intense cast of monsters (including who Kris called the best chainsaw monster in the country). Guests can also observe the scares while imbibing their favorite Alesmith beer from a viewing gallery into a pivotal part of the maze! To cap off the Scareventures portion, Kris also gave a touching shout-out to his wife, Beth, who manages the regular operations and coordination for Scareventure and discovered she had breast cancer last year. Fortunately, she has been under treatment and progressing positively, and based on the support from the audience, it was clear that everyone was on Team BethyBoux (“Bethy Boo”)!

Scareventures will be producing a haunted experience at Alesmith Brewery in San Diego for the second year in a row.

Rix Boker took the mic next to talk about his haunt, Fear Farm. Not to be confused with the larger one produced by 13th Floor Entertainment out in Arizona, this Fear Farm is in Phelan, CA (up by Victorville and Apple Valley). It's actually been around for a little while, but it hasn't gained as much attention due to its more remote location until recently, through its involvement in Midsummer Scream's mini-haunts and more spotlight from the Midsummer Scream crew. Rix is another haunter who has been doing it since a child, and Fear Farm is a spectacular haunt situated on a large desert plot of land featuring three different haunted attractions, including a classic haunted house, a haunted hayride, and whatever their incredible, jungle-themed maze with a ridiculously towering facade is going to be! This is a haunt that we've known about for a little while too, but the location has always been too remote to conveniently fit into our schedule. This might have to finally be the year that changes, though! Fear Farm starts its season on Friday, October 7th this year.

Fear Farm (Phelan) is back again, and they’ve been really amazing guests the past several years!

Afterwards was Castle Dark at Castle Park, now under a new creative team led by Joseph Ancheta, who helped oversee the Haunted Mini-Golf at Speedzone Los Angeles last year. Joseph announced the new attractions coming to this year's Castle Dark event, which will be revamped from previous years. Three mazes will terrify guests across the property: Jinxx’s Funhouse of Terror is the new title of the event's clown maze that guests have known the past few years, but Ancheta promised a 90s vibe perhaps akin to the Knott's Scary Farm Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns aesthetic. Jynxx and Havok will be featured as icons and will be spotted both inside and outside the maze! The House Next Door is a [perhaps slightly belated] ride on the recent 1980s resurgence, placing guests at a retro Halloween party that starts out as fun and dance but becomes creepier and darker the more guests explore. Finally, Morgana's Revenge promises to be the marquee haunted house of Castle Dark. Located by the castle, it brings Merlin's nemesis as the antagonist of the maze who has recruited all the horrific beasts and monsters of medieval lore and unleashed them on guests to dare venture in! All of these, along with new decorations at the entrance, two new scare zones in Medieval and Midway, and a unique interaction between scare zones and mazes that allows monsters of each to flow back and forth between both domains promises new and even better scares at Castle Dark this year! Castle Dark will start its season on Friday, September 23rd.

Castle Dark at Castle Park has a brand new creative team to craft this year’s terrors.

Lastly, Tim Fowler of The Farm Haunt was on hand to talk about a brand new Santa Clarita attraction this year produced by an all-star team of haunters for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Museum. The combined forces of Beware the Dark Realm, The Farm Haunt, and Restless Souls Manor are literally building a ghost town out in the hot, hot SCV heat (where by 1pm, it's time to stop because it's too hot). Located at the Jack Bones Equestrian Center in Castaic, Bones' Gulch (not the apostrophe after the 's,' meaning it's pronounced like "Boneses Gulch," not "Bones Gulch"), this attraction will tell the tale of Peter “Jack” Ossos, a prospector how came out west to seek a fortune but instead found himself possessed by greed, and perhaps some supernatural forces too. It's a haunted Old West setting, and given the caliber of the haunters behind this, we can't wait to see the amazing work they churn out. Bones' Gulch will run Saturdays only starting October 1st.

The Dream Team behind Bones’ Gulch is sweating away in the Castaic heat to bring an all-new and amazing haunted attraction this year!

Tricks 'r Terrors: A History of Halloween in America

The first panel on Saturday saw historians Ted Dougherty and Lisa Morton give a really enlightening talk about the origins and customs of Halloween, from a pagan practice to today's multi-million dollar industry of live events, haunted attractions, themed overlays, and consumer indulgence. Halloween wasn't always the way it is today, of course. What became today's October holiday began as secular rituals and festivals related to harvest and providence that slowly morphed into activities bearing similarity to trick or treating. Folklore and traditions evolved over time, coming to America from Europe and taking on new facets. Halloween in America became a haven for pranks in some places--the tricks in trick or treat--and was even derided as inspiration for the youth nuisances. But over time, more organized traditions appeared.

Historians Ted Dougherty and Lisa Morton gave an informative presentation about all things Halloween and history.

In addition, by the 1970s, an appetite for larger scale Halloween events was emerging, and the most famous, of course, was the emergence of Knott's Scary Farm, also called the Halloween Haunt, as the first theme park haunt. This was an instant hit, and its effects are still felt today in the form of all the different types and scales of haunted attractions that exist in Southern California and across the country. Who knows how the holiday will continue to evolve in the future?

A Curious Conversation with Christine McConnell

Famed artist and culinary creator, Christine McConnell indulged in what was a decidedly curious conversation with Midsummer Scream co-producer, Claire Dunlap. McConnell, a self-trained artist, discussed some of her many fantastical creations, along with the process behind producing each and the inspirations to her creativity. It was fascinating to look into the sometimes perhaps-not-surprisingly manic mind of a talented creator that creates some pretty complex works of the macabre!

Christine and Claire conversated on creepy and crafty creations.

Night of the Living Drag

One of the most flat-out popular attractions of the weekend was Midsummer Scream's first-ever full-on drag show, which took place on Saturday afternoon in the Second Stage. Hosted by Peaches Christ, Night of the Living Drag featured a quintet of drag performances by the likes of Mr. HE, Miss Clair Voyance, Oceana, Natasha Nightmare, and LUXE. Rowdy and debaucherous, this performance filled up the Second Stage with fans of drag, and they were encouraged to hoot and holler and cheer for their favorite performers and donate (via Venmo) tips in drag tradition. After seeing how well this show came off, I'll be shocked if there isn't something like this in next year's Midsummer Scream!

Midsummer Scream’s first drag show was a huge smash success!

The Original Monster Kids

Finally for this update but certainly not last in terms of the order or popularity of panels at Midsummer Scream, there was the Saturday afternoon panel featuring the children and grandchildren of the three most famous Hollywood horror monsters. Moderated by Metallica guitarist and Halloween and horror collector, Kirk Hammett, this panel featured appearances by Sara Karloff, daughter of Boris Karloff; Lynne Legosi Sparks, granddaughter of Bela Lugosi; and Ron Chaney, grandson of Lon Chaney and son of Lon Chaney Jr.

After a raucous welcome for the host and the esteemed guests, Sara Karloff wasted no time embarrassing the quiet-mannered Kirk Hammett by telling everyone in the full Grand Ballroom what a wonderful, kind, soft-spoken, caring person he was--the opposite of the rock star persona many might assume he would have. This left Kirk flustered and almost awkwardly shy in appreciation, but it was an incredibly touching way to start the talk and set the tone for the warm, nostalgic, joyful manner in which the rest of the panel would proceed.

Kirk Hammett was soft-spoken and a far cry from what one would imagine a Metallica rocker would be like. He was also immediately embarrassed with kind words from Sara Karloff.

All three guests reminisced about their memories of their famous relatives, from Lon Chaney dressing up and scaring children on Halloween even long into his older age to Bela Lugosi apparently once greeting trick-or-treaters in full Dracula costume. They spoke to the different paths that each of the legendary Universal monsters actors took to their fame. Boris Karloff had to work his way to fame through a series of small roles and secondary jobs until he broke through as Frankenstein's monster, which later also translated into his other famous role as the mummy Imhotep. In contrast, Bela Lugosi was already well established and famous as a reputed actor in Hungary before coming over to the United States. His older age by the time he made it to America made his role as Dracula more appropriate, and he found further fame portraying the legendary vampire. Lon Chaney was a force of an actor who performed all of the physicality required himself in his famed role as Quasimoto in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and as the fearsome Phantom of the Opera. Lon Chaney, Jr., of course, found fame as the Wolf Man, another member of the Universal monsters pantheon, as well as roles playing the other three classic monster characters. Though he originally wanted to make a name as an actor for his own merits, Creighton Chaney was ultimately encouraged to adopt his father's moniker to satisfy the Hollywood marketing folks.

This panel was a wonderful look back at growing up near the radiance of classic Hollywood monster stardom.

The Original Monster Kids could have gone much longer than its already lengthy hour and a half runtime and barely scratched the surface of the bounty of wonderful stories to be told. It was a truly touching and enjoyable panel that certainly met the high expectations in place when this panel was announced!

That wraps up our in-depth recap of the panels that we attended at Midsummer Scream. There were so many that we were not able to see that we would have wanted to, including the Composers of the Apocalypse panel and the Winchester Mystery House presentation, to name a couple. But that speaks to the overwhelming wealth of content at Midsummer Scream. There are just so many things to see and do and learn. It all makes for a truly fantastic Halloween convention!

Up next will be our coverage of this year's Hall of Shadows at Midsummer Scream!