This weekend Midsummer Scream descends on Long Beach, and the line-up is a can’t miss for Halloween fans in the Southland. From a retrospective on Delusion to design tips from the guys behind The Nest, the convention is all-in on the immersive aspects of the holiday.

Here’s our original article from a month ago, and note: our panel is at 4:30PM on the Panel Stage.

Halloween is a year-round thing in Southern California, but the season trully kicks off in the summer. That’s when the haunts start to pull themselves from their months-long torpor.

This year the kickoff of the season is the last weekend of July, when Midsummer Scream takes over the Long Beach Convention Center. Tickets are on sale now, and if you’re clever you miiiiight just be able to find a discount code from one of the NOPRO social media accounts that gets 30% off the ticket price.

Why’s that?

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Well, the devil is in the details. But let’s talk about Immersive Sunday, which the founders of Midsummer Scream have laid out thusly:

  • Trials and Tribulations: The Delusion Retrospective: Delusion is a ground breaking Halloween event that blurs the line between haunted attraction and live theatre. This 90-minute presentation chronicles Delusion’s history and future, and how its being adapted into a VR series from Skybound Entertainment.
  • Designing Immersive Environments: Scout Expedition, the team behind “The Nest”, will teach about the design process of immersive attractions and events, from research, to writing, to concept art, to production.
  • How to Start Your Own Escape Room: The experienced team from Crossroads Escape Games gives a crash course on the business of starting your own escape room from permitting through creating elaborate rooms guests will love.
  • Wicked Lit: The masters of adapting vintage horror literature into walking theatrical productions gives a sample of their brand of terror with a selection of staged readings.

And then there’s this:

Look at this weirdo. What an egoist.

Whoever the hell that guy is.

The good news is that Zombie Joe (ZJU Theater), Anna Mavormati (Shine On Collective), Jonathan Josephson (Wicked Lit) and Landon Zakheim (The Overlook Fest) are scheduled to be the guests on that panel so we don’t have to deal with this “Nelson” character for long.

So if your tastes run on the spookier side of things, Sunday July 30th is a can’t-miss day of immersive goodies.