Midsummer Scream 2020 Spooks Up Presale Tickets This Friday

It's baaaaaaaack...the legendary Midsummer Scream Halloween and Horror Convention returns to Long Beach this summer for three whole spooktacular days Friday, July 31st through Sunday, August 2nd, 2020. Pre-sale tickets will be available starting Friday, March 6th and you won't want to miss the killer deals on passes. Check out more info, including this year's theme, special guest announcements, macabre marketplace vendors, eerie entertainment, and so much more, in the official press release below:

All-New LA Haunted Hayride To Be Unveiled at Midsummer Scream

Photo Credit: Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group

Today Midsummer Scream announced a new panel presentation from LA's Haunted Hayride, which is under new management and will be re-imagined into a new experience under the creative direction of Jon Cooke this upcoming Halloween season.

Read more about it in the official press release below:

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man Maze Coming to Halloween Horror Nights 2019

Universal Studios announced another maze for their Halloween Horror Nights events in Hollywood and Orlando, bringing back their iconic Universal Monsters! Hollywood will see a showdown in the new "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" maze, while Orlando will see all of the classic monsters come to life.

I am really excited to hear that Halloween Horror Nights is doing these two Universal Monsters-themed mazes! I am stoked that I'll get to experience Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man at Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood! Check out more details on these two mazes from the official press release below:

Sneak Peek of the I Like Scary Movies Interactive Experience

Want a chance to live in your favorite horror movies like The Shining, Nightmare on Elm Street, Beetlejuice, IT, and The Lost Boys? If you're in LA, you are in luck, as the new art installation called I Like Scary Movies, opens tomorrow, Thursday, April 4th! This time, the horror fans get their very own selfie museum, complete with recreations of some of your favorite scenes, characters, and set pieces from iconic horror films. Take a tunnel down to the sewers to float with Pennywise from IT: Chapter One, get trapped in the Overlook Hotel from The Shining, go down to the boiler room from Nightmare on Elm Street to sit on Freddy's throne and flee with his larger than life glove, head to the Murder Capital of the World to hang in the lair of The Lost Boys, and brush up on your Handbook for the Recently Deceased in the afterlife waiting room of Beetlejuice!

I was invited to get a sneak peek of this exhibit last night and couldn't wait to share my photos with you here as well as my general impressions of the experience. My hope is that it will give you a taste of what to expect from this fun experience, or, if you are unable to attend, hopefully you can live a bit vicariously through these photographs. I'll walk you through the exhibit below:

Halloween Horror Nights Announces Return of Stranger Things Maze

The first official maze announcement for Halloween Horror Nights 2019 has dropped and I'm ecstatic to report it will be a continuation of the Stranger Things maze from last year! Last year the maze took us through season one of the Netflix series, and it was so detailed and fun to walk through! This year, the maze will cover seasons two and three, so I'm excited for a whole new maze experience! Check out the teaser video plus more details from the official press release below:

Vegan Street Fair 2019 This Weekend!

Get your stretchy pants out, because Vegan Street Fair is returning this weekend to North Hollywood with over 150 vendors serving up delicious vegan food and fun vegan products! Join thousands of other vegan and veg-curious foodies this Saturday, March 23rd AND Sunday, March 24th, 2019 to grub down on delicious vegan food and take home some cool vegan products. You'll find both local favorites and exciting new vendors from out of town to try, all located on the streets of NoHo. More info below...

Halloween Club's Spook Show Just 1 Month Away!

For the past few years, horror and Halloween enthusiasts near and far have traveled to meet where all kindred spirits converge, at the "Spook Show", an annual event conjured up by the Halloween Club in La Mirada, California. This is one of my favorite springtime events, especially since we get to celebrate Halloween in April! It's full of incredible vendors, killer deals, costumed attendees, Halloween-themed musical acts and performers, and so much fun! If you want to see some of the fearsome fun I've had there in past years, check out the posts from 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015!

More info on this year's event, coming up next month, below:

6 Spooky Spring Events in SoCal Horror + Halloween Fans Don't Want to Miss

If you have the Halloween blues like I do, you'll be glad to know that this spring promises six spooky events in Southern California for horror and Halloween fans! From a haunted house to oddities and curiosities shows to a horror art installation to a Halloween event to a horror convention, there are plenty of things for fans of the macabre to enjoy this spring while we count down the days to Halloween!

Check out six spooky spring events in Southern California you don't want to miss below:

New Details + Trailer Revealed for Interactive Play "Delusion: The Blue Blade" Returning This Spring

Delusion has been one of my favorite Halloween traditions the past few years - it is an interactive play that changes every year, complete with new plot, new characters, and new locations - you get to play a part and physically move through gorgeously decorated sets and interact with the characters in the story. To get a peek at what the experience is like, check out my review of their 2016 show, His Crimson Queen! The show is always a popular draw and sells out super fast, though they took a break in 2017 to focus on their future plans. This past year they returned with The Blue Blade, which has been extended into spring 2018 with a brand new "director's cut"! Check out more info, as well as a new trailer, for this spring extension of the play below:

Seasons Screamings Dark Holiday Market

Kick off the holiday season with some dark holiday shopping at Season's Screamings, a one-day only pop-up market presented by Midsummer Scream and Sweet! Hollywood, featuring lots of incredible vendors selling unique gifts, a special appearance by Cassandra Peterson (aka Elvira!), Krampus photo-ops, and much more! The event will be held at Sweet! Hollywood at the Hollywood and Highland Shopping Center in Hollywood, California and promises to be a killer event where you can pick up ghoulish gifts for all those on your Creepmas list.

See more details on the event below:

Boney Island Halloween Display

In case you are not familiar with Boney Island, it was a home haunt located in a residential neighborhood in Los Angeles that brought wonder and joy Halloween fans of all ages with its mechanical skeletons and spooky displays. After almost two decades of spreading the spooky spirit and creating a community celebration, the home haunt had to unfortunately shut down due to staggering "safety" fees the city was demanding for traffic and crowd control.

This year, the haunt has been resurrected in Griffith Park right next to the Ghost Train attraction. Former Simpsons producer Rick Polizzi originally built Boney Island for his kids and neighborhood children and through the years it evolved into a massive attraction that drew thousands seeking some Halloween magic. In its new home in Griffith Park, it has more room to spread out and allow fun-loving Halloween fans a chance to enjoy its whimsy.

I never had a chance to visit its old location at Polizzi's residence, so I was heartbroken when I heard it was forced to close. However, when the attraction found a new home at Griffith Park (a Halloween miracle!), I was absolutely delighted that I would finally be able to experience Boney Island. I was given complimentary tickets to visit and share my thoughts on this Halloween attraction. Keep reading below for photos and my review of this Halloween display!

Warner Bros. Horror Made Here 2018

Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood is getting into the Halloween haunt scene with their Horror Made Here event, now in its third year on the Warner Bros.' backlot. I was excited to check it out for the first time this year and was invited to attend their media preview night to give you a sneak peek what to expect (if you follow me on Instagram, you've already seen some behind-the-scenes fun)! This year, the mazes featured include ones based on IT, The Conjuring universe, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Escape from Arkham, and The Exorcist. I was very intrigued to see how Warner Bros. would treat their horror properties and see if it was an event I could come back to year after year for thrills and chills!

Nights of the Jack Lights Up Halloween

There is nothing quite like a jack-o-lantern burning bright on Halloween...especially if it is hundreds of lit jack-o-lanterns expertly carved! This year just north of Los Angeles you'll be able to enjoy the spooky spectacle of Nights of the Jack, where you can wander on a trail and enjoy thousands of jack-o-lanterns, from huge dinosaurs built from pumpkins to pumpkins carved to depict your favorite horror characters!

Nights of the Jack will be held on the grounds of King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas, California and will feature a half mile trail studded with hand-carved and illuminated jack-o-lanterns. Bask in that orange glow that is quintessentially Halloween this season at Nights of the Jack!

More details below...

Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018

Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood is one of my favorite events of the Halloween season! I was really looking forward to this year since we finally got a Trick 'r Treat maze as well as mazes based on Poltergeist, Stranger Things, Halloween 4, Universal Monsters, and more. Below, I will walk you through my night and this year's mazes at Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood, as well as sharing a few photos of the event.

First Look Inside "Stranger Things" Maze at Universal's Halloween Horror Nights

Byers' living room

Today Universal Studios' has unveiled the first look inside the brand new Stranger Things mazes that will be opening at Halloween Horror Nights in Hollywood, Orlando, and Singapore this Halloween season! I'm excited to see how Universal's Halloween Horror Nights has re-created the familiar sets and environments from the hit Netflix series. From the images below, they look great, with so much attention to detail! See below for the official press release, plus photos and video for a sneak peek of the Stranger Things maze!

Full Lineup Announced for Warner Bros. Horror Made Here: A Festival of Frights

This past weekend at Midsummer Scream (check out my coverage HERE and HERE), guests got a glimpse of Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood and their upcoming Halloween event Horror Made Here: A Festival of Frights. The full lineup has been revealed for the event, which takes place on the Warner Bros. backlot and gives guests a peek at many of their their horror properties, including IT, The Conjuring, and many more! Horror Made Here is a special ticketed event, held October 5th-6th, October 12th-14th, October 18th-21st and October 25th-28th, from 7 PM to 1 AM. The event ticket includes access to the festival, the night tour and all mazes - more details on these below. Tickets are on-sale now and you don't want to miss this festival of frights!

Check out the official press release below, which contains details of new mazes and attractions:

Check-In to the Notorious Cecil Hotel in LA - Guest Post on Spooky Little Halloween

The Cecil Hotel in DTLA
[image source]

Last year I shared the 5 Spookiest Haunts in Orange County on Spooky Little Halloween's blog as part of her Travel Tuesday summer series. This series is really neat since it features many different Halloween bloggers sharing haunted locations from all over and it is just in time for summer vacations! I participated again this year, and my contribution to Spooky Little Halloween's Travel Tuesday features another dreadful destination right in the heart of downtown Los Angeles.

This time, I'm inviting you to check into the old Cecil Hotel (which is undergoing renovations and has been re-branded to Stay-on-Main to distance itself from its violent reputation). This historic landmark has a dark history filled with grisly murders, tragic deaths, and macabre mysteries, and is said to be one of the most haunted locations in LA. It has hosted serial killers (yes, plural), been the location of one of LA's most disturbing deaths in recent memory, and the dark halls have even inspired a season of American Horror Story. Check out an excerpt from my article on the Cecil below, then head to Spooky Little Halloween to read the rest of the article:

Oddities Flea Market Coming To LA This September

I have always swooned over pictures and videos of the Oddities Flea Market, a macabre marketplace held several times a year in Brooklyn, New York that features strange and unusual offerings for dark hearts from some amazing artists and vendors. I am ecstatic to share that the Oddities Flea Market is coming to Los Angeles this upcoming autumn!

The Oddities Flea Market will be coming to the Globe Theater on Saturday, September 29th, 2018 where three floors will be filled with purveyors of oddities from medical history ephemera to anatomical curiosities/specimens to taxidermy to home decor to jewelry to dark art and so much more! Find out more below...

Attend A Worldwide Memorial Service For Animals On National Animal Rights Day

Image from NARD's Facebook page

This Sunday, June 3rd, 2018 marks the 8th National Animal Rights Day, an annual day observed across the world on the first Sunday in June to memorialize the billions of animals killed each year. The worldwide event is held in multiple cities, including Los Angeles, and its purpose is to give a voice to all the animals and raise awareness for their rights. This event is powerful, emotional, heartfelt, and inspiring and I highly recommend attending if you can! More info on the event, including the one in LA, is below.

Traditions Holiday Store's Halloween Displays

Traditions is a year-round holiday store located in Canoga Park, California, just north of Los Angeles. They have a fantastic Halloween section featuring vintage-inspired decorations as well as folk art, lighted decor, ornaments, and more! I've known about this store for years now, but had never visited until this past weekend when I made the 1.5 hour drive from Orange County. The store is the middle of an industrial part of town in a large building that houses their showroom as well as a large warehouse (they have an online store - yes, you can order their Halloween goodies from their website!). On the weekend parking was easy (they have a lot in the back or there is street parking) and the store was pretty empty.

About half of the store is devoted to Halloween, the other half is mostly Christmas, with smaller displays for Thanksgiving, Easter, and Independence Day. You should have seen the huge grin on my face when I saw the Halloween section, it was awe-inspiring! Traditions carries mostly vintage replicas or vintage-inspired Halloween items, with many mass-produced Bethany Lowe products. I loved browsing around and just being immersed in the Halloween spirit! Their displays are boo-tiful! You can check out photos of the Halloween decorations in the store below: