MIDSUMMER SCREAM – Califonia

As a haunt lover, I am anxiously awaiting Midsummer Scream in July. So when I received the following press release today I couldn’t wait to share it here on my blog. Here goes…

HALL OF SHADOWS TO FEATURE FULL SCARE ZONE, ROAMING MONSTERS AND 9 HAUNTED ATTRACTION PREVIEWS TO MIDSUMMER SCREAM

Thrills and Chills Await Those Brave Enough to Venture into “Dark Zone” on Show Floor at Long Beach Convention Center

LOS ANGELES, June 17, 2016 – One of the most exciting and unique components of Midsummer Scream – California’s premier Halloween, haunt and horror festival – will be its Hall of Shadows dark zone, featuring roaming monsters, entertainment, and 9 terrifying mini haunted attraction experiences.

Hall of Shadows will occupy more than one third of the Halloween festival’s 90,000 square-foot show floor this year, giving thousands of fans the opportunity to preview home and professional haunts each day, included with their admission to Midsummer Scream. In addition to the haunted attractions, those brave enough to venture into Hall of Shadows will experience a full-blown scare zone, Toxicity, high-energy performances by the Decayed Brigade slider team three times each day, and many terrifying monsters lurking in the fog, waiting to pounce!

FULL SCARE ZONE

Created by Larry Bones and his crew at Bone Yard Effects, Toxicity is an immersive experience set within the walls of a genetics lab that has suffered a toxic explosion that will leave guests screaming as they are attacked by twisted, mutated scientists from all sides. Bone Yard Effects creates the makeup applications and prosthetics each year for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood.

THRILLING SLIDER SHOWS

Three times daily, the Decayed Brigade will perform and entertain guests within the Hall of Shadows as they showcase the art of sliding – a scare tactic that was created some 40 years ago by monsters roaming the streets of Ghost Town at Knott’s Scary Farm. These men and women push their bodies and the laws of gravity to the limit in high-energy demonstrations that leave fans cheering and astounded.

TERRIFYING HAUNTED ATTRACTION PREVIEW EXPERIENCES

Midsummer Scream is excited to present 9 stand-alone mini haunt experiences that allow fans to preview things to come this Halloween season. From home to pro haunts, guests may sample the handiwork of some of Southern California’s hottest haunted attractions throughout the weekend at no extra cost with paid admission to the festival.

Featured at Midsummer Scream 2016 are:

Fear Station: Escape the Windigo – The harvest moon has awoken the Windigo from its slumber, and the creature is hungry for blood. No one is safe from the beast as it hunts its prey in the darkness. Will you escape the season of the Windigo?

Dead Zone 805 – Fight for survival as you enter the zombie-filled post-apocalyptic world where infection and violent gangs threaten you every step of the way!

Savage House – Every family has a secret… Enter the home of the Wytner clan, a family that has lived in the rural countryside, kidnapping tourists passing by for years. Witness the atrocities as they taunt and torture the unsuspecting victims that have ended up in their home.

Perdition Home – Houston, we have a problem! The notion that in outer space, no one can hear you scream simply isn’t true. Venturing into the depths of an ill-fated spacecraft, everyone will hear you cry for mercy when you face the horrors within.

The Fleshyard – Not every home is safe. Madness lingers beyond the threshold of a decrepit old cabin, concealing evil so vile that those who manage to escape will never be the same. The Fleshyard is a bad place. A very, very bad place…

Higgins Manor – You’ve wandered into the most feared place in the Old West: the Higgins & Co. Work Camp. Can you survive the rowdiest, most dangerousest, most horriblest clan of townsfolk this side of Deadwood? Why don’t y’all come take a gander and see fer yerselves?

Spooky Hollows – Follow the trail of a madman through the basin swampland, where he attempted and failed to achieve mortality. Through sick and twisted science experiments, he left a trail of wasted souls in his wake before falling victim to his own worst nightmares.

Scareventures Presents: Sea of Terror – To date, man has explored less than 5% of Earth’s oceans. Perhaps there’s a reason why… Take a terror trip into the depths where undersea creatures lie in wait as you attempt to escape your watery grave. If dead men tell no tales, then where do the stories come from?

Gorlesque: The Haunted Burlesque – Are you “perfect” enough to join the Weltschmerz Society? Come find out and experience a naughty taste of the frights, frills, and frolic that awaits you this Halloween in Los Angeles!

“Hall of Shadows is one aspect of Midsummer Scream that I am most excited about,” said Rick West, Creative Director of Midsummer Scream. “When I think of Halloween, I instantly think of haunted houses; stand-alone attractions as well as home haunts are the very essence of the season. It’s completely thrilling to bring nine very different haunt previews to our guests in an environment that is totally unique to our show. Midsummer Scream’s Hall of Shadows is the closest anyone is going to get to the spirit of Halloween during the summer, and our haunt partners are ready to bring the terror!”

Midsummer Scream features more than 150 vendors and exhibitors, education offerings, make-and-take workshops, world-class panel presentations, live entertainment and incredible experiences throughout the venue, black cat adoptions, and a Saturday night costume party featuring Oingo Boingo Dance Party.

Tickets are now on sale, with new information regarding Midsummer Scream updated frequently at 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.

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.

COLORADO ESCAPE ROOM LIST

Below is a list of the Escape Rooms I’ve played roughly in order of MY favorite to least favorite by city. Note: I especially enjoy horror, paranormal & magic themed escape rooms and recently realized I don’t enjoy physical puzzles like moving furniture or fishing for keys very much, so my preferences may be different than yours. Feel free to tweet me questions.

DENVER

Denver Escape Room: Pipeworks (now called Puzzle Effect)

Epic Escape Game: Conspiracy Theory

Conundrum Escape Rooms: Mystic Chamber

EscapeWorks Denver: Egyptian Tomb

R.I.P. these games are no longer around

Epic Escape Game: Pikes Peak or Bust: Colorado’s Gold Rush

Epic Escape Game: The Grand Theatre Presents: The Mustache Thief

Epic Escape Game: Dorm of the Dead (original)

Epic Escape Game: Sweet Dreams

Q The Live Escape Experience: The Asylum

Puzzah! Kazam!

Puzzah! Tick Tock

EscapeWorks Denver: The Big Game

INTERVIEW – Natalie Lapidus of Maze Rooms – ESCAPE ROOM

Please introduce yourself.

My name is Natalie Lapidus and my husband Ruslan Balashov and I are the owners/managers of Maze Rooms.

Q: Why did you decide to get involved in the escape room industry?

A: At first we were enthusiasts. I personally have played over 60 escape room games. We moved here from Russia (where the escape room market is more developed than here) to make our dream come true and open our own escape room company. When we opened, we were one of the first companies in the LA market. I love the concept of escape rooms, it is a great way to spend quality time with your family, friends or co-workers, especially in today’s world where everyone is so into their smartphones chatting!
I also love to see how people change during one hour in the room. Usually the most skeptical person will have more fun than anyone else in a room.

Q: What makes your rooms unique?

A: We decided to choose the European model of escape room: private rooms, limited number of players (up to 6). Also we put a lot of effort into implementing different technologies in each room. We are trying our best not to do the same puzzles in our rooms, so each room is really unique and different from one another.

Q: What do you think is the most important part of an escape room design?

A: I think everything all components are important from the story to the game master who runs the experience is important , but mostly I love cool gadgets and creative ways of implementing them, of course they should match the story line.

Q: Please share with us a fun story that has happened with your company.

A: We have a lot of funny stories! My favorite story is how within an hour you can turn from friends to “enemies”. We once had two couples playing in our Castle room and in the middle of the game they started to fight, so they ended up shouting at each other and didn’t complete the game. So next game just one couple played and we asked them where their friends are. They were jokingly saying that they are not friends anymore.
Although, they did play mostly all our rooms and never came back to us with the couple they argued with. I hope they can work it out!

Q: What advice do you have for players?

A: Don’t forget it is just a game, so just enjoyed your time in the room and have fun with your teammates. Remember it’s not always about winning either! If you forget about the game and just focus on the clues around you, it will be easier to escape.about win!

LiveEscapeRoomReviews.com reviews: Lunar Station * Pirate Bay * Secret Mission