Midsummer Scream and The Queen Mary Dark Harbor

Excuse these Ramblings of a Maker... Today I talk about Midsummer Scream, a convention for horror lovers and prop makers.

Hello World! What have you been doing these post(?)-pandemic days? Now that we are allowed to go out and we have the freedom of Summer breaks, well... - Midsummer Scream!

But first I want to reminisce about my most-visited horror event, the Queen Mary's Dark Harbor.

Queen Mary's Dark Harbor

It's no secret that I love the Queen Mary.

Over the many years that I visited this local Long Beach amusement and its Dark Harbor attraction, I became very familiar with a cast of characters unique to Long Beach, and to the Queen Mary. There was the Ringmaster, Gayle and the Captain, and Scary Mary, a little girl with a teddy bear. I believe that she was flushed out to sea with the pool water during the change of water from first class swimmers to second class swimmers. (hm. makes me think that the pool must have been filled with salt water)

At the Queen Mary's Dark Harbor, there were several mazes and even secret bars that you could enter, each one designed to a theme. The themes differed from maze to maze and year to year.

I would like to share with you that I am a scaredy-cat. I scream in horror houses and mazes. I'm the one that needs to hold a friendly hand, and I NEVER want to be the last person crawling through a dark tunnel.

Still, there is something about horror and haunted houses that makes us want to go.

I am nostalgic about Dark Harbor, because I'm not sure that it will ever happen again - in any form. To some it may have been just another haunted house - another horror event. But I got to witness the casting call. I got to consider the wide variety of folks who were employed at the event. Actors, prop makers, set designers, circus performers were joined by ticket takers, meal service, bartenders. I'm sure there were many who stayed at our little hotel. I bought a Time Magazine that featured the top 10 haunted places. The Queen Mary was on it.

For a few months, it was like our little Disneyland, Universal Studios or Knotts Berry Farm. There were other events, at Christmas, New Years' and on Independence Day.

I have created a playlist on the Squigglefriends YouTube channel and selected a few Dark Harbor videos for you to see.

I'm particularly interested in amusement zones, because I'm interested in how people play and using it as a motivator to new learning.

Which brings me to The Historic Long Beach Pike, and other amusements zones just like it.

The Historic Long Beach Pike

The Long Beach Pike was the first amusement zone on the West Coast. It was opened officially on July 4, 1902 when the Pacific Electric Red Car also opened. It was the same day as the opening of the historic bathhouse, The Plunge. It was the West Coast version of Coney Island. Those visiting the pike today, will see small reminders of those times, some more obvious than others. There is a bridge over Shoreline Drive, connecting the Pike today to the Aquarium of the Pacific. It is reminiscent of the Cyclone Racer, which also went with the catch-phrase "The World's Greatest Ride". It was a one-of-a-kind roller coaster, which eventually was removed for a number of reasons. One of these was the building of a new ramp to the Queen Mary itself. I have read that it was no longer insurable. I believe this. The stories of 'mishaps' on the Cyclone Racer abound. You see, it was built in the early days of thrill rides, at a time when all the safety considerations had not yet been uncovered. Those mishaps themselves are their own horror stories. (Aside: OMG! I just had an idea, the horror stories of the historic Long Beach Pike! Believe me, there were a few - Elmer McCurdy the outlaw who ended up in the Laff in the Dark ride (until the 1970s!), the gutsy sailor who reached an untimely end as he was beheaded when he tried to go from one car to another, a body found under the old pier.)

To the uninitiated, Rainbow Lagoon is just a name given to body of water near the Hyatt Hotel. That name is an important reminder of the rainbow shaped pier, on which cars could drive. A pier that was often awash as waves splashed over the edge of the pier.

Even the Ferris wheel and the carousel are symbols of that time in 1902 and the decades after it. They are not as historic as the old Looff's carousel - that burned down... wood and grinding metal gears are a recipe for fires. Still, fun to ride.

There are many more reminders, but for now I will move on in my musings.

The THUMS Islands

In the ocean, not too far out, are a number of islands that were built as ways to get oil out of the oil field beneath us. There are 4 of them: Grissom, Freeman, White and Chaffee. As Long Beach makes plans for closing the oil fields, I wonder what will happen to the islands. I won't even go there... today.

Midsummer Scream

If you're looking for someplace COLD to go... for someplace to get your nerves a-tingling... for someplace to let out some frightful screams.... (well, let's be reasonable here...) Midsummer Scream is returning to Long Beach and will be here July 29, 30 and 31!

What I've seen at Midsummer Scream.

Midsummer Scream is a gathering of and for the folks who make things for and put on Horror displays of all sizes. You may not have considered the many people behind the scenes at the Horror Houses and in front of the scenes at horror events.

It's a time for these October folks to have fun, connect, share their skills as they practice for and seek new work in July. Those that make connections with the theme parks and amusements that need their unique skills will be sharing what they do at the Midsummer Scream.

I've seen mini-horror experiences (put a lot of these together, and it's like a mini-park). There have been games, prop making equipment manufacturer, and materials manufacturers. It was there that I was introduced to Reynolds Advanced Materials. I later went to their store in Burbank and dabbled with some silicone based materials (I made fun, friendly, fairy doors). Reynolds makes a number of kits that can be used to to make gashing wounds and horrible masks.

How refreshing it is to be considering wearing masks again! Cosplay masks, that is! I think I've just convinced myself that I must go again this year.

Squigglemom, Trish Tsoiasue is a blogger, writer, vlogger living in Long Beach and creating her own history (as we are all) and the Squigglefriends Media outlets (If the website looks less than mature, it is because we are 'exploring and discovering' the Squigglefriends Media brand). She is exploring the history of the Long Beach Pike, Great Yarmouth in Norwich, England, Coney Island in New York and Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. We are writing stories, making a comic book, learning through doing at the Makersville makerspace in Shoreline Village, and creating videos and blog posts as we learn. You and family are welcome to learn with us. Please view, like, subscribe and share our videos on the Squigglefriends channel! Our projects exist to support lifelong learning for all ages. To support our projects and our inclusive community of creators, or to design sponsored videos with us, please make a donation to the Makersville Services 501c3.