Halloween

Midsummer Scream Conjures an Eerie Online Telethon

"There in Spirit," the mega Halloween expo's virtual fundraiser, will help various organizations as they help people during the pandemic.

Ezio Giulio Landi

What to Know

  • Saturday, Aug. 1 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Donations help a trio of organizations ($5 and up)
  • Horror films, attractions, real-world locations, yard haunt tips

So you say you've seen a lot of horror films and scary flicks and stomach-flipping films in your day, or, er, night rather?

Then you know that some of the toe-curling-est sights and spookiest scenes in the film occur when monsters flicker onto a character's screen.

One minute our hero is watching something happy and the next? A ghost is stepping through the hero's television or computer and materializing in their den.

That may not happen during the not-too-terrifying telethon set for Saturday, Aug. 1, but you can count on a host of Halloween-y themes and dreams (or nightmares) to fill your own screen.

For Midsummer Scream, the huge Halloween convention that was previously prepared to haunt the Long Beach Convention Center from July 31-Aug. 2 prior to the pandemic, is taking its merry terrors online, all to help several good causes.

The "There in Spirit" event is a fundraiser for United Way's Pandemic Fund, the Angeleno Campaign, and the Actor's Fund. TEA@USC is Midsummer Scream's partner on the big-hearted bash.

You can donate at a number of levels, starting at five bucks.

As is tradition with classic telethons, "There in Spirit" will be a "daylong" to-do, covering all sorts of shriek-inspiring bases, from "your favorite Halloween attractions and films" (creators will make eerie appearances, oh eek) to those real-world places that have prompted creators to create truly creepy tales.

And if you're seeking to polish your yard haunt? There'll be pros on hand, ready to give tombstone-themed tips and apparition-imaginative inspiration.

Aug. 1 will be notably toasty outside, and not at all like a chilly fall evening.

Your best bet, fright fans? Stay indoors, point the table fan directly at the computer desk, warm up a mug of apple cider, and check in with some of Southern California's celebrated screamies as they stir up that atmospheric, autumn's-still-coming energy, all while lending a hand during this time.

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