Halloween arrives early at ScareLA, the only summer Halloween event in Pasadena, CA.

For most people, summer calls to mind beach days and the Fourth of July, but at the Pasadena Convention Center, Halloween fans traded in their bathing suits for costumes and spent the weekend of August 8 and 9 getting a jump start on the Halloween season . This convention, while only three years old, featured over 200 vendors showcasing some of their best Halloween merchandise. At these booths attendees could find giant puppets from VFX that seemed to attack the person holding them, gruesome cupcakes featuring chocolate pretzel fingers and candy “glass” shards as toppings, detailed masks , and various Halloween decorations. Among the booths were  makeup areas where onlookers could watch makeup artists transform their human subjects into horrifying monsters.  Other booths included  new virtual reality haunts, and an area where the Decayed Brigade sliders performed stunts to showcase the art of sliding on hands and knees.

For those who just couldn’t wait for October to experience the thrill of a professional haunt, ScareLA also featured excerpts of local LA haunts. These six mini haunts consisted of a few rooms each and gave attendees the chance to experience some of the haunts that are going to appear this Halloween season. For fans who like to be scared by the big screen, independent horror films were shown throughout the event in the screening room. Those who opted to pay for the Scare student passes  were able to sign up for the classes offered at the event, which ranged from learning to make costumes and foam latex prosthetics to tutorials on how to use lighting and sound effects to terrify your neighbors at your own haunted house. All those in attendance were also able to attend the panels that were held throughout the day on the main stage. These included panels that featured the largest haunts in the area; the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights, Knott’s Scary Farm and Magic Mountain Fright Fest, and revealed what was in store for them in the coming season.

ScareLA is one of the most unique events of the summer and a must for Halloween-lovers. It’s the perfect opportunity to get ideas for how to decorate your house, it provides fun activities for children and adults alike and offers a chance for fans of  professional haunts to learn more about what goes into creating the perfect haunt . You can even  go alone and still have a great time, especially since new  this year was Serial Killer Speed Dating, an event where singles could speed date with the twist of a “serial killer” being in the midst of the dating pool. Also new for this year was the Bloody Ballroom, a Halloween party that took place after the speed dating ended,  and which featured live music and a costume contest.

ScareLA is the perfect summer event for those who can’t wait for Halloween.