By Charly SHELTON

After missing out on almost all the traditional Halloween activities last year due to the pandemic, I am jonesing for some fog juice. It seems that absence really does make the heart grow fonder because when Midsummer Scream, the end-of-summer convention to kick off haunt season for fans and haunters alike, was canceled last year it left a vacuum where Halloween spirit should have been. But that potential energy from last year was combined with a fresh wave of excitement that was unleashed when Midsummer Scream presented Awaken the Spirits, a convention held in Pasadena this past weekend. This smaller version of the quintessential haunt convention featured panels from some of the largest haunted house producers in the LA – namely Universal Studios Hollywood, Six Flags, Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor and Knott’s Berry Farm – who were excited to announce the remainder of their slate of coming attractions for this year’s return to haunting.

But beyond that it was just a wonderful experience to be with a room full of adults who were giddy as children to let their spooky side out after missing a Halloween season. We’ve all been through some real scary times, so having these make-believe scares seems almost cathartic. Not surprising, demon doctors and haunted hospitals were scarce as I think they hit too close to home right now and many haunters shied away from that theme. But seeing the creepy scarecrows, the 20-foot tall Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from “Ghostbusters,” and even a very miniature teaser walkthrough haunt for an upcoming Halloween Horror Nights maze at Universal Studios Hollywood brought back those old feelings of haunt-related-terror-fun.

And the fog juice. Nothing sets the mood like that wholly unique smell of fog juice coming from a fog machine. That’s what gets me ready for Halloween. Thanks to the con for Awakening the Spirit of the season within me.