SHAQTOBERFEST to Debut at the Queen Mary

• SHAQTOBERFEST will open in late September at the Long Beach landmark
• Basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal and Thirteenth Floor Entertainment, the creator of the LA Haunted Hayride, are presenting the brand-new event
• Families can enjoy trick-or-treating, "ghoulish" games, and other activities in the afternoon; nighttime will bring out more monsters and eerie aspects

Finding frightful fun for your tots, but nothing that's too terrifying, can be a bit challenging come October.

True, Halloween night offers kids the joy of going door-to-door for candy, but many of the happenings ahead of October's final day have a more adult edge to them, with bigger scares and grown-up thrills.

Basketball Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O'Neal wanted to create a Halloween go-out that rocks a chilling but cheerful vibe, something that children can enjoy alongside their parents.

To make that not-too-dastardly dream a reality, the celebrated athlete and sports analyst is teaming up with Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group, the creative company behind the LA Haunted Hayride, to fashion a new October-awesome tradition.

Sweet: SHAQTOBERFEST will debut in fall 2022, with a home that has plenty of haunted history. It's the Queen Mary, Long Beach's world-famous ocean liner, a place that is said to sport a famous phantom or two or thirty.

Six atmospheric areas will dot the spacious area outside the ship, giving visitors opportunities to play games (yep, they'll be a bit "ghoulish"), spots to snack and sip themed beverages, haunted trails, live entertainment, and, oh yeah, trick-or-treating opportunities.

Good to know? The afternoons at SHAQTOBERFEST will be all about kid-cute trick-or-treating adventures, with family-style experiences ruling the vibrant festival. As the sun sets, eekier figures will roam the haunted trails, and the night will grow ever more chilling.

"Halloween can't come soon enough," said O'Neal. "Thirteenth Floor Entertainment and I have some tricks up our sleeves to make this the most spook-tacular Halloween event ever!"

Other features include narration by Mr. O'Neal, "energetic music and lights" after night falls, and the chance to don those Halloween costumes ahead of Halloween.

"We are beyond thrilled to be partnering with Shaq and ABG Entertainment for a truly unique Halloween experience coming this fall," said Chris Strafford, CEO and Founding Partner of Thirteenth Floor Entertainment.

"SHAQTOBERFEST will be unlike any other Halloween attraction that we have ever produced, and we couldn’t be more excited to be launching it at one of the area's most well-known locations and show our fans what we've created for them."

"Not to mention, we're really excited to be able to produce an event in Long Beach, which has a long-running history of hosting amazing Halloween celebrations."

More information will haunt our Halloween-loving worlds soon, so sign up for "early access" and receive updates about tickets, times, and all the important details as fall grows closer.

Summer is here, which means we are now on the precipice of autumn, when SHAQTOBERFEST will make its Long Beach debut at one of our region's most hallowed and Halloween-y spaces, the Queen Mary.