Short Film Screening My first ever Texas Frightmare Weekend happened this month and speaking as someone who attends multiple cons per year, this was easily one of the best. The list of guests, specifically the unreal amount of headlining celebrities, pretty much sealed my purchase of a weekend pass a good 8 months prior to the event. My ultimate person to meet was Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead 1&2, Army of Darkness, Ash vs. Evil Dead) having failed to attend any convention where he was making an appearance before this, I already knew what prints I was bringing for him to sign while anxiously imagining what he might say to me. Some other huge appearances for me were Barbara Crampton and Jeffrey Combs from Re-Animator, Tim Curry, Elvira, Robert Englund and Heather Lagenkamp from Nightmare on Elm Street, Sam and Ted Raimi and a ton of Halloween people including Nick Castle. Just the sheer amount of waiting in line paired with the amount of time and money each day ensured it would be impossible to meet them all. I would have to prioritize and inevitably miss out on some of the actors in order to get to others. Such is life at a horror convention. Plus when I got there, I realized other celebrities showed up I wasn't even aware were attending and I just couldn't pass up missing them in that moment. I've learned to strategize horror conventions as much as I can, especially when I didn't opt for VIP tickets or line skip passes. I would have to rely on my cunning wit and power walking skills, which is tough to do among hordes of horror fans all foaming at the mouth to get in the doors.
So here was my gameplan for the weekend with the guest announcements I knew of (admittedly I missed a bunch leading up to the event and re-prioritized as needed):
Friday:
Nick Castle
Barbara Crampton
Jeffrey Combs
Saturday:
Elvira
Bruce Campbell
Sunday:
Let's see how much money I have left
This plan didn't include any merch shopping or unexpected must-haves. Having met Robert Englund previously I knew I would have to miss him this time. Saturday would be devoted to Bruce Campbell. Same with Tim Curry, I knew there wouldn't be enough time. Many of the bigger headliners weren't showing up until Saturday and Friday nights tend to be a little less crowded for that reason. You can really clean up with autographs and shopping early in the weekend. I skipped out on photo-ops as those cost extra and take up a lot of time. Plus i'm just not big into pictures of myself with people. I'd much rather have an autographed print and a little time to interact. Those photo-ops are robotic and head-spinningly fast and what if the pic comes out weird? You're usually out of luck.
So here is how the weekend actually turned out:
Friday:
Nick Castle
Barbara Crampton
Jeffrey Combs
Tom Savini
Saturday:
Elvira
Bruce Campbell
Sunday:
Meg Foster
This was by far the most autographs and meetings I have ever had at a convention mostly due to lining up at the door early everyday, knowing exactly where I was going and having 3 days to do it. Most cons I've been to, I've had none of these advantages. Get a map of where all the vendors and signings are gonna be if you have a lot you want to do. The way the floors were set up Friday night were changed up by Saturday to make room for new guests and vendors. Saturday was sold out so I felt better having a handle on the layout and devoting the entire day to Bruce. And after hours of waiting for him, we finally got to walk up to his table!! I was hyped to show him the artwork I bought years ago melding together characters and key images from Evil Dead 1 & 2. Something I didn't see anyone else have in the endless lines ahead. He asked me what I do when I'm not at Texas Frightmare and I said I was a horror writer. Bruce said to "keep it up" which for him probably didn't mean as much as it meant to me.
Naturally, when you go to meet high profile guests you know it's going to come with a long wait and minimal meeting time once you get to the front. And honestly, most of the people I freak out about meeting aren't the guys that take forever in line and are usually able to take their time and really talk with you. My favorite meeting I have ever had was with Meg Foster on Sunday. Someone I have admired and loved in everything but had no clue was going to be at Texas Frightmare. I told her as much and she replied, "I didn't know you were gonna be here either!!" while giving me the biggest hug even though it was our first time meeting. I was so excited to tell her how much I loved her work and that I based a primary character in many of my short stories on her. It felt strange to open up to someone so quickly but I really felt like I could. She looked into my eyes the entire time talking with me and said, "It takes a lot to make a movie, doesn't it?" From there I sprung into how I was trying to get everything in place to make my own horror movie and talking with her made me feel like I could. I really needed that.
It was crucial to me that I carved out some time to get a seat for the screenings of the fake horror trailers and short films. I am a huge supporter of indie horror and donate to all sorts of crowd-funding campaigns because I believe in it so much. They were all super impressive and the entire audience was hype and encouraging throughout. My favorite of the trailers have to be Butcher's Bluff and Shovel Head - hoping they end up putting these into actual production. I am looking to submit something of my own now that I know this convention accepts submissions!
And let's not forget the only time I like to shop is at a horror convention. I will post pics of my main finds including my first ever Mondo print purchase, a shirt from Pallbearer Press and some Re-Animator grabs too good to let go!
Conventions have always been an outlet for me to get around like minded groups and make connections with all sorts of talented people living and breathing this stuff. I suddenly blend into spaces at these things with my black horror shirts and tattoos. It's oddly comforting and I've met some of the nicest people excitedly rushing up to ask things like where I get my shirts or how cool is it watching Elvira check into her hotel 2 feet away. She's just like us! It's weird to be surrounded by so many extensions of things you love all at once even if only for a short time. I constantly remind myself not to let it go by too fast.
I couldn't leave Texas Frightmare without dropping some brand new Witchdoctor promo cards on the networking table. I have never done something like that before but someone awesome made them for me as a birthday gift and I figured why not put them to use? I love to meet horror fans so feel free to reach out to me anytime! 😈😈 😈😈
For more cool horror and writing stuff:
Follow me on Instagram: @thisiswitchdoctor
So here was my gameplan for the weekend with the guest announcements I knew of (admittedly I missed a bunch leading up to the event and re-prioritized as needed):
Friday:
Nick Castle
Barbara Crampton
Jeffrey Combs
Saturday:
Elvira
Bruce Campbell
Sunday:
Let's see how much money I have left
This plan didn't include any merch shopping or unexpected must-haves. Having met Robert Englund previously I knew I would have to miss him this time. Saturday would be devoted to Bruce Campbell. Same with Tim Curry, I knew there wouldn't be enough time. Many of the bigger headliners weren't showing up until Saturday and Friday nights tend to be a little less crowded for that reason. You can really clean up with autographs and shopping early in the weekend. I skipped out on photo-ops as those cost extra and take up a lot of time. Plus i'm just not big into pictures of myself with people. I'd much rather have an autographed print and a little time to interact. Those photo-ops are robotic and head-spinningly fast and what if the pic comes out weird? You're usually out of luck.
So here is how the weekend actually turned out:
Friday:
Nick Castle
Barbara Crampton
Jeffrey Combs
Tom Savini
Saturday:
Elvira
Bruce Campbell
Sunday:
Meg Foster
This was by far the most autographs and meetings I have ever had at a convention mostly due to lining up at the door early everyday, knowing exactly where I was going and having 3 days to do it. Most cons I've been to, I've had none of these advantages. Get a map of where all the vendors and signings are gonna be if you have a lot you want to do. The way the floors were set up Friday night were changed up by Saturday to make room for new guests and vendors. Saturday was sold out so I felt better having a handle on the layout and devoting the entire day to Bruce. And after hours of waiting for him, we finally got to walk up to his table!! I was hyped to show him the artwork I bought years ago melding together characters and key images from Evil Dead 1 & 2. Something I didn't see anyone else have in the endless lines ahead. He asked me what I do when I'm not at Texas Frightmare and I said I was a horror writer. Bruce said to "keep it up" which for him probably didn't mean as much as it meant to me.
Naturally, when you go to meet high profile guests you know it's going to come with a long wait and minimal meeting time once you get to the front. And honestly, most of the people I freak out about meeting aren't the guys that take forever in line and are usually able to take their time and really talk with you. My favorite meeting I have ever had was with Meg Foster on Sunday. Someone I have admired and loved in everything but had no clue was going to be at Texas Frightmare. I told her as much and she replied, "I didn't know you were gonna be here either!!" while giving me the biggest hug even though it was our first time meeting. I was so excited to tell her how much I loved her work and that I based a primary character in many of my short stories on her. It felt strange to open up to someone so quickly but I really felt like I could. She looked into my eyes the entire time talking with me and said, "It takes a lot to make a movie, doesn't it?" From there I sprung into how I was trying to get everything in place to make my own horror movie and talking with her made me feel like I could. I really needed that.
It was crucial to me that I carved out some time to get a seat for the screenings of the fake horror trailers and short films. I am a huge supporter of indie horror and donate to all sorts of crowd-funding campaigns because I believe in it so much. They were all super impressive and the entire audience was hype and encouraging throughout. My favorite of the trailers have to be Butcher's Bluff and Shovel Head - hoping they end up putting these into actual production. I am looking to submit something of my own now that I know this convention accepts submissions!
And let's not forget the only time I like to shop is at a horror convention. I will post pics of my main finds including my first ever Mondo print purchase, a shirt from Pallbearer Press and some Re-Animator grabs too good to let go!
Conventions have always been an outlet for me to get around like minded groups and make connections with all sorts of talented people living and breathing this stuff. I suddenly blend into spaces at these things with my black horror shirts and tattoos. It's oddly comforting and I've met some of the nicest people excitedly rushing up to ask things like where I get my shirts or how cool is it watching Elvira check into her hotel 2 feet away. She's just like us! It's weird to be surrounded by so many extensions of things you love all at once even if only for a short time. I constantly remind myself not to let it go by too fast.
I couldn't leave Texas Frightmare without dropping some brand new Witchdoctor promo cards on the networking table. I have never done something like that before but someone awesome made them for me as a birthday gift and I figured why not put them to use? I love to meet horror fans so feel free to reach out to me anytime! 😈😈 😈😈
For more cool horror and writing stuff:
Follow me on Instagram: @thisiswitchdoctor
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