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Mariah And I Visited The Toledo Zoo
Mariah and I visited her favorite place, The Toledo Zoo, in Toledo, OH on Saturday, April 25th.
I personally had not been to a zoo since the late 80s when my family went to a zoo in Cincinnati, OH.
We had a good time. Saw lots of different types of animals. I took lots of pictures. I would have taken more pictures, but my phone battery was running out of power.
Regardless, it was a good day and it was great seeing all the different animals.
Favorites of mine include The Bald Eagle, Snowy Owl, Tiger (although it was asleep), Flamingos, Giraffes, Hippos. All were great, though.
I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking.
Enjoy and I recommend checking out The Toledo Zoo if you are ever in that area.
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I Finally Met Peter Criss of KISS!!
A few months ago, it was announced that Peter Criss (original drummer/co-singer of my favorite band KISS, as well as a solo artist) was going to do a few signings/photo op appearances to promote his latest solo album “Peter Criss”.
One of the appearances was going to be in the Detroit, MI area. Livonia, MI to be exact.
Originally, I was going to pass on it because I didn’t think I could afford it, but after Mariah mentioned it to me again, I then decided to do it, and it wasn’t extremely expensive. Thank you babe for mentioning it to me again.
Anyway, I went to the first day of it (Peter did two days of this appearance) at The Rock City Music Company, a very nice music/musical instrument store.
While waiting in line, I was able to speak to some fellow KISS fans and hear and tell some stories, which are always fun. Two of them first saw KISS on the Destroyer tour in 1976. One of which told me he and his friends went to their hotel, asked for Peter’s room number, got on the phone with Peter, and Peter invited them up to his room. One fan had come from Australia for this event and for the KISS Indy Expo in Indiana. Another fan caught Eric Carr (KISS drummer from 1980-1991, RIP) drum sticks once on a tour. I love all of these stories.
Peter did the appearances in a series of roughly hour increments (5 PM signing, 6 PM signing, 7 PM photo ops, 8 PM signing).
I met Peter in the 5 PM signing. His wife Gigi was with him. Both were very nice.
I had Peter sign my copy of his latest CD. When I told him I thought it is my favorite of his solo albums, he told me he thought so too and laughed.
I showed Peter my original KISS concert tickets from 1998 and 2000. He asked me how much the tickets cost and when I told him, he told me he wished that tickets were not so expensive now (they were cheaper then) and that bands should be grateful that their fans are still showing up to see them.
Peter said he was grateful for his fans and was grateful I was there.
I told him I loved him and thanked him for everything, that KISS is my favorite band, and he said “I love you too”, said God Bless You, and wished me good health.
Later on, when I was waiting in line to get my picture taken with him, I could hear him playing his drum kit (he sits behind a drum kit while the fans stand in front of it for the picture), and as I already knew, he still plays great.
Very cool experience for me. As I said, KISS is my favorite band (all albums, all lineups) and Peter was the last original member I had not met.
I had met Ace Frehley (lead guitar/vocals, RIP) in 2016, Gene Simmons (bass/vocals) and Paul Stanley (guitar/vocals) in 2019, and now Peter Criss (drums/vocals) on April 24th of 2026.
Thank you Peter and Gigi. Thank you to The Rock City Music Company. Thank you to the cool fans who I spoke with. Thank you KISS!!!! And thank you Mariah once again for mentioning this event to me again. If you would not have mentioned it to me, I would not have gone. I love you babe.
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Thank You Scarefest For Another Great Time!!
I went to Scarefest for the 5th time on Sunday, October 19, 2025 in Lexington, Kentucky.
This was the last day of the three day event.
I decided to just go on the Sunday this time.
I think that was a good call on my part.
I say that because this event always starts later in the day on a Friday and Saturday is always insanely busy. Sunday is busy, but not as bad.
As always with these events, I wasn’t able to meet everyone I wanted to meet, but I saw mostly everyone I wanted to see. And I actually met more than I expected to be able to meet.
Scarefest has to be the biggest, or certainly of the biggest, horror conventions in the world.
They always book sooooooooo many celebrities.
This year included Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger. He had his own room this year, so I didn’t see him, but I’ve had my picture taken with him and got his autograph through his website.), Bill Moseley (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, House Of 1,000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects, Death House, and so much more), Kane Hodder (Jason in Friday the 13th Parts 7-10, Hatchet franchise, Death House, and so much more. He always comes to this event.), Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes 1 and 2, The Devil’s Rejects, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Death House, Motley Crue videos, and so much more) Doug Bradley (Pinhead in most of the Hellraiser franchise), Ken Foree (Dawn Of The Dead, The Devil’s Rejects, Leatherface Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Rob Zombie’s Halloween, and so much more), Re-Animator actors/actresses Barbara Crampton/Jeffrey Combs/Bruce Abbott/Richard Band, Tommy Lee Wallace (Halloween III director, and also directed It, was Michael Myers for some of the original Halloween and it’s editor/production designer, as well as The Fog, and more), Tom Atkins (Halloween III, The Fog, Escape From New York, Creepshow, Lethal Weapon, and so much more), Stacy Nelkin (Halloween III), Tom Savini, David Arquette, Nightmare On Elm Street franchise actors/actresses Heather Langencamp/Lisa Wilcox/Tuesday Knight/Amanda Wyss/Beatrice Boepple/Bradley Gregg/Brooke Bundy/Kim Myers/Robert Rusler/Danny Hassell/Ira Heiden/Jennifer Rubin/Jensen Daggett/Ken Sagoes/Lisa Zane/Ronee Blakley/Toy Newkirk, wrestler Chris Jericho, musician Dr. Chud (Misfits), Danielle Harris (Halloween 4 and 5, Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Halloween II), Scout Taylor Compton (Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Halloween II), Scott Reiniger and Gaylen Ross (Dawn Of The Dead), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), Juliette Lewis, Linnea Quigley, Melanie Kinnaman, Michael Bailey Smith, R.A. Mihailoff (Leatherface Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Death House, Hatchet II), Scott Reeves, Sean Chapman (Hellraiser and Hellraiser II), Ashley Laurence (Hellraiser, Hellraiser II, Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth, Hellraiser: Hellseeker), Robert Mukes (House of 1,000 Corpses), V.C. Dupree (Friday The 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan), Zach Galligan, and more.
Like I said, they book a lot of people.
This was the 17th Scarefest and I swear each year gets bigger.
Although I will say the organizing of lines and getting people into the building was the best I’ve ever seen at this event. Please keep it up!!
As you saw, the guest list (that’s not even all of it), was HUGE!!
I only met a couple of them, but again, I met more than I expected to be able to.
In order, I met Michael Berryman, Bill Moseley, Doug Bradley, Beatrice Boepple, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree, and Lisa Wilcox.
All were very nice people. Bill and Lisa liked my horror character shirt, which was nice of them to say. Lisa said she had never seen a shirt like that before, so thank you Lisa!!
All actually talked to me too, which was nice. Especially Barbara and Lisa.
I had Michael and Bill sign an autograph card of the movie Death House, which came with the Death House DVD.
Death House was a low budget movie that has many horror movie stars in it, which is one reason why I really like it.
Michael told me he loved coming to this convention and had been coming here for many years. And when I told him this was my 5th time, he said I was onto something. Thank you sir!!
I’d been wanting to meet Bill for some time. I had seen them at this event a few years (same with Michael), but just wasn’t able to meet either of them until now. Again, Bill was very nice and mentioned his part in Death House. He and Michael are part of what is called the Five Evils.
I had Barbara sign the same Death House card, but unlike me, she told me she is not a fan of the movie. She told me she didn’t think it was very good and could’ve been better. She asked me my opinion, but I kept telling her I liked it. She accepted my opinion, but definitely did not agree with me, and that’s OK. She apologized for being, in her words, “a curmudgeon” about the movie and wasn’t mad at me, but she just was telling me she doesn’t like that movie. Is it the greatest movie ever? No, but I like it and I’m not apologizing for it. Again, she was nice and I’m not complaining at all. Thank you Barbara truly!! Next time I meet you, I promise I’ll get you to sign something of Re-Animator, which may be her most well known movie. Although she did ask me if I had any questions for her, and I asked her what her favorite Re-Animator scene is. And she said it was when her character (Megan Halsey) and Bruce Abbott’s character (Daniel Cain) escape from the corpses and they think they have made it and are safe, but ultimately, they are not safe. I’m sorry I’m not quoting her exactly, but you get the drift. Again, thank you Barbara for your kindness. And I like you in Death House. No apologies.
I spoke with Lisa Wilcox about the two Nightmare on Elm Street movies she is the star of. Parts 4 and 5. I told her that I really love Part 4, which she appreciated, and I think Part 5 is underrated. And she told me that when Part 5 was made, the subject matter in it was not around as much as it is today. And because of that, it wasn’t as accepted then, but she feels people have warmed up to it in more recent times.
Doug Bradley ultimately signed his book for me for free because I had already bought it outside of the event and he didn’t want to take my money. And he was just really happy that I enjoyed the book, which I did thoroughly (review here actually). Thank you again sir. You did not have to do that. And you will always be awesome as Pinhead!!
I met Beatrice Boepple because she said before the event that she may be going to visit Nightmare on Elm Street 2 star Mark Patton (who was supposed to be at this event but unfortunately could not due to health reasons) fairly soon and was taking him anything that fans gave her to give to him and maybe get him to sign some stuff for fans where he lives. I gave her a get well card to give to Mark. He has had a lot of health problems, and could really use all the encouragement and prayers he can get. I don’t know if you’ll ever see this Mark, but as I said in my card, I love and many love you and we want you to get better!!! And no matter what happens, thank you Beatrice for your time and your kindness.
Ken Foree was actually the main reason why I came to this event this year. He thanked me for saying that. I really love him in Dawn Of The Dead, as well as Leatherface Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and The Devil’s Rejects. Thank you for your kindness also and for all your awesome work.
Also, Scarefest always had a great selection of vendors and good food too.
I was able to buy a toy of one of my favorite characters ever, The Terminator, at one of the vendors. I’d been looking for this toy for some time and got a great bargain for it. The tag said $10 but it was ultimately $5!!
I could say more, but I’ll end by saying thank you to everyone I met at Scarefest and for everyone involved in putting this event together year after year. Keep up the great work and I intend to be back next year.
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What A Great Weekend at Horrorhound!!
I went to the Horrorhound convention for the second time this weekend.
Like last year when I went, it was at the Sharonville Convention Center in Cincinnati, OH.
They had a lot of great guests, including Bruce Dickinson, the singer of Iron Maiden (his first ever convention appearance), Geezer Butler, bassist/lyricist of Black Sabbath (also his first ever convention appearance), Dee Snider, singer/songwriter of Twisted Sister and actor/author/screenwriter/radio DJ/voiceovers, actors Bradley Whitford (The West Wing, Adventures In Babysitting, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, A Perfect World, Billy Madison, The Cabin In The Woods, The Post, and more), Tobin Bell (Saw movie franchise and so much more), P.J. Soles (Halloween, Carrie, Rock And Roll High School, Stripes, The Devil’s Rejects), Nick Castle (Michael Myers in the original Halloween and cameos in the last three Halloween movies, director of The Last Starfighter, co-writer of Escape From New York, director of Denis The Menace, writer of Hook), Dick Warlock (stunt double for Kurt Russell for 25 years, Michael Myers in Halloween II and a robot villain in Halloween III), Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter, 1923), wrestlers Matt and Jeff Hardy, Lex Luger, and Sting, Jenna Davis (Lisa Frankenstein, Megan & Megan 2.0), and several others.
I would’ve liked to have met more, but I was able to meet Bruce, Dee (for the second time) and Geezer, which was more than enough for me.
Bruce was only there on the Friday (it’s a three day event) and Dee and Geezer were showing up on Saturday and Sunday.
I bought an all weekend early entry pass so I could get in sooner on Friday and Saturday (I didn’t need to come back on Sunday and frankly I couldn’t afford anymore at that point.).
Bruce is one of my favorite singers and is still going strong with Iron Maiden and as a solo artist too.
He only could do the Friday appearance because he’s currently on a solo tour, but I’m glad he was able to fit this into his schedule.
Some people say he’s a jerk, but I thought he was just quiet, which is fine.
When I met him, I had him sign my first/favorite Maiden album called Brave New World. I told him I loved it the most, said his newest solo album (The Mandrake Project) is really good and thanked him for all the great music over the years. And Bruce said “thank you” and smiled.
Now, that may mean nothing to you readers, but it means a lot to me.
When you go to these events, come of the guests will really talk to you and others don’t. Doesn’t mean they’re jerks.
I have no complaints and I’m very glad I got to meet one of the best singers/front men in the world.
Also on Friday, I met P.J. Soles, who was very nice and was more personable.
I wanted to get a Halloween picture signed, but my favorite picture she had at her table was of her movie Carrie.
I told her that I watched it recently and that it still holds up. She told me people of all ages still love it and said she loves meeting the fans and appreciates them. And I told her that we appreciate her. Also, I got some free selfies with her too and she gave me a wink while I was waiting in line!! Thanks P.J.!! You’re awesome.
Friday night, I stayed at my friend Kevin’s house, and went back to Horrorhound Saturday to meet Dee again and Geezer for the first time.
Again, two of my biggest heroes. I cannot emphasize that enough.
I first met Dee six years ago (actually six years ago to the day as I type this, story here).
It boggles my mind that Dee knows who I am and appreciates me as a fan of him and his work.
And he actually signs my stuff for free!!!
When I met him this time, he said he adopted me!!
He told me and this is not an exact quote but it goes something like this: “How did I adopt Lucas? When he’s accumulated this much of my stuff, then you adopt Lucas.” Sorry that’s not an exact quote, but you get the picture.
I’m so not worthy, but I’m very grateful to him and his agent/friend Danny Stanton for making this happen again.
Dee told me his Teenage Survival Guide book, which he released in the 1980s and signed for me, is being released again with his modern commentary. And his book Frats, which he also signed for me, I told him should be a movie. And he said there is interest in it being adapted into a movie or a TV show. And I said it should because it’s very visual. And he said “I was going to say that. Thanks for saying it.”
I congratulated him on his band Twisted Sister’s recent reunion announcement and said I hope I can see them next year when they do some shows. And he said “I hope so too”.
And when we got selfies done, I told him I was wearing one of his official shirts, and he really appreciated that too.
Dee has actually said that I am in the top 10 of his true fans, which again I’m not worthy, but again very grateful.
If you ever read this Dee, and I know you know this because I’ve told you, but I love you and I always will.
I hope I can see you again someday, but no matter what, keep on rocking sir!!!!!
After I met Dee again, I got into Geezer’s autograph line. I had him sign the Black Sabbath CD booklets of their albums Dehumanizer and Reunion.
I told him that Dehumanizer is my favorite of the Ronnie James Dio era Sabbath albums and he was surprised to hear me say that. He said “really?!”. I figured he was surprised because that album does not get talked about as much, but it definitely should. I love all the Sabbath albums and I told him that too, but I also told him that Dehumanizer was my first of the Ronnie era albums I bought. After I told him I loved them all, he said “thanks for listening”.
And he actually even looked at both of the albums too to see what they were, which I thought was cool too.
I made him chuckle when I said something, but I don’t know what it was, but it was great seeing Geezer in a great mood and seemingly having fun.
Like I said, this was his first ever convention appearance and not everyone loves doing these, but he seemed like he was having a great time. I’m very glad of that and am very glad I got to meet literally one of the inventors of the musical genre “Heavy Metal”.
Geezer is one of my favorite bassists and he is a great lyricist too. He wrote most of the lyrics during the Ozzy Osbourne era of Sabbath.
Thank you Geezer soooooo much for all the great music and lyrics over the decades and I love you too!! In fact, when I told him I loved him, he smiled and said “cheers”.
I was so star struck seeing and talking to Geezer that I didn’t take a picture of him signing my stuff, but like with Bruce and Dee, I also got a professional picture with Geezer too. After that was done, I told him thank you and he smiled and happily said “Okay”.
I even got two professional pictures with Dee because the camera person thought there was a glare. I got both pictures and I think it was fine. And hey, I’m not complaining.
Such a great time at Horrorhound.
You have to wait in lines more than a bit, and it’s definitely a different experience than going to concerts, but it’s still a lot of fun and I love going to these events.
Thank you to everyone involved with Horrorhound for putting on such a great event.
Thanks to all the great vendors (Lots of great stuff. I especially liked the trading card collection.) and people making and serving food.
And again, thank you to Bruce, PJ, Dee (Thanks for adopting me!!!!!), Danny, and Geezer!!!!
I love you all.
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Meeting Ric Flair
WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
I met two time WWE Hall Of Famer and 16 Time (Really 21 Time) World Champion “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair on April 18 of 2009 at the Charleston Town Center Mall.
He was there doing a signing.
I was able to be one of the first in line and had him sign his book for me.
Like most of these events, it was brief but I got to thank him and he thanked me back, which was all I needed.
And I love the picture I got with him.
He’ll always be one of the greatest wrestlers ever and I’m glad I got to meet him.
WOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
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I Finally Met Bret “Hitman” Hart!!!!
I’m not just a music and movie fan.
I’m also a wrestling fan.
Most especially when I was a kid, but still am.
One of my favorite wrestlers growing up was Bret “Hitman” Hart.
I became a fan of his when he was still partners with Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart (his real life brother-in-law) and they were called The Hart Foundation.
They were two time WWF (yes WWF, years away from changing their name to WWE) world tag team champions.
One of my favorite tag teams. Bret and Jim worked very well together.
Bret eventually became a singles wrestler in the WWF, eventually winning the Intercontinental Championship and later World Heavyweight Championship a few times.
Known as “The Excellence of Execution” and “The Best There Is. The Best There Was. And The Best There Ever Will Be”, Bret worked with pretty much everyone during the period of time he wrestled (he wrestled in his Dad’s promotion Stampede Wrestling, Georgia Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling, and World Wrestling Entertainment) and could usually have a great match with anyone.
He was always a favorite of mine, and even when I mostly quit watching wrestling for many years, he remained a favorite and still is.
Bret is a 3-time WWE Hall Of Famer and truly is, in my opinion, one of the greatest wrestlers ever.
I was able to meet him today, Sunday April 27 of 2025, at my local mall, The Ashland Town Center, at store called Time Warp Ashland.
It was a brief meet, like all meet and greets are, but it was so worth it for me.
I was able to shake his hand and he signed a nice picture for me.
I will forever be a Bret Hart fan and I will forever thank him, not only for meeting me and the fans who attended this meet and greet, but for all the great wrestling Bret has done over the decades.
I love you forever Bret!!
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My Girlfriend Mariah and My Fantasticon Experience
My girlfriend Mariah and I went to Fantasticon in Toledo, Ohio.
We met Michael Biehn (The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Navy Seals, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Tombstone, The Rock, The Magnificent Seven TV series, The Walking Dead, The Mandalorian), and his wife Jennifer Blanc Biehn (Dark Angel, Party of Five, The Brady Bunch Movie), Donald Gibb (Bloodsport, Bloodsport 2, Revenge of the Nerds), and Mark J. Pillow (Superman IV: The Quest for Peace).
All were very kind and gracious.
I had met Michael once before in 2019 and he said it was nice to meet me again.
I told Michael that Mariah and I both love his movie Tombstone, and he said that movie turned out really well.
Mariah was just getting his autograph, but I wanted to get a selfie of the three of us together (Jennifer told us since we were doing that that we didn’t have to pay as much. Thanks for that!!). Also, the sign at Michael and Jennifer’s table said it cost extra for Michael to write a quote on a picture, but it did not cost any extra. Again thanks for that!!
Thank you Michael and Jennifer soooo much.
Donald Gibb could not have been nicer. He said he appreciated the fans and that without us fans people like him would not be here. I thanked him a bunch.
Mark J. Pillow again was very kind and gracious too.
I told Mark how much I love the Superman IV movie and he said he loves it too.
I asked him why Gene Hackman’s (R.I.P.) voice was used instead of Mark’s in the movie and Mark said that it was just decided to use Gene’s voice since his character Lex Luthor created Mark’s character Nuclear Man.
I also asked him about Gene Hackman and he said he was a joy to work with and just be around and have lunch with.
And I asked Mark about working with Christopher Reeve (R.I.P.) and Mark said that Christopher was great but very busy.
Mark also appreciated my shirt I was wearing (Cannon Films, which produced and distributed Superman IV along with Warner Brothers).
There were other cool guests there too, but Mariah really wanted to meet Michael and I wanted to meet Michael and Jennifer, Donald, and Mark and we did!!
We weren’t there for too long, but we had a fun time.
Thank you everyone for your kindness, all the selfies and autographs (thanks Mark for the picture of me and you on your page, which I included here also, hope you don’t mind) and Fantasticon for this great time.
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I Finally Met Michael Jai White! Thank You Sir and Thank You Galaxycon Columbus!
For the first time, I went to Galaxycon Columbus.
I had been to the one in Louisville in 2019.
It’s a HUGE event, with several stars and vendors.
I wanted to meet so many people at this event because it was really stacked with stars.
Stars such as Hayden Christensen, Weird Al Yankovic, Keifer Sutherland, Ernie Hudson, Kurt Fuller, John Cleese, William Katt, and people I had met before like Danny Trejo, Nick Castle, George Takei, and also several wrestlers I had seen or met before like Rick and Scott Steiner, Sting, Lex Luger, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Arn and Brock Anderson, Mick Foley, and others.
I did see most of them, but having said all of that, I only went to meet one person who I had never met before: Michael Jai White.
He is an actor/director/writer/producer/martial artist/teacher/great and humble person.
I have been a fan of his work for some time now, particularly his movies Blood And Bone, Never Back Down 2 and 3, Black Dynamite (the movie and animated series), Outlaw Johnny Black, Welcome To Sudden Death, Undisputed II, Falcon Rising, the first two Universal Soldier movies, Skin Trade, Triple Threat, The Vigilante Diaries, Accident Man, The Dark Knight, Spawn, Tyson, just to name a few.
When I went to get his autograph, I brought with me my Outlaw Johnny Black DVD.
As soon as he saw that, he lit up, saying “now that is my favorite”. And I said “well I’m really glad I brought it”.
I also asked him about whether he will do anything more with Black Dynamite, and he said he is trying to work on a sequel. I hope it happens because I love that movie and it’s 2 season animated series so much.
I later got my picture taken with him and he remembered me saying “good to see you again”.
And when I went to his Q&A later on, I asked him about Outlaw Johnny Black, and he gave me a very good answer (last video listed below).
I cannot say enough about this man. He’s very talented, but more than that, he is a very good person who does not see himself as a big deal, but he sees himself doing what he needs to do in life. And I applaud him for it.
Thank you so much sir for meeting me and being so kind. I cannot wait to see your upcoming movies (one of which he said at his Q&A) he is making right now as of this writing in Louisville, Kentucky, which I find very exciting. And he said he finished another movie recently too. Busy man.
Oh and before Michael’s Q&A, there was a “Celebrity Match Game” game that I watched live.
Based on the famous game show, this iteration of Match Game consisted of emcee Elgin David and celebrity panelists Dave Willis, Leva Bates, Roger Craig Smith, Stephen Kramer Glickman, Dana Snyder, and Guy Hutchinson playing the main part of the game with two contestants chosen out of the studio audience.
I’ve loved Match Game for many years so this was fun to see as well.
Well, that pretty much covers my day.
I wanted to meet so many others, but frankly, I could not afford to meet anyone else.
But meeting Michael was the main reason I cared to go to this event, which as I said above was HUGE, located at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.
When I found out Michael was going to be there, I had to go.
And if he would not have been there, I would not have gone.
So thank you Michael for coming to Galaxycon Columbus and for Galaxycon Columbus for booking him.
Thank you so much.
Video Gallery (click on thumbnail to play video)
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My 4th Scarefest Experience!!
I went to ScareFest Weekend for the 4th time in Lexington, Kentucky on October 19 of 2024.It’s definitely one of my favorite conventions.Although I will say this is the biggest one I’ve seen them do yet.That’s great, but I could see it seemed a bit overwhelming and maybe some of the staff was unprepared for the massive crowd.Having said that, what I saw at least was mostly positive and I had a wonderful experience.The staff was good to me. I know there were complaints, but I’m grateful to the staff.Especially when one of them got me out of the general admission line (I had a Weekend Plus ticket, not GA.) after an hour and got me into the correct line.And some of the photo op lines were a bit chaotic, but these are big events and things can change. So I’m fine with it.And as I said, I had a wonderful time.All the celebrities I met (Dick Warlock, Nick Castle, R.A. Mihailoff, and Adam Green) were all very nice. There were a ton of other celebrities there, but I could not afford all of them.I spoke to R.A. and Adam for a little bit, which was nice. R.A. discussed his movie Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, which I really like and he appreciated me saying that and told me about the movie.Adam, who is the creator of the Hatchet movie franchise, discussed with me his show Holliston, a horror sitcom, that unfortunately only lasted two seasons because of corporate bureaucracy. It’s a great show. Seek it out.I actually even opened up one of Dick’s water bottles for him when I met him. He’s a great man and a stunt legend (Kurt Russell’s stuntman for 25 years) and is most famous for being Michael Myers in the original Halloween II and was one of the villains in Halloween III.Nick is the original Michael Myers for most of the original Halloween movie, and had cameos in the last Halloween trilogy. He’s also a writer (Escape From New York and Hook) and director (Dennis The Menace and Major Payne) just to name a few.I got selfies and autographs of all of them.I also got pro photo ops with Dick, Nick, R. A. (dressed up as Leatherface), and the legendary Clive Barker, in one of his last scheduled public appearances. I did not want to fight his autograph line, so I just got a picture, but even in my brief encounter with him, he was very kind. Thank you all sooooo much for everything.Oh and I met Sean Clark of Horror’s Hallowed Grounds (a phenomenal series in which he goes to various movie locations) and the podcast The Thing With Two Heads. Thank you for taking our picture together and giving me a little bit of swag.I also went to a Michael Myers Q&A Panel, which had Nick, Dick, Jade Jude Courtney, Tom Morga, and Tyler Mane. All who have played Michael Myers. They all had great things to say about playing the character.I’m leaving things out, but again, this was such a fun day. It was long and tiring, but a ton of fun and it was all worth it.
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My First Visit to Horrorhound Weekend!
I spent Saturday, September 14 of 2024, in Cincinnati, OH at the Horrorhound Weekend!
Held at the Sharonville Convention Center, it is a Horor convention that has been going strong for many years.
This year, they had guests including Heather Langenkamp (Nightmare On Elm Street 1, 3, and A New Nightmare, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Midnight Club, Hellraiser: Judgment, Shocker, just to name a few), Tom Atkins (The Fog, Escape From New York, Halloween III: Season Of The Witch, Creepshow, Lethal Weapon, Maniac Cop, Striking Distance, and so much more), Robert Englund himself (Freddy Krueger and so much more), one of the Jasons (CJ Graham), one of the Michael Myers’ (Don Shanks), Scott Ian of the bands Anthrax and S.O.D., John Christ and Eerie Von of Danzig and Samhain, the stars of Lisa Frankenstein Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse, Andi Matichak of the last 3 Halloween movies, other Nightmare On Elm Street 1 stars Amanda Wyss and Ronee Blakley, Nightmare On Elm Street 4 stars Tuesday Knight, Toy Newkirk (who waved Hi to me at one point), Brooke Theiss, special effects makeup genius/director/actor Tom Savini, Mitch Pileggi (The X-Files, Shocker, Sons Of Anarchy) and many more.
Star studded event and lots of fans there like myself.
I first met Heather Langenkamp. I have been wanting to meet her for some time now, and when I said that to her, she said “well dreams come true”.
She graciously welcomed me to her autograph table and I had her sign a picture from A New Nightmare, which I really like a lot, and she appreciated that I knew what movie it was from. She told me it’s coming up on it’s 30th anniversary, which is wild to think.
She is very nice and I am so glad I finally got to meet her. I was only going to get her autograph and get a pro shot picture with her later (which I did), but she offered selfies at the table too for not much more money. So, I got a lot of pictures with her.
Thank you Heather so much for your kindness and for all your great performances past, present, and future.
I then went to meet Tom Atkins, who I have been a fan of for many years also.
My favorite movies with him are The Fog and Halloween III: Season Of The Witch.
Again, like Heather, such a nice, gracious person. He was kind to me and to everyone in line.
I had him sign a Halloween III picture and got a pro shot picture with him.
I’m so happy I got to meet him finally too. Thank you sir for everything.
I also met Scott Ian, who I have been a HUGE fan of for 25 years.
I first discovered his bands Anthrax and S.O.D. on the VH1 Rock Show, which Scott actually hosted a lot of. That was my Headbangers Ball show, if you will.
I love his bands Anthrax and S.O.D. I even like The Damned Things that he was part of. He has two great books, and is in some other cool bands too (Mr. Bungle, Motor Sister, his wife Pearl Aday’s group Pearl, and has played/collaborated with several others too), and he has always been extremely busy on various other media as well, appearing on many music related shows, list type shows, and even shows like Married With Children and The Walking Dead.
I had him sign one Anthrax CD and one S.O.D. CD, and he thanked me for the compliments I gave him for his awesome music. And I got some selfies with him too.
He said the next Anthrax album will be out next year. I can’t wait to buy that. Thank you Scott for everything and keep on rocking!!
And lastly, I met Don Shanks, who played Michael Myers in Halloween 5. That movie does not get as much love as some of the other Halloween movies, but I think it’s better than most people seem to think. He told me how great it was working with the late great Donald Pleasence in the movie and that he had a fun time making the movie.
He signed a Halloween 5 picture for me and I got some selfies with him.
Thank you Don for speaking with me and for being kind also.
I went to a couple of panel Q&As also.
One featured John Christ and Eerie Von of the bands Danzig and Samhain, who talked about the relationship between music (Metal in particular) and horror. Fun discussion.
And I went to the Lisa Frankenstein movie panel. That really drew a big crowd. Stars Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse discussed making the movie, most favorite/least favorite scenes to shoot, did they get to take anything from the shoot, what their characters’ favorite music would be (80s for Kathyrn and classical for Cole), and a lot more. Very fun time. I’m glad that Lisa Frankenstein found it’s audience because it is a lot of fun. I highly recommend you see it.
There were tons of vendors, including a really cool section of vendors in an area of the center called Mask Fest, which featured tons of awesome monster/alien masks and life sized figures of various horror legendary characters. Lots of great talent there.
There was so much to see and unfortunately I could not meet everyone (some I’d met before like Robert Englund), but I’m happy with who I met and I can’t thank them enough for their kindness and for all their great work.
Thank you everyone.
Horrorhound Weekend! is awesome!!
