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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!!
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Holy Cow!! What A Great Time I Had at Fanboy Expo 2024 in Knoxville, Tennesee
I went to Fanboy Expo for the first time on Saturday, July 13, 2024 at the Knoxville Convention Center in Knoxville, TN.
I had tried to go there a few times, but ultimately things kept happening which prevented me from doing so.
I was somewhat hesitant to go this year because the person I wanted to see the most canceled (They’ve tried to get this person, Dolph Lundgren, at least 3 times, but I get it because he’s busy. Hopefully someday.) and because of the travel (4 hour drive there and 4 hour drive back).
But I went and boy am I glad I did!!
I got to meet a lot of my favorites and saw even more of them.
I got to meet actors Danny Glover (the Lethal Weapon franchise, Predator 2, Silverado, Lonesome Dove, Angels In The Outfield, Witness, The Color Purple, Grand Canyon, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Prince Of Egypt, Saw and Saw III, Badasses and tons more), Danny Trejo (Machete and Machete Kills, From Dusk Til Dawn 1, 2, and 3, Heat, Death Wish 4, Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects, Conair, Desperado, Spy Kids 1, 2, and 3, Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Rob Zombie’s Halloween II, Bad Ass, Bad Asses, and SO MUCH MORE), Michael Rooker (Guardians Of The Galaxy 1, 2, and 3, The 6th Day, The Walking Dead, Replicant, Tombstone, Horizon Chapters 1 and 2, JFK, Cliffhanger, The Suicide Squad, and a lot more), and Dave “The Snake” Sabo and Rachel Bolan (co-guitarist and bassist and main songwriters, respectively, of the band Skid Row). I got pictures with and autographs from all of them (Rooker’s autograph I actually got for my girlfriend Mariah because she loves him so much and couldn’t go with me.)
I also met Roger Christian, who worked on Star Wars, The Return Of The Jedi, Alien, Star Wars The Phantom Menace, and many others. I could not afford a picture or autograph from him, but I had to shake his hand and thank him for his great work and that it’s so important. He appreciated me saying that and said “this is why I do it”.
The celebrities I saw but didn’t meet were Lee Majors (I’ve met him a few times but almost bumped into him today.), Jon Lovitz, Rob Schneider, Peter Cullen, Giancarlo Esposito, Paul Williams, Pam Grier, a lot of The Wonder Years TV show cast (Olivia d’Abo, Jason Hervey, Dan Lauria, Alley Mills, and Josh Saviano. Danica McKellar was there but I didn’t see her.), David Wenham, Jaleel White, Sean Gunn, Lana Parrilla, Ray Park, Gina Carano, Brendan Wayne, C. Thomas Howell, Mark Metcalf, Patricia Velasquez, Maxwell Caulfield, Christopher McDonald, Adiran Zmed, wrestlers The Big Show (Paul Wight), Kane (Glenn Jacobs), Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, Hacksaw Jim Duggan (met him before, great guy), Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, Macey Estrella (alson known as Lacey Evans), and Nic Nemeth (also known as Dolph Ziggler).
There were also the cast of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle 1990 movie but I didn’t see all of them, but I had seen most if not all of them at another convention. Richard Usher, part of the group Partners In Crime who did the song “Turtle Power” for the movie, was there too.
And there were others too but I did not see them.
Anyway, I first met the Skid Row guys Snake and Rachel. Very nice and cool guys. A lot has been said, especially lately, about their singer situation (They’re without a singer again, although Rachel told me they have a few possible singers in mind, but they’re taking their time with it.) but I told them I love all of their stuff (which I do) and I will support whatever they do in the future with their new singer. Whoever that is. And I meant it. They appreciated me saying that and that it meant a lot.
Yeah I would love for Sebastian Bach to be their singer again too, but it will never happen. And I like to think it’s the best of both worlds if you’re a fan.
Sebastian is making great music on his own, and so is Skid Row. I had Snake and Rachel sign their most recent album from 2022 called The Gang’s All Here. Very good album. And I have all of them. They all rock. And I can’t wait to buy their new live album/DVD Live In London soon.
Thank you Snake and Rachel for being so cool and regardless of what anyone says, I love all you guys and keep on rocking.
I then met Danny Glover. I did not know until this year that he even did these events, but he does. I’m glad too because I’ve been a fan since I was a kid. He’s one of those great actors that is great in everything he’s ever done. I especially love him in the Lethal Weapon movies and Predator 2 but really everything I’ve ever seen him in, which is a lot. I got him to sign a Predator 2 picture and told him how much I love that movie. He kept saying “alright alright!” He’s a very nice man and seems happy to meet his fans. I appreciate you sir.
I then met Danny Trejo. Wow what a cool, nice man. He told me he loves doing these events because he gets to meet all kinds of different people.
I asked him if there will ever be a third Machete movie because I LOVE his movies Machete and Machete Kills SO MUCH. He told me that Robert Rodriguez (the director/writer of the movies and one of Danny’s cousins) needs to be texted about it.
I hope it happens, but if not, I love those movies and Danny has done so many movies, TV, animation, music videos, you name it.
He even has his own brand of tacos and shops called Trejos Tacos.
He’s lived quite a life and has lived to tell it and has done very well. And on top of all that, he is a nice and caring person. Thank you sir for everything.
I then met Michael Rooker after my first photo op with Snake and Rachel of Skid Row. I’ve been a fan of Rooker’s for many years too. In more recent years, he’s become very known for his character Yondu in the Guardians Of The Galaxy movies, but he’s been in so much, including Horizon recently, which my Dad and I really enjoyed. He was wearing a Horizon hat as a matter of fact. He can appear to be animated and eccentric (He actually grabbed a fan by the arm at one point and walked him out of the autograph line because this person was taking pictures of Rooker when he shouldn’t have, but ultimately Rooker took a picture with him anyway, so it was fine.) but he’s a nice person too.
For some people in front of me, he offered one of them to pick a free picture for him to sign, and when there was a group that included several kids, he told the leader of the group that he would take a picture with all of them at the photo op later.
When I told him I couldn’t afford to get his autograph for me but I wanted to get one for my girlfriend and just a picture for me, he understood.
But when I told him that my girlfriend made a quilt of his character Yondu some years ago and showed it to him, he thought it was fantastic. He even added a heart to the autograph for her. And he wanted me to tell her thank you and that he was sorry she couldn’t be there with me. I thanked him and he said “next time”.
Then later on, after I had walked around to look at all the vendors, I got my pictures taken with Danny Glover and Danny Trejo together, and then finally one with Michael Rooker.
I wanted to show off the picture Rooker signed for my girlfriend and he asked me if I wanted to do that. And when I said yes, he offered to hold it.
All Great people and I really appreciate not only their work but for their service to us fans at these conventions.
They do NOT have to do this, and yes they get paid well for these and probably one reason why many do it now, but I still find it to be a great service.
Thank you all!!!!
And thank you Fanboy Expo for the great time.
If you keep running this event like you did today, you will be just fine. Thank you!!
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My Scarefest Experience
- Date of Event: October 21, 2023
- Location of Event: Central Bank Center in Lexington, KY
For the 3rd time, I went to Scarefest.
I’m going to try to tell my experience in sequence as to how the day went.
Of course I won’t say everything because I can never remember every minute detail, but I’ll do my best to describe this great day I had.
Scarefest may now be the biggest horror convention in the U.S.
I went on the most busiest day, Saturday.
I initially thought it was going to literally be a nightmare because the line was outside of the building and at that point across the street at a hotel next door.
And I was worried because I had a photo op at 11:15 AM, and it was almost 11 when I got in line, so I was very worried.
Luckily, some staff members came outside and told people that if they had an early photo op that they could go on inside.
So, I did go inside, got my bracelet for the day (some had badges, I had a bracelet), and went in when doors opened at 11.
I went right to the photo op line to get my picture taken with actress Adrienne Barbeau, who has starred in Maude, Someone’s Watching Me, The Fog, Escape From New York, Swamp Thing, and so many other movies and shows. She’s even an author too.
Anyway, I got my picture taken with Adrienne. She’s a very sweet person and I thank her.
I then went to get my picture taken with a Terminator cyborg!!
I’m a HUGE Terminator fan (I love all the movies.) so this was a geek moment for me. I had to do it.
I was going to go get either a picture or autograph from Kane Hodder, maybe the most famous Jason Voorhees of them all, but I ultimately didn’t because I wanted to walk around awhile before I went to the Q&As I was going to attend, which were many and frankly, I didn’t think I could afford it this time.
Before I go on, though, for anyone who reads this, I want to say that Kane Hodder is loved by soooooo many people and I have nothing but respect for him as a talent.
However, something happened last year when I did meet him that still stings.
I met him at Scarefest last year and mostly, he was great. I got a great picture with him, which I still love, and I was able to ask him a question at a Q&A. He answered great, but then he said to the audience in reference to me “Ron Jeremy ladies and gentlemen!”. The audience laughed, albeit nervously or should I say an ooooooh moment happened amongst the audience.
Now, I know it was a joke and I took it that way and went on with my day.
And I’ve seen enough videos of Kane that I can tell he has a very sarcastic sense of humor, which is fine.
However, it ultimately stung because I was reminded of this joke later when I was paying for gas one night on the way home from work, and this cashier had the gall to say to me as I was walking out of the gas station and I quote “have a nice evening Mr. Jeremy” and snickered.
WTF?!?!?!?!?!
Again, I know Kane was joking and screw the gas station guy (also a Facebook person even called me Ron Jeremy Jr. even earlier on than all of this when all I did was post a picture of myself and Lou Ferrigno together when I met him a few years ago).
Trust me, I did nothing to deserve this.
I don’t think I look like Ron Jeremy, nor do I want to.
Jeremy is in prison for the rest of his life, one of the charges of which is rape.
That is not a laughing matter.
And that is not anything I want to be associated with.
Again, I know Kane was joking and please don’t think I’m knocking him, but I’m also saying that the joke stung me and I did not ask for it nor deserved it.
I’m sorry but this has bothered me for a year and I don’t think about it often, but when I do, it hurts.
OK rant over. Back to this great day because it was great.
I walked around a little while and checked out a lot of the great vendors and tried to see all the celebrities signing stuff/taking seflies at their tables. I did not see all of them, but I saw many and it was great seeing all the ones I saw (Richard Dreyfuss, Tom Savini, Greg Nicotero, Dylan McDermott, R.A. Mihailoff, Adrienne King, Amy Steel, I may have seen Kimberly Beck, Lar Park Lincoln, Jack Osbourne, Danielle Harris, Scout Taylor-Compton, and several others).
Now, I usually don’t go up to these people unless I’m paying for something (autograph/selfie) and unfortunately I couldn’t because I was broke. I know you’re supposed to have a lot of money at these events but in this case, I was on a budget and it was a tight one. So I did what I could, which was still a lot I think. Hopefully I can plan better in the future.
Having said that, I did go say hi to Melanie Kinnaman, the star of Friday The 13th Part V because she told me on Facebook to come and say hi to her. So I did. Very nice person. And I truly do enjoy Part V. Many don’t but I do. I appreciate her kindness.
And I’m sure most of these people are kind but again I don’t want to get in line and just say hi because I know they don’t want that. They want you to buy something and I understand that.
And trust me, if I was rich, I would get every autograph on everything and pictures with everyone.
But I’m not rich and I’ve been to many of these and some I’ve spent more at than others.
I really wanted to spend a lot at this one but again, I couldn’t.
And I’m sorry about that.
Anyway, once I walked around for awhile, I went to the first Q&A I was going to attend that day, and it was a Day Of The Dead panel.
The panel included Tom Savini, Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Jarlath Conroy, John Amplas, Mark Tierno, and Debra Gordon.
They talked about their experiences making Dawn Of The Dead, working with director/writer George Romero (R.I.P.), and it was a great time had by all.
Right after them was a Friday The 13th Panel of some of the actresses whose characters survived the movies they were in.
The panel included Adrienne King (star of Part 1 and briefly in Part 2 and did a fan film called Jason Rising), Amy Steel (Part 2), Melanie Kinnaman (Part V as I mentioned above), Lar Park Lincoln (Part 7), and Jensen Daggett (Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan). Kimberly Beck (Part 4) was scheduled to appear but didn’t.
This was another great time where all the actresses talked about their experiences making their respective movies of the Jason franchise.
Adrienne told a story of how her scene in Part 2 was basically the last thing done on the movie and that she had to ad-lib the whole thing, and that the weapon used to kill her character was actually not retractable, so that was dangerous.
Lar said this gave her the indication later on after she did Part 7 that she probably better not return for Part 8 and she didn’t.
That was just one story. Loved seeing these great actresses and it was a very fun time.
After this, I went to eat at the food court they had, which was a pretty big room and had some good food.
However, I will say that even though it was a big room, it could’ve been bigger because I ended up eating on the floor.
But oh well minor complaint.
I then went back to the same room I was at for the previous two Q&As for more of them.
Next Q&A was a Jaws Reunion panel.
This included Richard Dreyfuss (Hooper in Jaws), Susan Backlinie (the first person to be killed in Jaws), Jeffrey Voorhees (Alex Kintner in Jaws), and Jeffrey Kramer (Deputy Hendricks in Jaws and Jaws 2).
I had met Richard Dreyfuss in 2018 at another convention and he’s great.
Not only a great actor, but has lots of stories to tell, is funny, and just awesome I think.
Everyone told their stories, but Richard did a lot of the talking and was asked the most questions from the fans.
He was asked about the play that is currently on Broadway about the making of Jaws and he said it is not accurate at all, saying that Robert Shaw is a hero of his and that they got along great.
He said that nothing worked on Jaws, but that the movie became great due to the editing and music, which many have sand and agreed with.
He said that he, Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, Steven Spielberg, and editor Verna Fields wrote the movie.
He said that Robert Shaw’s famous speech in the movie was written by a lot of people (Spielberg and Shaw themselves, John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola, and George Lucas).
Dreyfuss said that Shaw and Spielberg ultimately took parts of each person’s attempts and made it into what it is.
He then said that Shaw attempted to do the speech drunk, and this ended up being what Dreyfuss called the longest day of his life up to that point.
He said that Shaw called Spielberg late in the night and asked him “how badly did I embarrass myself?” And Spielberg said “not fatally”.
So the next day Shaw came in, sober, and did it in one take, and that’s what’s in the movie.
Awesome awesome stuff.
I can’t thank Richard Dreyfuss and the Jaws cast enough for that great Q&A session.
Next up was “The Directors Cut” Q&A with Tom Savini, Greg Nicotero, and Damien Leone.
They talked about some of their respective works, which is a lot, especially Savini and Nicotero.
Very smart and innovative people.
After this was “Killer Conversation” Q&A, which featured Nick Castle, James Jude Courtney, Doug Bradley, David Thornton, and Felissa Rose.
Nick and James talked about their times playing Michael Myers (Nick in the original and the 3 newer ones in cameos) and James playing Michael in the 3 newer ones, doing most of the work.
Doug, a super nice guy by the way, talked about the Hellraiser franchise, how he met Clive Barker (Hellraiser creator), how he became an actor and his process (he’s never had one acting lesson), and about how a Michael Myers vs. Pinhead movie idea was bandied about, but unfortunately has never happened.
David talked about how he became an actor, his process, and about working in the Terrifier movies.
Felissa also talked about how she became an actress and her process.
Again, awesome stuff.
After this, I walked around a little more and came pretty close to buying a Jason mask because I wanted Kane Hodder to sign it.
Again, I passed earlier because I didn’t think I had enough money, but it looked like I could afford the mask after all. But I misunderstood and I was told it was more than I thought it would be if it was signed so I again unfortunately passed. Maybe next year because Kane comes to all of these.
But I’ll say this. I know I said what I said earlier, but Kane is definitely great to his fans and I could tell he was really into interacting with everyone.
He was originally scheduled to be part of two Q&As that day, but he didn’t, and I’m guessing that’s because he wanted to sign/take selfies and pictures/interact with as many fans as he could.
I’ve seen another hero of mine do this very same thing this much, and that was Chuck Norris.
So I’m sorry I took slight to his sarcastic joke last year, but I can tell he really does care about his fans and I’ve read many stories of how kind he’s been to fans, and especially kids.
When I was in line, I heard that Kane’s time at his table was nearly up and he said he felt bad about it because he didn’t want to disappoint anyone.
So good on you Kane.
OK this was definitely a great, full day, but the best was saved for last.
I attended a live podcast event called Talk Scary To Me.
This was episode 98 of this podcast, hosted by Danielle Harris (Halloween 4 and 5, the two Rob Zombie Halloween movies, and so much more) and Scout Taylor-Compton (also starred in the Rob Zombie Halloween movies and more). This episode will be available for download/streaming either Tuesday, October 24, or Halloween day (Tuesday October 31).
Their guest was Jack Osbourne, who is the son of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.
I got to say hi to him as I walked into the room.
Very smart guy.
The podcast started and Jack ultimately came on stage a little later on and I’m telling you this was so much fun.
Lots of stories and laughs, games were played, questions were asked and answered. You just had to be there and I’m glad I was.
I really enjoyed this very much.
Before the podcast, I and all the other fans received a bag of goodies (a nice tote bag with a signed picture of Danielle and Scout, a keychain, a pin with their faces on it, and some candy. Hey it’s Halloween time.). They also had a lot of merch too (shirts, sweatshirts, hats, etc.).
And after the podcast, Danielle and Scout took pictures with everyone.
Danielle said fans didn’t have to do it but this was part of the experience if they wanted it. And of course most stayed to have their pictures taken.
I got to tell them both I had so much fun and they appreciated that.
I told Danielle that Halloween 4 is one of my favorites and she thanked me and I told both Danielle and Scout that I loved seeing them together in the Rob Zombie Halloween movies.
They were both very appreciative and kind.
I can’t thank Danielle and Scout enough for the great time had by me and by all of us in the audience.
An AWESOME way to end this long but fun and rewarding day.
I hope to go again next year, although considering it almost took me hours to get inside, I may pay a little more and get the VIP or Weekend Ticket Pass so I can get in an hour earlier than most of the people attending.
Thank you to the staff members that told me I could go in sooner if I had an early photo op. They really saved my day!!
And Thank you everyone at Scarefest for such a great time.
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