Horrorhound Weekend Columbus 2012

Tyler Mane and Me

I am writing this up, as a way to post my thoughts on the convention in general. It was the first convention that we have been to since we adopted the Slamfist name, and hopefully it will not be the last. While we had no reason, nor did we have the means to try to get ourselves a table, we did have the time to go there, and a willingness to soak in the sort of strange extended family that these conventions seem to foster.

After the jump, I share my thoughts and feelings on the convention. Be warned, this one might be particularly picture heavy.

This convention happens almost a year to the day after the first convention I ever attended. Since Josh introduced me to the concept of horror conventions, I have since been to somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 or 8 assorted conventions, 2 of which were comic conventions. and I have noticed, that through it all, you see a lot of the same faces consistently. Not just at the celebrity tables, but also at the vendor tables, and in the crowd itself. In a way, the conventions are a family, sometimes a little dysfunctional granted, but I still think of them as a family.

This was my third Horrorhound, and compared to the one in Cincinnati, this one was a vast improvement. A better layout, better crowd-control, better environment all-around. Friday and Sunday were practically perfect as far as conventions go, minimal lines, not very crowded at all. Like every other convention I've been to in the last year though, the same problem presented itself, and that problem was Saturday.

From what I have seen from previous conventions, Friday is a light day, on account of the average Joe nine-to-fiver is working that day, and would rather avoid taking a day off to go to a convention. So instead they crowd in on Saturday and the sea of humanity becomes almost unbearable. The crowd becomes a shoulder to shoulder mess, with people pressing in against each other in a desperate rush to get all of the various autographs and swag that they can obtain. For a man that suffers from an occasionally crippling social phobia, Saturday can be trying. At the end of the day, it is all worth it, not in spite of the people, but because of them.

Despite the pushing, and claustrophobic-ness of the crowd, the air of excitement still hung in the air. While exhausting physically, and mentally the excitement often manages to perk one up, almost like a sort of narcotic. The environment is addictive. I find myself crashing every time, I'm done, and this time is no different. I started writing this over 10 hours ago, and I am only this far...

I think in all of the rush to get celebrity autographs, it sometimes feels like the vendors get overlooked. True, the celebrities are what bring in the crowds, but the vendors, on the most part, seem to be fans like everyone else, who want to go out there, and sell their wares back to the fans. I end up speaking to a number of them throughout the weekend, and run in to them consistently from show to show. This time I think I might have met the newest addition to the list of vendors I want to see at every convention ever, Zombissage! I mean, seriously, conventions need more zombie masseuses.

And one can not help to touch on the concept of the celebrities, because in the end, they are what bring us all together. Them, and the movies they help to bring to life. For me, this was a great line up, especially considering that it helped to highlight the strong leading ladies that the horror genre has brought us. It featured stars of older classics like Tippi Hedren (The Birds), Julie Adams (Creature from the Black Lagoon), and Judith O'dea (Night of the Living Dead). Not to mention Pam Grier (Too many movies to mention) and Lori Cardille (Day of the Dead). For me personally, the big draw was the wonderful Danielle Harris, an actress that I have been following for longer than I care to mention. But, I'm not going to gush about how wonderful it is to meet her.

All in all, this was a great show this weekend. And I am glad that I got a chance to be there. To the great big extended horror family, I look forward to seeing you all again soon. And one of these days, I hope to be able to see you all from the other side of the table. If you see me at a convention, feel free to stop by and say hello, I'm kinda hard to miss.