Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Notes On A Scarefest

In the past, I've spoken more than once about my affection for the Scarefest, the annual horror and paranormal convention here in Kentucky. I'd been really looking forward to attending this year's addition two weeks ago, so much so that I'd actually booked a hotel room a full year in advance. And while one might think I was potentially getting my hopes up way too high, especially after the Fandom Fest debacle a few months ago, I can say that the Scarefest didn't let me down one bit. I enjoyed every second of the weekend from the moment I arrived to when I got in my car to head home.

There was honestly so much going on over the three days of the show that a lot of it feels like a blur. And what I can clearly remember, we'd be here all day and all night telling stories. I I guess I can cover some of the really big highlights while we're here.

For starters, it turns out my hotel room was on the same floor as some of the celebrities. So sharing an elevator with Sean S. Cunningham or Travis Walton or another convention guest became a common occurrence. But it's something exciting every time. I never thought sitting in an elevator, talking about haunted houses with a guy from that Ghost Hunters show on Syfy and one of the hotel's bellhops would be something fun, but you know what? It totally is.

I also had a really cool conversation with Tom Morga, a veteran stuntman who's been in a list of movies a mile long. He played Jason in the fifth Friday the 13th movie, was Harold Ramis's stunt double in Ghostbusters, and I could keep going if you let me. But Mr. Morga is apparently a fan of bird watching, and since my mom (who went along for the ride with me) and I are from around here, he asked if we knew of any places with interesting wildlife. From there it transitioned into a discussion about how he's recently been researching his geneology and how he has family in Indiana. (At least, I think he said Indiana.) But anyway, Mr. Morga must have spent fifteen minutes just shooting the breeze with us about any old thing, which is something I'd have probably never gotten to do anywhere else.

Also of note was my waitt to meet Sam Trammell from True Blood. I was the only person in line at the time, waiting for mr. Trammell to return from taking a break while his handlers tried finding me some change. (Sadly, autographs and such at these shows aren't always free.) And when Mr. Trammell came back, a combination of being tired at the end of a long day and being startstruck hit me like a ton of bricks. I ended up stuttering and stammering and I felt like I'd made a fool of myself, but Mr. Trammell was so incredibly kind and patient that I ended up leaving not feeling like I'd totally embarrassed myself.

While I'd gotten his autograph, it wasn't until the next day that I realized I'd forgotten to get my picture made with him like I'd wanted. I went up to his handlers and explained the situation, and I got lucky that they both immediately recognized and remembered me, so they let me go back and get my picture taken for no charge. So Mr. Trammell, if by some odd chance you've Googled your own name and found this blog, thanks a million. And tell those two ladies you were with the same, please.

But some of the most fun actually took place outside of the Scarefest in the hotel lobby. Just sitting there after the convention has closed for the night is entertaining enough. Getting to see some of the celebrities visiting the hotel bar, sitting outside smoking a cigarette, or being jokingly yelled at to wake up by the guy that made the first Friday the 13th movie after he caught me yawning are actually more fun than I'm probably describing them, but I must recommend sitting in the hotel lobby like I did if you're ever at some horror, sci-fi, comics, or fantasy convention.

I know I more than likely have done a piss-poor job of describing Scarefest or convincing you to go in 2014, but it's a convention that is most definitely worth attending if you like horror movies and the paranormal. My mother's not a fan of a lot of this stuff and even she has an absolute blast tagging along with me every year. I actually think she enjoys it more than I do, to be honest. And that's actually part of the fun for me. There are more than a few times my mom and I would strike up a conversation with someone ― a stranger, a vendor peddling their wares, some random stranger ―and have a chat for a few minutes about whatever happened to come up. Like the elevator thing I mentioned before, it might not sound like much, but it's a little something that makes the whole experience worth it. It's the little things that are the most enjoyable.

But now that this year's Scarefest is out of the way, I can start planning for next year. You don't think it's too early, do you?