#scareacon

One of Scare-A-Con's biggest draws was the Phantasm 40th anniversary reunion featuring writer-director Don Coscarelli and actors Reggie Bannister, A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, and Kathy Lester. I love when conventions host directors, as I find them to have the most interesting stories, so I was eager to meet Coscarelli. He was extremely kind and down-to-earth, shooting the breeze with me about filmmaking and his career for about 15 minutes. He also generously poses for photos with fans - with a Phantasm sphere, no less! - free of charge. Not to be outdone, Bannister had his trusty quad-barrel shotgun to pose with.

Felissa Rose, the effervescent star of Sleepaway Camp, is a strong contender for one of the sweetest horror icons you'll ever meet. She goes out of her way to ensure every person who waits in line to meet her leaves with a smile and a hug, so I was glad to gift her with a copy of Broke Horror Fan's Victor Crowley VHS release. Although not an advertised guest, Jeremy Holm (The Ranger) was also in attendance. He was genuine and affable when I struck up a conversation with him about how fun it was to see The Ranger with a film festival audience. He waxed poetic about how much he appreciative he is of horror fans, and he hopes we haven't seen the last of his titular slasher.

I was unable to make it for the majority of Saturday, missing a plethora of enticing panels as well as an appearance from the Annabelle doll from Annabelle Comes Home, but I arrived in time to see Thornton appear in his Art the Clown makeup, which was applied by Leone. Thornton was in character for the photo op, utilizing his mime background to convey a wide range of emotion without making a sound. It was a sight to behold. Thornton utilized props (his horn and scalpel) and squared off against fans cosplaying as Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Ash, and a female version of Art. Several of the celebrity guests even popped in to get their picture with the killer clown.

Although I checked out early on Friday, I stuck around for the after party on Saturday. It was advertised as being hosted by Art the Clown himself, but that was unfortunately not the case. (Thornton did, however, appear at the event out of makeup, embracing his musical theater roots for a karaoke rendition of Queen's "Somebody to Love.") Karaoke was the carnival-themed event's main attraction, and it had the mixed results one would expect when mixing alcohol and singing. There were also a few small carnival games, snacks, and beverages, plus the allure of rubbing elbows with some of the celebrity guests who joined the festivities.

This year's event also marked the first annual Scare-A-Con Podcaster Awards, with many of the nominees in attendance for a ceremony on Sunday. Scare-A-Con's Krest Winchester, who orchestrated the awards with the assistance of The Dorkening and Dark Discussions podcasts, admitted that there were some hiccups in the first year, but promised to learn from them for next year. Out of nearly 100 submissions, Pop Culture Leftovers took home the coveted Best Podcast Award. There were several other categories as well; I was proud to see my friends at Throwdown Thursday win for Best Interview. Witnessing the convention foster the budding horror podcast community was a wonderful way to cap off the weekend.

The guest list also included Elvira herself, Cassandra Peterson; A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise favorites Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss, and Lisa Wilcox; Billy Zane (Titanic); Terry Kiser (Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood); Jason Lively (Night of the Creeps); Kate Hodge (Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III); and Danielle Bisutti (Curse of Chucky). Scare-A-Con also included plenty of panels, photo ops, screenings of the guests' most popular horror movies, a showcase of independent short films, live podcasting, and tons of great vendors, ranging from original artwork and apparel to hard-to-find horror movies and memorabilia.