I’VE BEEN GOING TO HORRORHOUND in Indianapolis for many years now, and have seen it in three different locations.
In 2019, the convention took the leap from a “hotel” con to the Indianapolis Convention Center. It was a good change which turned it into the biggest Indy HorrorHound ever, though I can’t say I didn’t miss the old comfortable carpeted digs of the old Marriott out by the airport.
It was weird to see the con set up with lots of space and long concrete aisles!
It wasn’t the only change for me this year. Unlike the past couple years, my wife and son couldn’t come down for this one, because Shaun had a high school band competition that weekend. And I learned once I got to Indy that the spot I have visited for lunch and dinner every time I’ve been in Indianapolis over the past decade… had closed. No more “Scotty’s Brewhouse Burger” on the way out of town 🙁
That was a big bummer, though with the new location, there was a Yardhouse just a few blocks away, so I did find an easy place to drown my sorrows!
Some things remained the same, however. I was able to have dinner with my longtime “Halloween Movie Night” friends Troy and Diane and Lon and Amy — all of whom make token appearances in The House By The Cemetery, for anyone who’s watching closely. We checked out the Sugarfire BBQ, which was awesome.
And I hung out as always with Jerry and Noa Chandler and Don May Jr. from Synapse Films (we grabbed dinner along with Lon at the Yardhouse on Friday night).
I didn’t get much of a chance to check out the show during the day — because I had to stay and work my own booth. But I did sneak away to spend some time (and money) at the Vinegar Syndrome table.
And on Sunday, I met ’60s legend Barbara Steele (who initially made her name in the early ’60s starring in classics like Mario Bava’s Black Sunday and Antonio Margheriti’s The Long Hair of Death and Castle of Blood. It was an honor to meet her and talk to her for few minutes at her booth.
Lon and I also got to enjoy the music performances and costume contest on Saturday night, which was definitely a step up from prior years. There were some wild, elaborate costumes this year!
In between? I learned how amazing freeze-dried food can be, talked to a lot of horror fans, including some old friends I’ve seen many times before, and met a bunch of new readers interested in finding some new stories.
I hope they enjoy the books they went home with!
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