IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE that HorrorHound 2025 is already a week in the past! I had a blast there, as I always do, but this time around had a couple atypical highlights! Aside from fun dinners with my friends from Synapse Films and hanging out all day with horror fans and readers, I got to meet and talk to Christina Lindberg (star of 1973’s Thriller: A Cruel Picture / They Call Her One-Eye) and I managed to set a personal high game on pinball (pinball? at a horror con?) More on both of those in a second.
It’s just over a 5-hour drive for me, and I lose an hour with the time change, so I go in to HorrorHound on Thursday evening and set up on Friday. This time around, on the way into town, I stopped at Jungle Jim’s International Market, an insanely large supermarket that has to be seen to be believed. I was hoping to find Melvin Brewing IPA, an ale I love that I bought there a couple years ago, but no such luck. Instead, I found Troeg’s Perpetual IPA, which I enjoyed when I was in Pennsylvania for the Dark Drafts Horror Authors Festival in January, so that was my “find” of the weekend.
On Friday morning, I had my habitual breakfast at Waffle House (we don’t have them in Illinois, so I HAVE to stop) and this time around I got a picture with the manager, Mel, who is hilarious and seems to be there whenever I’m in town. I always enjoy her antics when I’m there.
I ran into Daniela Fullam (Little Punk People) and her son Elliott (of Terrifier 2-3 fame) a couple times at the start of the show when I was unloading and setting up my booth, which was a cool reunion. I first met them when Daniela was an artist with a booth next to mine at Flashback Weekend over a dozen years ago and Elliott was just a little kid who played video games that weekend with my son, Shaun. Fast forward a decade and I have her art on the walls of my office, and now Elliott’s much taller than me and a guest VIP at these cons!
Back around the time I met Daniela all those years ago at Flashback Weekend, I also briefly met Christina Lindberg, whose character in Thriller: A Cruel Picture inspired Daryl Hannah’s character in Quentin Tarrantino’s Kill Bill. At the time, I had no idea who she was, and I’ve regretted not saying anything to her all these years, since I now own several of her films (and three copies of Thriller!)
So it was pretty awesome that on the last day of the show, I stole away from my booth for five minutes and was able to talk briefly, and get a picture with her. You can see a full tour of the hall, some great cosplay images and pictures of Christina signing my poster in the video below (that’s her on the freeze frame).
About that pinball thing…
So last year, I discovered that a barcade called Arcade Legacy had opened across the street from my HorrorHound hotel, and the last couple shows I’ve spent all my nights there, because they have dozens of pinball machines (and a bar!) One of my old favorites, a rare Star Gazer, was in the back being worked on this time, so I played more of the newer games than usual Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. I tried to get a feel for the new Dungeons & Dragons table, practiced a little on Jaws and Deadpool, remembered why I’ve always had a soft spot for Dr. Dude, and on Saturday night, while my friend Dave Kosanke was there, I played the Batman table, which I haven’t touched in a long while. I ended up setting my personal best score on it (like, 5x my previous best) as well as the #1 score on the table! Dave is my witness!
So many conversations…
When I wasn’t playing pinball, I was in the convention center talking to my friends at Synapse and Severin Films, and my booth neighbors Michael West and Tony Acree and dozens of readers and fans who stopped by my booth. The weekend went by in a flash thanks to them. Since I don’t have anyone else to “mind my booth” at these shows, I really didn’t get out to see any panels or other guests besides Christina. I would have loved to have met director Ti West, who I’ve followed since I saw his The Roost at a midnight movie showing at SXSW almost 20 years ago, but I did see him walk down our aisle at one point (too late to flag him down!)
Here are just a few shout outs to the people who made my weekend So. Much. Fun!!
Some I didn’t get to talk to enough but… I can’t wait to see them all again: Kay Ratliff, Josh Burton, Linsi Miller, Rena Bands, Sean Provost, Carol LaBranche, Dave Kosanke, Jerry Chandler, Don May, Rafael Diaz, Matt Harding, Erica Kauffman, Rachel Thieme, Daniela Calcaterra Fullam, Elliott Fullam and, of course, my booth neighbors Michael West, Tony Acree and Robin Blankenship.
I can’t wait now for September HorrorHound Weekend to roll around again. Huge thanks to Nathan Hanneman and all of his amazing staff for putting on the best horror con of the Midwest, if not the country!
