Lexington-born convention offers opportunities for filmmakers and fans
By Greg Levrault
The city of Lexington received a second helping of Halloween spirit on the first weekend of November, courtesy of the 2010 ScareFest Horror and Paranormal Convention. Attendees from across the nation converged on the Lexington Convention Center for three days to celebrate all things that go bump in the night–be they fact or fiction. Organizers estimated that nearly 10,000 souls attended the third iteration of what has become an annual tradition. “It’s a party crowd, very festive. It’s like a Mardi Gras–a giant Halloween party,” explains actor/stuntman and Morehead native Daniel Fultz. “We encourage people to have fun, dress up, go wild.”
ScareFest is distinct for catering to fans of horror as well as to explorers of paranormal phenomena. “It’s a good marriage of genres that works for us,” says ScareFest Event Manager Jeff Waldrige. The idea came from a discussion between Jeff and Lexington resident Patti Starr. Patti, proprietress of The Ghost Shop and one of Kentucky’s most respected paranormal experts, was interested in starting an event for enthusiasts of paranormal phenomena. “I asked Jeff, ‘What would it be like to do Horror/Paranormal?'” recalls Patti. “He said, ‘Well, it’s never been done.’ So I said, ‘Let’s do it!'”
In September 2008, the first ScareFest made its debut. Though the World Equestrian Games dislodged this year’s ScareFest to the weekend after Halloween, organizers have confirmed that 2011’s ScareFest will resume its mid-September scheduling. The event has grown in size and stature each year. “We were told it would never work,” says Jeff. “But, after the first one, it seems like it did!”
The most obvious draw of ScareFest is the bevy of special guests that come to Lexington for the event. One of this year’s biggest draws was director George Romero, whose Night of the Living Dead is undisputedly one of the most influential horror films of all time. There were also long lines for Machete star Danny Trejo, actress-turned-author Adrienne Barbeau, and wrestler-turned-fitness guru Diamond Dallas Page. Faces from several of the new crop of paranormal reality shows (Ghost Hunters International, Paranormal State, Ghost Lab) also made appearances at the festival. There were wrestlers and magicians, movie stars and psychics—even a movie star psychic! ScareFest aims for a star-studded weekend for its attendees.
Further down the marquee, a collection of artisans and entertainers, enthusiasts and intuitives set up their booths. They patiently waited to tell their stories and sell their wares. Some had long and esteemed careers, while others were just starting out. Some were from the region, while others were from the coast. For three days, this fandom community had a physical form and an address. Most guests, regardless of stature, took advantage of this.
Actor Brian Van Camp attended ScareFest to help promote The Dead Matter, a 2009 film that manages to sew the zombie and vampire genres together into one film. He sees conventions as “a good way to network, to meet other filmmakers. There’s a lot of budding filmmakers, already involved in the industry, at a lot of these conventions. Also, it’s a good way to promote the film and promote myself as a working actor, as well. Plus, they’re fun. They’re a heck of a lot of fun.”
George “The Animal” Steele achieved fame in the wrestling ring between the 1960s and the late 1980s. But it was his portrayal of wrestler-turned-B-movie actor Tor Johnson in Tim Burton’s Ed Wood that put him on the horror fandom radar. He sees fan conventions as “the chance to meet the people and reach back. My career was always limousines and jets, hustled in and out, never got a chance to talk to fans. So this is a really great opportunity for me.”
“I really didn’t know what to expect,” says filmmaker Jeremy Hamm of Maysville, Kentucky. He had his first ScareFest experience at his own booth, selling a pair of motion pictures he had directed and produced—one fictional, one documentary—inspired by a notorious abandoned hospital in his region. An actor from one of his films had attended a previous convention and encouraged Jeremy to do the same. Fan conventions, ultimately, are havens for those fans who also want to create. “Conventions are amazing,” says Hamm. “I’ve never been at anything like this. But now that I’ve gotten my first taste of my first con, I just wanna constantly go.”
Derek Young made a film called Family Property, a no-budget horror film being favorably compared to Wes Craven’s The Last House on the Left. The movie opened the 2010 ScareFest Film Festival and Derek made the 6 1/2 hour drive from his home in Martinsville, Virginia to attend the event. After watching his film make its world premiere (and taking a two hour nap in his van) Derek planned to turn around and make the drive home, as promised to his wife, in order to be back in Virginia by sunrise. Despite the truncated schedule, Derek feels the trip was worth it.
For guys like Derek, conventions such as ScareFest “give you a chance to make friends.” Ultimately, the fandom community compels him to keep creating and sharing his appreciation for the darker things in life. “I’ve found out from just reading the forums that everybody can’t wait to see each other from year to year,” Derek remarks. “[Horror con fans are] like a second family.”
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