Enter the greatness of scary fun!
ScareFest is an annual horror paranormal convention that has been going on since 2008 in Lexington, the heart of Kentucky’s bluegrass region. For those of you in the midwest who wish to attend, the dates this year are September 11-13. If you’re reading about this in the future, then the year was 2015. (If you are reading about this in the future, are you a time traveler? If so, you need to contact me immediately, as I’ve got some straight up Bill & Ted-style hyjinx in store for you and your time travel capability! But I digress…)
The Event
The ghoul ballerinas opening the event.
The ScareFest horror paranormal convention is gonna be here sooner than you think! My wife and I first attended the event last year, and that’s all it took for us to decide that we’re going to make it an annual thing. Anyone who’s a fan of the horror/paranormal genre would love all that the event has to offer (costume ball, ghost hunts, magic show, freak show, and cosplay to name a few).
Even the cartoon paranormal is represented, like this exact replica Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo.
Many vendors at ScareFest offer a variety of different items and services. On the paranormal side there are booths where palm readings take place, tarot cards, you have your aura measured and analyzed, and real life ghost hunters/paranormal researchers are there to answer questions regarding to haunting and exorcisms. You also have the merch vendors selling collectible posters, t shirts, movies, action figures, etc. For horror fans it’s like heaven (or hell, mind you) because a lot of hard-to-find movies can be found and purchased usually at reasonable prices.
Amazing cosplay done by a member of the freak show Circus Envy.
Some of the activities that will be taking place this year are Impossible Magic by Reed and Ashton Masterson. He is a master illusionist that performs each year, and his show is mind-blowing. There are also official screen-used movie props such as the green goblin face from Maximum Overdrive, and the car from Christine will also be on display. On Friday and Saturday night, just a short walk from the Convention Center, the Kentucky Theater will be having midnight movies, though the movies have not yet been announced.
Guest Speakers and Celebrities
My wife and I with Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Saw).
Probably my favorite part of ScareFest last year was meeting the celebrities. I met people I really looked up to and some childhood heroes (Cary Elwes) did not shatter my image of them. I found access to the celebrities to be pretty simple, and most of them were very down-to-earth.
This year we have quite a few screen legends that are going to be in attendance: the great filmmakers George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Creepshow) and Don Coscarelli (Phantasm series, Bubba Ho-Tep, John Dies at the End); The Munsters stars Pat Priest (Marilyn Munster) and Butch Patrick (Eddie Munster), and many of the cast members from American Horror Story. For a complete list, click here. (I’m pleased to announce that Corey Feldman will not be in attendance this year.)
Myself and Alex Vincent (Andy in the Child’s Play movies).
There will be Q&A sessions with the celebrities, but there are also the guest speakers coming from the paranormal side of things: Psychic, medium RJ Deacon; paranormal investigator Adam Bonnett; authors Elizabeth Fields and Jason McLeod; and psychic medium, spiritual healer, Reverend One Eagle Feather. All guest speakers can be found here.
Closing Thoughts
ScareFest 7 was great, ScareFest 8 looks even greater. I call out to all lovers of the horror and paranormal and urge you to not miss an amazing event such as this. Tickets are still available here, and they can also be purchased at the event. Join the rest of us children of the night, and hear what music we make!
August 24, 2015
such a great article! As a member of the STAPH this year I have been able to see a lot of the behind the scenes stuff that a lot of people put into getting this event off the ground! It literally takes an army and the commanders in Chief are Patti & Chuck Starr along with Layla Cook. I can remember the 1st Scarefest was in a quarter section of about 50 booths, a couple speaker rooms and a preview room for films. Now it’s quadruple the vendor size with over 300 booths and attractions, 6 speaker rooms, the KY Theater for showings. And a lot of outside local businesses and the public library that are on board now! Any army of volunteers and a ton of family jumping in to help too! This event has made me proud every year to say it is in my hometown! The Starr’s and STAPH really put on not just an amazing show but the largest independently owned Horror/Paranormal convention in the U.S. Hope to see you there!!!