Monster (Mania) Mash: The First Ever Horror Movie Night Convention!

I’ve been podcasting for nearly as long as I’ve known what podcasting was. In the mid-2000’s, I discovered podcasts through a brand new show (just 5 episodes deep) called Geekscape. I recall watching Jonathan and guest Scott Culver sitting on a couch talking movies and pop punk. At that moment, a voice inside myself began screaming “I want to do this”.

I created and took part in various podcasts to mixed success; Below the Radar Radio, BTR TV, The Saint Mort Show (in two different variations) and Reddit Horror Club. While making Reddit Horror Club, I felt my first ping of genuine success. People were listening and talking about what we were doing — it was while making this show that the idea of combining with Geekscape to create Horror Movie Night came to light.

This weekend, a year and a half after HMN’s birth, we ran our first ever convention booth (thanks in part to our amazing Patreon donators).

Thanks to Jonathan and the Geekscape booth at SDCC, I already had some solid convention experience under my belt. I knew what to expect, how to set up a booth and how to draw a crowd, so I went into the convention full of… CONfidence (yes I went there).

There were a lot of rough patches leading to our convention debut. Family issues lead to Adam having to bow out for the weekend, we had to find a power source in order to screen the DVD I had created of our best moments, and due to a bad address confusing a GPS Scott and his wife Meghan got lost and their 6.5 hour drive from Ohio to New Jersey became a 9 hour trip. Finally, only a little later than planned, I was able to hug my podcasting friend/cohost and finally meet his wife.

Friday was a short day (5pm-10pm). I wish there were some exciting things to call out on this first night but mostly Scott and I just talked to fans. At 10pm we  got to bed as quickly as we could for the busy Saturday that was ahead of us. The highlight of that night was seeing a con attendee with this awesome Phantasm ball. Looking at this fucking thing!

After what can only be called a questionably decent night’s sleep (Meghan and Scott on the couches in my dirty basement and me in my freezing bedroom), we woke up early for day two. We packed lunches, grabbed a quick breakfast, redesigned our booth and prepared for a very very long day.

Scott and I manned the booth all day. We tag-teamed talking to fans (old and new) and handled out business cards for the podcast. We also began distributing flyers for our live podcast event later that evening. We were baffled by the amount of people who, upon hearing we were discussing Jason Takes Manhattan, told us that it was their favorite Friday the 13th film.

We met some incredible cosplayers (Photos will be at the bottom of the article) that made us geek-out. We met a MASSIVE man doing a great Jason cosplay.  He “attacked” Scott and Meghan and actually slimed Scott’s shirt with all of his Jason goo. Some other cosplay highlights included children cosplaying as the killers from Motel Hell,  Blade from Puppet Master, an homage to one of the most iconic Friday The 13th deaths and the crown jewel of the weekend … someone cosplayed as Frankenhooker.

From 9am until 6pm we talked and shook hands and Scott sold albums of both of his musical projects (Survivor Girl and Consol Crash). At 6pm we jumped into my car and begin driving to Burlington, NJ to perform the first ever Horror Movie Night Live taping.

The live event was surreal. We entered Brickwall Tavern and immediately loved the venue. It was a former fire station transformed into a beautiful bar/dining hall/concert venue. It was the perfect place for our bizarre comedic podcast. We had originally wanted to do our live show at the convention itself but were declined. Since we refuse to take no for an answer, we found our own venue. I couldn’t be happier with the home of the first live taping.

Inside the building, I saw some of my best friends, some of my internet friends  (including the beloved ‘Scapist BigYanks), and new friends that we had made at the convention earlier that afternoon.

At 7:30, full of nerves and a surprisingly delicious chicken cutlet; I walked onto the stage. I introduced myself and Scott, and the recordings began.

For our first episode we were joined by punk rock supervillain Johnny Neutrino and his henchman/luchador bodyguard to discuss Jason Takes Manhattan. I scanned the room and saw faces smiling and laughing as well as some faces that were conversing with other faces at their tables not paying attention to us at all. At times it felt like a weird out of body experience. I was on stage talking, but mentally I could see myself on the stage. Suddenly, 45 minutes had passed and episode 1 was in the can.

We took a brief 10 minute break so I had time to thank Johnny for his contributions to the show, and we began to mentally prepare ourselves for the second taping.

We returned to the stage and began to discuss 1991’s Freddy’s Dead. We were joined by local comic Eddie Gallagher and hip-hop artist/horror host The Bone Pounder. At this point the nervousness had worn off for Scott and I, and we were in prime condition for discussing one of the more controversial movies among horror fans. Some people (myself) love this movie while others (the rest of the panel) despise it. The discussion was filled laughs, at least one uncomfortable gasp, and a loud applause as we wrapped things up. It was everything I could have dreamed.

The evening didn’t end with the podcast though. We decided to throw an unofficial “after-party” and booked two bands. My friends in Only On Weekends and Danger Club performed to the bar while crowds sang and danced to their sweet pop-punk sounds. It is even possible that I may have jumped on stage and joined Danger Club while they covered 3 Small Words from Josie and the Pussycats (secretly the greatest movie ever).

It was midnight when I began driving home. I drove quickly since I needed to return to the convention for the final day and thanks to outdated traditions was about to lose an hour of sleep.

Sunday was the slowest day at the convention. Scott and Meghan left to return to Ohio so I was joined by one of my best friends Stephanie. We sold a shirt or two and talked to a few more new fans (including a dude with a baller Spookies t-shirt).  Once we ran out of business cards around 4pm we began to pack my car and departed Monster Mania full of memories and plans for what the next year will hold for us.

All of my life I wanted to make a difference in some way. I wanted to make movies, not particularly because I had a knack for storytelling, but because I loved the feeling I got when a movie really connected with me. I wanted to create something that truly connected with other people in the same way, and I found that in podcasting.

When you’re at a convention like Monster Mania you are able to see that you are making that connection with people. Horror Movie Night in less than two years has become something I always loved… Geekscape, my own Geekscape. For years I wanted to be Geekscape. I wanted people to connect with me and laugh at my jokes the same way I did with Jonathan week after week. I was so obsessed with that goal that I continually created carbon copies of Geekscape, and walked in Jonathan’s footsteps hoping that people would feel the same connection. But I was being an imposter, and people can smell an imposter from a mile away.

Horror Movie Night was supposed to be the fun side project with my friends, and instead I created my own path. Horror Movie Night is a part of Geekscape, and we always will be. We love Jonathan and it’d have to be an irresistible offer for us to ever walk away from Jonathan and the team. But we have also managed to become our own entity that exists outside that bubble. We have a community of our own… a community within a community.

Conventions like Monster Mania are amazing places where community is just forged deeper. Perhaps that why I love them so much. Monster Mania is worth your time. Do not miss it next year, we certainly won’t.

Enjoy some of the excellent cosplaying that awaits you there.