2015 World Horror Con Badge Holder Crumbles Into Dust

I've attended dozens of conventions these past 24 years. I keep all my convention badges in a tote bag in my closet. Today I examined my bag's contents, which I haven't done in many years; I just drop in the new badges.

My 2015 WHC badge holder appeared intact. But when I picked it up, it crumbled to my touch. All my other badge holders are fine.

What was this badge holder made of, paper? My 2015 WHC tote bag has a similar orange appearance (I also keep my convention tote bags), yet it remains intact and firm.

I screened several Tabloid Witch Award winning horror films at the 2015 WHC in Atlanta. A great event. 

Anyone else miss WHC?

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Halloween Begins on July 31 in 2024

Every year I'm on the lookout for the first signs of Halloween. And every year, Halloween makes its initial appearance earlier and earlier. In recent years, Halloween was already here in early August. 

But yesterday, on July 31, 2024, at the Pavilions in Santa Monica, Pumpkin Spice products were already on display.

Okay, you might say Pumpkin Spice means Autumn (September), not necessarily Halloween. But I think Halloween and Pumpkin Spice marketing go together.

 

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David J. Skal, R.I.P.

Several horror icons whom I admire have died these past several months. I just now learned that David J. Skal (1952 - 2024) died after being hit by a drunk driver in Los Angeles.

I first encountered Skal through his book, The Monster Show. A self-described "cultural history of horror," his book is informative, filled with original insights, and well written; a breezy, entertaining read, mercifully free of academic jargon. The prose is literate yet accessible to lay readers, the way film criticism should be always.

I later read his Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween, as part of my research for a class I taught at The Learning Annex about Halloween haunted houses. It was great preparation for my lecture.

I only met Skal once, in the fall of 2001, at Burbank's Dark Delicacies horror bookstore. Several writers were there for a book-signing, including me and Skal. I had brought The Monster Show for him to sign, which he did. I still prize that book with his inscription.

To my surprise, he bought a copy of my book, Halloween Candy and asked me to sign it. I took it as his way of encouraging a fellow writer and fan who was hardly in his league.

Overall, Skal was a fine historian, a skilled writer, and a gracious man.

 

 

 

 

First Halloween Sighting in 2023 on July 22

Every year Halloween (and Christmas) starts earlier. For some time now, my first Halloween sightings have been around mid August. But this year, Halloween began in July.

On Saturday, July 22, I received the Fall 2023 issue of Westways magazine (published by the California AAA. In it was ad advertisement for Knott's Scary Farm.

That makes July 22 my first official Halloween sighting of the year.

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Loscon 47 Canceled Due to Covid-19

Today I received the following email:


Members and Friends,

With the effects of the Covid-19  pandemic being felt in many sectors, we are not immune I'm sorry to say. The fallout of these effects sadly means that we will be postponing Loscon 47 until next year. We are rescheduling Loscon 47 for Thanksgiving weekend (November 26th through November 28th 2021).

We will be rolling Guests, members, and dealer room participants over to next year. Writer Guest Dr. Gregory Benford, our Artist Guest Jeff Sturgeon and Fan Guests of Honor Dennis and Kristine Cherry have all agreed to be there and are looking forward to being there next year.  

There will be more info as we re-assemble our teams to bring this to fruition in November of 2021.

A general meeting to discuss this will be on Friday 6/19/2020 at 7:30 via jitsi meet. This will be a very brief meeting just to touch base with members and staff. The link is https://losconmeeting.com/update2020 from most web browsers. You only need to download an app if you are on IOS or Android.

As always you may ask questions at email:info@loscon.org and I look forward to seeing you all Thanksgiving weekend 2021

Loscon Chairman, Scott Beckstead


This is disappointing. I attend Loscon most years. While I understand some members' concerns, I think this is overkill. Loscon 47 was to meet at the end of November. Surely Covid-19 will quiet down by then? Plus, Loscon 47 can always requires masks, gloves, and social distancing for those who choose to attend.

If you agree that Loscon 47 should go forward this November, please let them know. Offer to help in whatever you can to make Loscon 47 happen, and happen safely.

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Horror Films Screening at Loscon 46

Come this November, I will once again be returning to Loscon, Los Angeles's premiere science fiction & fantasy convention, to host a screening of select horror films on the night of Friday, November 29th.

Films will be chosen from among the winners of the 2019 Tabloid Witch Awards, which I manage.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A panel of guest filmmakers. So far, Justin Head (Queen of the Dead) and Shannon Brown (The Potluck) have agreed to attend.

I invite all horror film fans to come!

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Harvey Weinstein Raped Horror Actress Lysette Anthony

British actress Lysette Anthony has announced that she too was raped by producer Harvey Weinstein.

According to the Daily Mail [October 14, 2017]:

British actress Lysette Anthony has told police that Harvey Weinstein raped her, the Sunday Times reported, becoming the fifth woman to level such accusations against the disgraced Hollywood mogul.

The 54-year-old actress, who currently appears in British soap Hollyoaks, told Metropolitan Police last week that she had originally met Weinstein in New York, and agreed to meet him later at his rented house in London, according to the paper.

"The next thing I knew he was half undressed and he grabbed me. It was the last thing I expected and I fled," she told the Times.

Anthony, who appeared in Woody Allen's 1992 film "Husbands and Wives", said that Weinstein then began stalking her, turning up unannounced at her house.

"He pushed me inside and rammed me against the coat rack," she said of the attack in the 1980s. "He was trying to kiss me and shove inside me. Finally I just gave up."

Weinstein has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex.

Anthony first came to my attention when she played Angelique Bouchard in the short-lived 1991 Dark Shadows remake. While Anthony is not especially known as a scream queen, her extensive body of work (she has 89 acting credits on IMDB) does include many horror films and TV shows.

My favorite horror work by Anthony is Trilogy of Terror II (1996), in which she played the lead role in all three tales of that horror anthology sequel. This was in the tradition of Karen Black playing the lead in all three of the original Trilogy of Terror's stories.

The original is justly considered a horror classic and Black's performance was a tough act to follow. But while the remake is little remembered, Anthony's performance was a worthy successor to Black's. Especially in "Bobby" (the middle story), wherein Anthony plays a mother who turns to witchcraft in an attempt to resurrect her dead son. By all means, watch it.

Horror is a tight-knit community, composed of passionate fans. Although all of Weinstein's victims should be supported, reading about Anthony felt personal, as though "one of our own" was attacked. Let's hope Anthony and the other women find peace and justice.

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