We, at Skull and Bones Entertainment, recently had the
opportunity to experience our second Days of the Dead convention. This time we
went back to where it all began, Indianapolis, Indiana. We began our trip early
Thursday morning to catch our flight out of Orlando to Indianapolis. We haven’t
been that far from Jacksonville, Florida in a very long time so it was a big
deal for us. During the flight all we could think about was meeting people we
grew up admiring like Lamberto Bava, Traci Lords, Dick Miller, and Tom Savini
just to name a few. We couldn’t wait to arrive in Indy and be amongst the
horror crowd and our convention family. Once we arrived at the airport in
Indianapolis, Adolfo was an excellent promoter by having a ride waiting to take
us to the hotel. We always arrive to
Days of the Dead on Thursday to make sure we attend the infamous pre-party. If
you’ve ever been to a Days of the Dead pre-party, you know what we mean. It’s
the perfect way to start an awesome weekend.
Upon arriving to
the hotel we were immediately greeted by Adolfo Dorta who proceeded to give us
a behind the scenes tour of the convention center. He explained what rooms
would be used for the signing areas, vendor room, and the screening room used
to show films and hold the various Q&A’s. It was nice to get there early
and get a rundown of the convention center before the halls were packed with
people. Around 7PM we took a free shuttle to the pre-party at Visions, which
was at a venue down the street. There were drink and food specials and the place
was very welcoming to the horror crowd, sometimes even participating in the
debauchery. Similar to Atlanta, we were treated to a performance by First
Jason, led by front man Ari Lehman. Other bands included Opus Della Morte, The
Ugly, Deliver Us From Evil and a special acoustic set by Will Bozarth (one half
of the zombie themed metal band, Goddamn Zombie). For being the day before the
convention even began, the bar was pretty crowded. After eating and enjoying
the music we decided to go back to the hotel and head to bed somewhat early so
we could prepare for the rest of the weekend.
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| The Ugly performing at Visions |
On Friday the convention
didn’t open until 4pm, so we spent most of our time walking around and catching
up with friends while we watched celebrities arrive at the hotel from their
flights. Once the doors to the convention actually opened we were like kids in
a candy store. We moved from room to room exploring all of the amazing vendor’s
tables, as well as saying hello to pretty much the entire cast of the original
Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Ed Neil even spoke in character when introducing
himself to us! That evening, we went to
Quincy’s to attend The Nightmareman and Diva of the Dead’s wedding. The
ceremony was officiated by the always entertaining Kitty Zombie and was held in
front of a crowd of around 150 people. Nightmareman Bill even attended the
wedding in costume, as Freddy himself. It was a beautiful thing to witness and
we’re honored to have been there. Wickedbeard’s costume contest began after the
wedding, and it is a staple at Days of the Dead’s convention. Once you attend
the event, you’ll understand why. We were able to see several different
zombies, a recreation of Leatherface, and even a very impressive costume of
Pyramid Head from Silent Hill, as well as many others.
On Saturday the convention
was pretty crowded yet not to the point of feeling uncomfortable. This made it
very easy to hold a conversation with celebrities, with the exception of Tom
Savini. He never had a line but he kept his conversations very brief which kind
of made us feel a little rushed. John Kassir, who was the voice of the Crypt
Keeper, was the complete opposite, he was extremely friendly, and would even
record a voicemail message for your phone. Later Saturday night, we went back to our room
and began getting ready for the VIP party and the Girls and Corpses Miss Dead
Pageant. It’s always a bit surreal to be dancing and look over to see
Sean Whalen and Laurence Harvey dancing beside you. We also have to give a big
thank you to DJ Munchies and DJ Tre for giving us an awesome time with great
music, as usual.
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| Skull and Bones and just a few celebrities we encountered |
Throughout the weekend there were several Q&A’s
including a Texas Chainsaw Massacre ’74 panel, a Poltergeist panel, and a panel
for Bill Moseley. Unfortunately, we were
unable to make it to any of the Q&A’s during our stay because we were
usually busy. Events throughout the weekend included That Damn Tattoo contest,
Monsters Among Us Costume Ball, a John Waters This Filthy World comedy show,
and a world record was even set for the longest “Human Centipede” at 68 people!
The vendor room
was packed full of some of the most unique merchandise you could find anywhere.
We were able to see some of our favorites like Western Evil, Michael West (Author
of Poseidon’s Fury and Cinema of Shadows), and
the artist Chris Kutcha. One of the most impressive vendors, who was not
in the vendor room but the celebrity room, was Evil Puppets. If you are a fan
of small creature films or any Full Moon movies you would have loved the booth.
There were screen used Critter puppets, replicas of almost all of the puppets
from the Puppet Master series, and even a Ghoulie emerging from a toilet.
Throughout the weekend we kept finding our way right back to the Evil Puppets
table, which was by far a favorite of Mark’s. Right outside of the vendor room
was a special section marked off for gamers which provided con goers an
opportunity to relax and play some of their favorite video games.
On Sunday we woke
up and went downstairs to meet with everyone one last time. As we saw vendors
and celebrities packing up to leave, we made our last rounds to wish a few
friends a safe trip and say our goodbyes. Sunday is always the hardest part of
attending conventions because you don’t know when the next time you will see
your friends will be. Horror conventions are a place where we feel truly at home
and Days of the Dead definitely does a good job at making it feel like it. We
always manage to leave Days of the Dead, looking forward to, and counting down
the days until the next one.
Overall, Days of the Dead Indianapolis was exactly what we expected,
amazing! We had a few issues with the hotel but none that had anything to do
with the convention. It was great to hang out with good friends as well as meet
new ones. As always it was amazing to meet and hold conversations with stars
from the films you watched growing up as kids. It’s the many reasons that we
stated above that will keep us coming back to Days of the Dead’s conventions,
no matter where they are.
For more photos from Days of the Dead: Indianapolis, be sure
to check out our Facebook page, Skull and Bones Entertainment Invades Indy!
For information on all upcoming Days of the Dead
conventions, visit www.DaysoftheDead.net
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