D'elle Memphis: July 2017

Hello my Creepy Crawlies!

This past weekend, I was on hand at the Horror Con of Mississippi (HCOM) in Tupelo. My mission,
besides playing dress-up, visiting with kindred spirits and shopping for creepy goodies, was to document the day for my friends and fans who have never attended a horror con before...OK OK my real mission was to goof off and have fun!

For those of you who haven't heard of HCOM, it is a relatively small convention that packs a definite punch. From what I have been able to gather this is their first year at the Tupelo Furniture Market and they made quite a spatter...er I mean...splash.

There were several relevant celebrity guests in attendance, Michael Berryman (Hills Have Eyes), Linnea Quigley (80s Scream Queen), Bill Moseley (The Devils Rejects), R.A. Mihailoff (Leatherface), Andy Field (Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location), Greg & Dana Kewkirk of the Traveling Museum of the Paranormal and Occult, John Anderson (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2), Josh "TKO" Turner (Pro Wrestler & Actor), Kaylie Turner (Walking Dead), Rory Healy (Goosebumps), and Matthew Atchley (Artist). Alongside the celebs there were also several prop and movie car exhibits featured as well as a strong showing from the local haunted attractions and escape room. Of course there were the obligatory vendors with toys, comics, and books.

HMOC offered a full day of panels discussing topics like the Evolution of Horror, Character
Development for Haunted Houses, Movie Making, Cosplay & Props design, SFX demos and the obvious celebrity guest Q&A panels. Several independent film makers were screening movies as well and they actually turned out to be worth the time.

The events of the day included Karaoke (Scaryoke), Zombie Prom for 16+, an Amateur "Face Off" competition using everyday make up kits from your local retailer, laser tag, a board game library, pet adoption with the local humane society and the of course the Museum of Paranormal and Occult. I LOVED the museum. Greg and Dana not only offered a great selection of truly creepy items but they are magnificent storytellers and shared details about the acquisition and investigation of a lot of their items with me.

Two of the advertised events which originally captured my attention was the audience participation showing of Repo! the Genetic Opera, and Rocky Horror Picture Show. I was all geeked up to see a shadow cast of Repo! Which ended up being a sing-a-long and sadly that event seemed to fall flat. There were several attendees who were INTO the sing-a-long, Lauren Knight & myself included, but many people were not participating. My group decided not to stay for Rocky, partly due to the drive back to Memphis, and partly due to the fact that the arrangement of the projection setup was not conducive to a good shadow cast experience. Don't get me wrong, the effort was greatly appreciated but probably could have done with some consultation on how to properly pull it off.

The cosplayer attendance was minimal at this convention. CrissCross & Dollface Cosplay and Cami Roebuck Creative both had booths in the vendor area and were happy to pose for photos and share their expertise. However, floor participation was minimal. Was this because of horror con goers are
less likely to dress out or the temperature inside the building? One major "con" of this event was the obvious issues with the A/C. I am unsure if they were experiencing technical difficulties or if the space does not have have adequate A/C. Saturday was the hottest day of the year and we were in a warehouse...in costume. One couple, whom I know very well, left about mid-day to shower and change out of Creepy Clown gear. They arrived back and he donned an AWESOME Jason cosplay but could only stand the heat for a quick trip around the floor once and had to leave to shower and change again...this time into street clothes.

Entry Fees were very reasonable, a mere $15 per day or $25 for the weekend and Tupelo Furniture Market has ample parking and not a bad walk for a girl in spiky heels.

HCOM advertises it is a family friendly event and, seriously they were. I know you are thinking horror and kids might not go together but they had a great selection of kid friendly activities including inflatables, trick or treating at vendor booths, and Monster Mash a family costumed dance party. And the vendors were respectable in their displays, not pushing gratuitous images of nudity or gore.

Overall, this was a great event despite a few growing pains and I hope to be in attendance again next year. A couple recommendations for the event coordinators: Arrange for a couple food trucks outside as the nearest dining is about a 10-15 minute drive and I can only do so much nachos and pizza in a weekend, and have some well-informed staffers walking the floor to direct people to panels and screenings (we had a hard time finding a couple things or people to help us).

Here is my highlight video and remember to PLEASE be forgiving my hair & makeup totally wilted in the heat. As you can see this event was totally worth a bit of sweat!

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