Days of the Dead this year took place from November 17 to 19, 2023, three days of scary goodness! Days of the Dead was the first geeky convention to operate in the midst of the pandemic, albeit in a more cautious, reduced format. Days of the Dead this year was packed with fans–conventioneers came in droves to the show this time since people felt far more comfortable now in 2023 than they did in the deepest parts of the mayhem. The Days convention is more popular than ever. Previously, the Days of the Dead Convention started in the Chicago area at Schaumburg’s Marriott Hotel. People will remember how crammed the hallways were at the Marriott Schaumburg location along with the infamous hotel lobby parties and the grand tent parties on Saturday night. Lately, Days has been held in Rosemont at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, a venue with much more room and floor space. The convention’s attendees, like all horror conventions, skews male and young, but there is much diversity otherwise. Days has had many storied guests through the years. Almost every major name in horror, Days has hosted. It makes you wonder if Days will ever run out of potential guests. However, this year, the celeb guest list was strong and varied.
There was a film festival, panel Q&As, vendors, and merchandise everywhere. Friday night saw the Chicago premiere of The Activated Man, a new horror flick starring Tony Todd, with a speaking role by Kane Hodder. Watching parts of it was absolutely riveting and I hope it will be available on streaming soon.
Often people say a phrase along the lines of, “I love it so much I’d do it for free.” There are volunteers at Days that are doing just that–they love it so much that they do it free of charge and show up at Days of the Dead shows across the country. One volunteer whose name is Rob drove all the way from Atlanta to be a handler for the celebrity guests of Days in Chicago. I asked him if all of his expenses were paid. As a volunteer, none of the expenses were. His hotel room at Crowne, gas, food, and everything else came out of his pocket. When asked what he got out of it, he replied that he achieved a sense of adventure. Also, he said it was about making connections, that it was the people who made it all worthwhile. And speaking as a former volunteer myself, I have made lifelong friendships just by volunteering. There is a certain magic in it–you make connections with other volunteers and you make connections with the people you meet randomly.
The panel for Terrifier, a movie that everyone knows has made waves, was absorbing and informative. The panel room was packed with fans. After a session of intriguing talk by David Howard Thornton, the actor who played Art the Clown in Terrifier and Terrifier 2 (and the upcoming Terrifier 3), the room launched into a Q&A session. One of the audience members asked Thornton what kind of kill scene he would film as Art the Clown that hadn’t taken place yet in the movies. He answered that since he comes from a comedic background, he would like to film a kill scene patterned after and inspired by a sequence in the Marx Brothers’ 1933 comedy Duck Soup. Other questions asked included one about Art the Clown’s personal history and if this would ever be revealed and explored. Thornton answered “tentatively.”
Other stars there were Dean Cain from Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. He was selling Superman capes that were signed by him. Cain left early and was nowhere to be seen on Sunday, probably busy with something or other. Traci Lords of Shock ‘Em Dead and Cry-Baby was also there, spotlighting a handmade statue of herself. Long lines had to be controlled by the staff for Ace Frehley, original member of Kiss and its lead guitarist. Harry Hamlin of Clash of the Titans talked at his table about his role as Perseus in the Greek mythological fantasy film and took photos with Count Gregula. Most of the celeb guests took photos with the Crypt members.
Horror fans tend to collect toys and memorabilia. There were a great many toys both new and classic at the show. Also in abundance were artists who did their renditions of the famous icons of horror fandom. Here you can see a handpainted Michael Meyers or Henry the Serial Killer. You can also find something for the celeb guests to sign such as limited edition art posters of the movie they starred in or a shadow box depicting a scene from the movie.
There were some vintage vendors there among many vendors hawking their wares. A 1975 first edition of Stephen King’s ‘Salem’s Lot was on offer, along with some ultra rare paperback novelizations of famous horror movies such as Alien, Friday the 13th Part III, and Halloween II that fetch very high prices on the book market. There were also vendors selling the movies they made. One of the movies was called Hell Van. If you have an interest in movies that don’t go through the regular checkpoints and channels, then independent movies found at horror conventions present an altogether new vista in movie watching. These movies are not controlled by vast studios and ulterior interests–rather, they have no roadblocks to creativity. And with a low budget that most independent horror ventures have, the constraint forces the creators to come up with something fascinating to make it all hold together in a movie worth watching.
Days has now expanded to its traditional slots of two conventions per year for Chicago, good news for the horror aficionado in the Midwest. The move to the Crowne Plaza in Rosemont helped with personal space although nearly everyone missed the nightly tent parties that happened after the show wrapped up in Schaumburg. For this show, there was a VIP party held at Murray Brothers Caddyshack Restaurant in the Crowne Plaza. Part of the fun of these parties is that, similar to the Schaumburg tent parties where everyone was invited, sometimes the celeb guests would drift in during the VIP party to have a good time with the partygoers. You never know who you’ll meet at these gatherings.
The Crypt noticed that people came in from all over the country to converge on this show. We had a great time chatting with people from different areas to see what motivated them to come to this show in particular. Many costumes were seen all three days, including a bloody and gory Star Wars Stormtrooper, Shaggy from Scooby-Doo, Jason Voorhees, and wholly original conceptions. Most of the attendees wore dark colors, with black being the most popular, along with t-shirts with movie names, band names, or dark artwork on them.
We look forward to the next Days of the Dead show which will happen soon in March of 2024! The guest list is already up on their website and it promises to be another entertaining show. As always, it is good to be among horror found family. There is a delight in the darkness, you can be dead sure of that!
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