My wife and I attended the Days of the Dead Horror Con in Las Vegas on the weekend of March 15th through the 17th of 2024.
This was only the second horror con that I have attended ,{ the first being the Rocky Mountain Nightmares in Denver last May of 2023.} and the first for my wife. Needless to say we had an excellent time.
Day 1:
Friday March 15th started off on a rough note as our flight from Amarillo to Las Vegas was delayed two and a half hours. This would mean that instead of arriving in Las Vegas around 1:45 pm which would give us enough time to relax and explore the sights and sounds of Fremont Street as the convention was being held at the Plaza Hotel and Casino which is where we were staying, we would be arriving past 4:00 pm. This was be a major inconvenience as we a had [purchased VIP passes for the event with one of the perks being that you get to enter the event thirty minutes earlier which for Friday would be 4:30 pm. By the time we arrived at the Lass Vegas airport, collected our luggage, purchased a car service to take us to the hotel it was 5:00 pm when we arrived. Fortunately, I had pre-registered for my room at the Plaza the day before, so I just had to go to the VIP line and pick up my room keys rather than wait in line.
However, all the agitation and disappointment in arriving late went away as we steped foot into the convention space. It wasn't too busy that evening as Fridays normally are not. As my wife ventured off to see what celebrities were where., I set my sites on locating the horror actress I most wanted to meat at this convention. For those that know me , iot is not a surprise to know that my favorite actress in not only the horror genre but any genre for that matter is Ashley Laurence who is mostly know as playing the role of Kirsty in Hellraiser and some of the sequels. Hellraiser being my favorite horror movie and Kirsty being my favorite female protagonist in a horror series.
It didn't take long to locate one of the true queens of horror, Ashley Laurence celebrities I have met and that is saying a lot and most are very personable. As it was not all that busy I was able to talk with her for quite a few minutes. I told her about how I had just recently introduced a couple of friends of mine to the first two Hellraiser films and how at the age of 14 , I had snuck into the movie theater to watch Hellraiser 2 but when I mentioned how much I admire her as an actress and the many movies that she has acted in including a small independent film in 2004 called ,'The Lightning Bug', she immediatly perked up and was surprised that I had seen the movie. This brings up one piece of advice for when you meet a celebrity at one of these conventions, bring up one of the obscure movies that they have done, and it will make their day . Anyway I got her autograph and even took a selfie, which I normally don't do but this was an exception.
After a [pleasant conversation with Ashley I had located my wife who had just had just gotten an autograph from Eileen Deitz who did the voice of Pazuzu in the Exorcist. My wife is an avid collector of Funko Pops and had brought quite a few with her to get them autographed. My wife was like a scavenger on the hunt looking for each celebrity she wanted to meet.
Malcom Mcdowell, who has starred in many movies over is illustrious career , was the next actor she sought at and he autographed my wife's Clockwork Orange pop. Malcom was very friendly and funny not to mention sharp as a tac.
Jonathan Breck who played the Creeper in Jeepers Creepers. Jonathan was extremely engaging as we talked with him for a good fifteen minutes.
As we were walking around, we passed Ashley Laurence again and as she didn't have anyone at her table she came out and talked to my wife and I for a few more minutes as she was impressed with my wife's Funko pop collection. I would also get an autograph and selfie with the wonderful Heather Langenkamp who played Nancy from Nightmare on Elm Street another horror legend. My wife would also track down Miko Hughes who played Gage in Pet Sematary and another young actor, Jackson Robert Scott who played Georgie in the most recent 'It" movie.
We decided to make our leave of the convention for the night as we got dinner at my favorite place in downtown Vegas, The Chicago Brewing Company at the Four Queens , did some gambling and called it a night as we were a bit jet lagged and exhausted with excitement.
Day 2&3:
The next morning after grabbing some coffee and donuts we went to the convention area as they opened for the VIP guests. My wife took the opportunity to get in line to see Kane Hodder who is most famous for playing the notorious slasher, Jason Voorhees of the Friday the 13th franchise a record four times. In the meantime, I got an autograph from another horror legend, Dee Wallace who was in such eighty's horror classics, The Howling and Cujo but most people know her from E.T. Dee was very grateful, and you can tell she thoroughly enjoys attending these conventions.
We spent most of Saturday looking around in the vendor area. Along the way I met and chatted with some fellow horror authors, one whom was a gentleman by the name of D.C. Phillips, author of the recently published, Frightful Fables. We talked quite a bit about writing and started following each other on Instagram. I mainly wanted to pick his brain about whether or not I should rent a vender's space myself to sell my books.
Also, in the venders' area purchased several custom-made horror prints from some talented artists. I met Ashley Jagodzinski of "Ashley Was Framed". She is digital artist and I purchased some of her prints before my wife and I purchased some prints from Patrick Rasmussen of Phantasy Realms Art . Patrick mis an air brush artist and very talented one at that.
We were kind of in and out of the convention throughout that Saturday as we met my parents, who live in the area, for lunch and taking breaks from the crowd as we would relax in our hotel room.
We spent a brief time Sunday morning after having breakfast at the Hash House A Go Go, walking around the convention area. It wasn't very busy as we just took one last look around and said our good bye's to those we had met over the weekend. We had a 2:00 flight to catch back home so we couldn't stay too long.
We had a terrific time at the Days of The Dead. The event was well organized and all the vendors and celebrities were wonderful to talk with. One thing to keep in mind when going to any weekend in Las Vegas expect there to be large crowds everywhere especially on a holiday weekend like St. Patrick's Day. I love visiting Las Vegas but normally I prefer to visit there during the week when it is not as busy.
Which is why should I attend another Days of the Dead event it will probably be in another city such as Chicago, Indianapolis or Houston. But I would encourage anyone to attend the event in Las Vegas especially if you like that type of Vegas party atmosphere that surrounds the event.
One final note; the convention hotel, The Plaza was an excellent hotel to host the event. The event space was spacious enough and the hotel staff as always were friendly, professional and courteous.
