Phoenix FearCon 2014: My Experience

Sharon and I ready to party Halloween night.

It all started on Halloween when Sharon Day (Ghost Hunting Theories) and I headed out to the Marriot Hotel where we would stay for the weekend.  The hotel was located near Interstate 10 and the 101 on 95^th Lane in Avondale, AZ.  The FearCon event was on 99^th Avenue where Fear Farm is located.  We got to the hotel at check-in time and went right up to the room.  We typically like to relax a bit before heading out to whatever we have planned.  We had plenty of time before the Halloween Ball at 7:30, so we pulled out our laptops and tablets to see our friends and their kids in fun costumes on Facebook.  Before getting our costumes on, we went down to the café to get a bite to eat for supper.  After eating, it was back to the room to transform into an 80’s rocker and a pirate wench for Sharon.

We had fun getting ready and putting on our attire.  Sharon did my makeup which was a typical, over-the-top 80’s look.  I put on my red and black wig which completed the look.  After taking selfies and other pictures of ourselves in costume, we headed down to the party.

Mark Torgl (Melvin the Mop Boy) from Toxic Avenger and a friend.

The Walking Dead cosplay actors along with other celebrities.

Busted taking a picture of ourselves.

We first went to the café to get a beer to start the night off proper.   The first celebrity I noticed was Scott Tepperman from GHI (Ghost Hunters International) who talking with another guest.  Sharon and I wandered around and chatted with many of the other visitors at the Halloween Ball.  I took pictures of the many people, who were in costume, the celebrities that were there, the Walking Dead cosplay actors, and the interesting decorations.  (I will be writing individual posts on some of these people.)  We ended the evening with a zombie shot and went back to our room. 

The next day was the FearCon event at Fear Farm.  After we got there, parked the car out front, we went inside to find our table.  We found an empty table no one appeared to be using so we claimed it as ours.  It took us a couple of trips, but we got all the boxes, luggage, and even Dale the Doll to the location.  We set the table where we wanted, and began to decorate our space.  We were proud of how it looked and was ready for the folks to arrive.  We met many interesting people who stopped by our table to chat and ask about our books.  Many loved the Zombie Housewives concept and wanted to hear how we came up with the idea.  Some wanted to hear about Sharon’s experiences in the haunted houses she grew up and vacationed in.  I even got connections to bookstore owners who may want to sell my travel book.  Our book sales were scarce, but we had fun talking with the individuals who stopped by our table.  Also, we got to watch the gentlemen in the Predator costumes get ready.  Whew, it took lots of parts to their attire to complete the outfit, but the final look was awesome.

We did get to wander around, but one at a time.  We wanted at least one of us at the table because Dale was scared of the clowns, haha.  I was able to take pictures of all the creative costumes of those who walked by, but couldn’t really check out the other venues which were lining the walkway.  Around 6:30, a very sweet gal came by our table and said that we were in her space.  She understood our mix-up and we volunteered to pack up.  We were tired at this point and wanted to see more of the action and events going on.  It took two trips, but we got it all stuffed in Sharon’s car and went back to enjoy the shows and venues.  We walked around a few times, had a beer, and went back to our room. 

We decided to just do PR on Sunday by handing out grab bags with information about us and free swag.  We went to every booth, grab their cards and talk to them about their organizations, art works, or merchandise.  We found this was the best way for us to advertise who we were, talk about our books and blogs.  We also got autographs from a couple a nice guys from the hit show, Walking Dead, Theodus Crane (Big Tiny) and Markice Moore (Andrew), along with actor Fred Williamson.  We even said hi to Mark Torgl (Melvin the Mop Boy) from Toxic Avenger.  We had a blast chatting with him the night before at the party.  A couple of the security guards gave us a daytime tour of Fear Farm.  There were many spooky structures with creepy and gory scenes inside.  We are definitely checking this place out next year, but in the dark when all the scary creatures are hiding in the corn maze ready to jump out at you.

Markice Moore

Theodus Crane

Sharon, Fred Williamson and me

A teaser picture of one of the things found in the haunted corn maze.

We had a wonderful time at FearCon and can’t wait for next year.  I will be doing many posts of the individual vendors, artists, groups, Fear Farm, the celebrities, and costumes of the people who where there along with many pictures of the event.   So be sure to check out this blog and my Julie Ferguson Designs blog, where these posts will appear.