Linda Blair, Michael Forsythe, Eugene Clark, Oh My!

Kelly Doran

There is something about terror that bonds people. There is something about  being terrified that makes a person vulnerable. When a person willingly goes to see a horror movie, it creates safety between whoever they are seeing it with.

TerrorCon 2014 brought together everything great about horror movies. Camp and gore were in no short supply, with circus side shows, puppets; make up, fake blood to last for days, and some of Horrors greatest idols. 

Celebrities like Linda Blair (The Exorcist), Dee Snyder (Twisted Sister), Lita Ford (The Runaways), Nicholas Brendon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Eugene Clark (Land of the Dead)  gathered in the Rhode Island Convention Center for a 2 day blow out of everything gruesome. 

Anything that has gathered a cult following was involved. Vendors lined the room, everything from glass pipes for girls made by Pirate Girl Designs to  artists who’s art focused on the horror genre. Towards the back of the hall, they had these various celebrities, Cos Play Characters and Models. I met with some great actors. I found out that Roger Jackson was the voice of the Scream Killer and also….wait for it…MoJo Jo Jo from one of my personal favorites, the Powerpuff Girls! He was very Kind, and preformed both of the voices for me. I met with Cherie Currie and we talked about parenting, about instilling a bit of fear into children isn’t necessarily a bad thing. And the original Jaws props that were displayed were literally friggin awesome. Although the theme of the day was Terror, it was a happy, light vibe. People love to be scared together, and they share an almost expert like view on movies like Halloween and Spawn. 

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I sat in on a panel with one of my all-time favorites, the Queen of Scream herself, Linda Blair. It was obvious she was not at TerrorCon to talk in length about The Exorcist. She spoke briefly about how she learned to act from Ellen Burstyn, how to take Direction from William Fredkin and how being called the devil, at 12 years old, absolutely affected her. She was there to promote her cause, her organization, the World Heart Foundation. I almost felt let down about how much she held back, but she did speak on some of her own favorite movies. Sweet Hostage with Charlie Sheen is where she learned to love acting. She was funny, and looked amazing. She announced her next movie plan, with Gary Sinise, but that’s all she would say. The experience of just seeing her as a normal person was a strange one. Needless to say I’m now on a Linda Blair kick, and of course, I’m saving the best of them all to watch last, The Exorcist. 

Another highlight was meeting some of the actors represented by Entertainment at its Best. Eugene A. Clark was very generous and directed a mini photo-shoot involving me, him and my cell phone. 

After approving all shots taken, he said “Thank You!” and I was whisked off to meet the Toxic Avenger, Mr. John Altamura himself. What struck me was that even though they are known through masks and make up, they take a great amount of pride in the acting that goes into these rolls. It was cool seeing these Professionals out of make-up and proud of their craft.  

Aside from These actors, the best part of the day was talking with Michael Forsythe. He played one of the vilest characters ever in Rob Zombies Prequel Halloween Movies, Michael Myers' step-dad. When asked “What was it like to be so vile on camera?” he responded “It was great, I spent 3 days on set, and Rob would yell cut and tell me to mess with Sherri more, more, more!” 

He spoke on Rob Zombie's feelings about big studio productions, saying ‘I really don’t think there will be another Rob Zombie Directed Halloween. “ What started as a project named the Devil's Rejects clearly grew into a mutual friendship between Michael Forsythe and Rob Zombie, and I can’t wait for the next project. 

When I got the assignment to cover TerrorCon, it felt like Christmas morning to me; because some of my greatest memories were of watching Horror movies with my sisters and childhood friends. We would obsessively binge watch movies like Sleep Away Camp and every Halloween and  Friday the 13th movies ever made. I grew to find comfort in Terror.  Seeing everything that the genre has to offer clumped in one big expo was truly awe inspiring. One thing is for sure, I’m excited to see what TerrorCon 2015 has to offer!

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