Fantasm horror convention tries to fill the hole left by Spooky Empire

Filling the hankering to commune with likeminded Halloween fiends and various and sundry horror/sci-fi film celebs left by Spooky Empire’s move to Tampa this fall, new local horror con Fantasm has a pretty ghastly (we mean that in a good way) roster for a rookie event. Boasting a partial cast reunion of pulpy cult horror masterpiece Return of the Living Dead (a very punk-heavy contingent with con regulars like Linnea Quigley and rare-gets like Jewel Shepard), the inimitable Michael Berryman from The Hills Have Eyes, and no less than a mainstay of one of the high watermarks in American television, Cheers (we’re biased) - now enjoying another career act as a Pixar voice - John “Cliff Clavin” Ratzenberger. (Which just makes us think of Cliff’s recurring obsession with vacationing at Disney World.) Terrifying locals like Phantasmagoria, author Jackie Sonnenberg, Mark Muncy and Kari Schultz of the Eerie Florida book, and the Speakeasy Sirens are confirmed too.

9 a.m. Friday-Sunday, Oct. 11-13 | Rosen Shingle Creek, 9939 Universal Blvd. | fantasmorlando.com | $30-$120

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