When I first met Ben I don’t think that I could have ever seen what was ahead of us. It’s much like the quote from Steve Jobs about how you can’t connect the dots looking forward, only looking backwards. I was at the Monster Mania convention in August of 2008 in Cherry Hill, NJ. I had been obsessed with horror movies since I was 3 years old  but had never really found friends that shared my love til my mid twenties. Luckily these friends were already experts in conventions and via them I got to go to my first.  I was overwhelmed with all of the nerdery around me. As we turned the corner to walk to the vendor room I got my first look at Fright Rags. I was blown away by how beautiful the shirts were. I had never seen anything like it. The friend I was with already knew Ben and introduced me. First impressions, not only was Ben a good looking fella, but he was extremely polite and friendly. After a few minutes of chat I found out he lived in Rochester. What were the odds that I traveled over 6 hours away and found someone who lived in the same town as me? The first thing I remember asking Ben was if he would ever consider making a shirt for the film Popcorn (a dream that was realized this past Fall!) and if he needed any help. He politely said “Well not really, but maybe at some point.” In my Kristy brain this translated as “I should probably keep asking him all the time til he relents.” I couldn’t really explain it to myself  but in that short meeting I knew that I wanted to be a part of what was going on. I knew this company was the real deal- nerds who wanted to make awesome shirts for other nerds. It wasn’t about money for them, or for me, I just wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself.

Over the next few months I sent Ben relentless texts and MySpace (I know, right?!) messages. He slowly started to hint that maybe he could use help around the office once in a while. The day I went to his house to discuss me working with them was in February of 2009 and it was practically blizzarding out. I walked in to find him with a stack of Friday the 13th shirts, picking out tags with pliers one at a time because the printer had made a mistake. I remember being so impressed that the boss of the company was doing the dirty work. Ben told me that little by little he’d like to have me help him with customer service. I worked a soul-sucking full time job in an office building at the time, and I was grateful to even have a part time job where I was doing something worthwhile. I offered to help Fright Rags at the next convention which was coming up a month later. Ben made it clear that they had enough help for that one but if I wanted to stop by the table I was more than welcome to. I stopped by the table and sort of implanted myself there. It wasn’t about selling the most shirts, I just wanted to show Ben that I had mad customer service skills, but the fact that I sold a ton of shirts didn’t hurt my cause either. When I left on Sunday Ben took me aside to tell me he had been blown away by my attitude and personal skills, and he welcomed me aboard officially. That was that, I was a Fright Rags employee.

The first year I worked 40 hours a week at my full time IwishIdidn’thavetoworkherebutIneedtopaymybills job, and about 20 hours a week at Fright Rags learning the business. I always had to struggle to get weekends off from my dayjob to go to conventions with Fright Rags, but it worked and I was glad. Conventions were a time where I felt like I belonged. Every convention weekend made up for me having to walk back into that dayjob when the funtimes were over. In the Summer of 2010, I was called into the boss’ office at my dayjob. I was being accused of using my time there for Fright Rags. They had found an email I had sent to Ben, and even though it had nothing to do with my job at Fright Rags they were trying to make an example of me. I left that day, job still intact but realizing more and more that I didn’t want to work there anymore. I had realized it before but more and more I knew my heart was completely immersed in Fright Rags and that was all I wanted. I called Ben and told him that I didn’t care if he could only have me on for a few more hours a week than I was, I had to quit my dayjob. After some thought Ben told me he would try me out full time for the Summer and we’d see how things went. I remember how elated I was when I walked into my job the next morning, packed up my desk and walked out. I knew this was what was supposed to happen.

We got through the Summer and Ben said he was keeping me on full time. I don’t think I had ever been so happy in all my life. Not only would I get to work in an office where I didn’t feel like gouging my eyes out every day, but I would get to go to conventions and have a boss who actually cared about me.  From the start of our friendship Ben had always been supportive of my desire to be a professional writer and once I started working full time at Fright Rags he pushed me even further. I started writing online thanks to him and insane inspiration from John Squires and his blog Freddy In Space. Within a year I was writing articles in Fangoria and Famous Monsters, to now writing exclusively in print for HorrorHound Magazine, one of my nerd dreams come true!

Through Fright Rags I have had so many good turns of fortune, whether it’s meeting new friends or meeting celebrities I have dreamed of meeting since I was a child. Fright Rags has given me some of the greatest memories I could’ve never imagined I would ever have. What am I trying to say about all of this? I am forever indebted to Ben Scrivens, the man behind Fright Rags for giving me an amazing life. Moreover though I have to thank all of you for supporting Fright Rags and me so much. I really do feel like I have a third family, outside of the one I was born with and the friends who sustain me, and that’s my Fright Rags family, a lot of whom fall into my friends category. Thanks to all of you for always being you- horror nerds, in the end that’s what unites us, isn’t it?

I wanted to end this with giving you a glimpse into my life over the last couple of years through conventions. Granted this is such a small vivisection of my life at shows, but I wanted to include some pics of me meeting some of my favorite celebrities, and more importantly pics with some of you. They aren’t in chronological order, so you can see how often my hair changes, and that I seem to wear the same shirts at conventions!  I apologize that I couldn’t include all of my pics with Fright Rags fans, but know that you all mean the world to me.

To quote one of my favorite musicians, Matthew Good, “There is an unseen direction that is both unfelt and unimagined.” You really never know when you meet someone how they might end up being a huge part of your life.

Thank You and Much Love!

Kristy

James Harris, Fright Rags fan and write of Dr. Terror's Blog of Horrors

Absolute highlight of my life, Robert Englund holding the shirt I designed

Diehard Fright Rags fan with one of the loveliest families ever, Jeff Rego

That funny moment where you're playing Dirty Santa at Monster Mania and the gift you choose has a Fright Rags gift certificate in it wa wa waaaaa

One of the greatest things I have gained because of Fright Rags, my friendship with John Squires and Jennifer Carroll. John writes the blog Freddy In Space and his writing inspired me to make my writing career happen. He and Jen are two amazingly selfless friends. John and I joke that we're brother and sister

Haley Ott, the most amazing kid I have met in a long while. Daughter of the ridiculously talented Chris Ott aka London 1888

Joanna Skrabala, another diehard customer and recent new mother. Congrats Joanna!

Being the biggest Popcorn fan that has ever lived, meeting and becoming friends with Jill Schoelen has been a nerd dream come true.

Richard Braden, another diehard Fright Rags fan!

Talk about sick talent, artist Joel Robinson. We finally got to work with him this year when he made our Leslie Vernon poster!

Our artist in residence, Jeff Zornow with Tom Atkins, a man who I believe needs no introduction.

Defining moment, that time when I met John Landis and he OFFERED to take a pic with our American Werewolf In London shirt

Another nerd moment, meeting Tommy Lee Wallace, director of one of my all time favorites, Stephen King's IT

We had an insane event here in Rochester where we did a double feature of The Monster Squad and Night of the Creeps and Fred Dekker and Tom Atkins came out. Thanks for taking this "BFF" pic, Fred

I'm Thom Mathews biggest fan, something he concedes. I'm actually surprised he isn't afraid of my nerdity. Over the past couple of years we've become friends. This nerd couldn't be happier.

Geek moment, after the end of one Monster Mania convention we got to have drinks with Atkins, Stephen Marshall and Jason Lively

More Fright Rags fans! Meet the Aspinwall Family

Michael Welch, one of the nicest guys I have met in my entire life, and a huge Fright Rags supporter. Plus, winner of most epic beard

Nathan Baesel, star of Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. Definitely one of the highlights of 2011 was hanging with him all weekend at Rock N Shock!

It always brightens my day when I run into Maura Branley and Jennifer LoSciuto at a show. Fright Rags fans and bad-ass roller derby girls

Another favorite Fright Rags family, 3/4 of the Duffy family- Meg, Fiona and Damien

My brother from another mother, John Squires when he came to Rochester a few months back

Tom Bryce, who made it clear the weekend this photo was taken that he loves Fright Rags but is sick to death of us making him spend so much money

Sarah Mae Queen, another Fright Rags fan!

James Duval of May, my favorite horror movie of all time. He loved the shirt, can't say I blame him

Jason Edmiston, the genius behind our Monster Creeps poster and countless other Fright Rags shirts. Stay tuned for more of his work in 2012!

Joe Seely from Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child aka the Phantom Prowler! One of the nicest celebs I have ever had the pleasure of meeting!

Ira Heiden aka the Wizard Master (NOES 3: Dream Warriors), another nerd dream realized!

Last but not least, a family portrait. Thom Mathews and I with our pretend zombie child. An amazing gift from John Squires, a doll by Terry Cruikshank.

Here’s Kristy with John Squires, writer/creator of Freddy In Space, and his beautiful girlfriend Jen. Two of the sweetest people and biggest Fright Rags fans you will ever meet! Make sure to check out FreddyInSpace.com for the continuing adventures of John and Jen and all things Horror!

Kristy with Jason Lively-you remember him best as Chris Romero from Night of The Creeps or Rusty Griswold of Nat. Lampoon’s European Vacation, depending on which kind of nerd you are He was the funniest and most down to earth celeb we met all weekend.  The Fright Rags Crew had the pleasure of ending our Sunday evening having drinks with Lively, Stephen Marshall and Tom Atkins!

Ben with another one of the friendliest Celebs from the weekend, Stephen Marshall aka J.C. from Night of The Creeps.

Ben with a former (ok, current crush) Jill Whitlow, better known as Cynthia Cronenberg from Night of The Creeps.

Thom Mathews made his first East Coast Con appearance. He really loved the Partytime shirt. He asked if it glowed in the dark….good idea Thom…….

Mike, Ben and Tim with Meg Foster from They Live. She took the time to personalize autographs for the entire Fright Rags gang because she was such a big fan of our They Live shirt. Thanks Meg!

Rob Stein was the first of the My Bloody Valentine cast to stop by the table. You would recognize his character John most likely because his girlfriend got a shower head through the back of her head when he went to grab some beers! Because of the shine he took to our MBV shirt, one by one the entire cast stopped by! Here he is with Matt and Ben!

Here’s Ben with Alf Humphreys (Howard- the joker from MBV), Peter Cowper (Harry Warden the Miner himself!) and Jim Murchison (Tommy). These guys were such fans of the shirt they put it on as soon as we handed it to them! They stayed and talked a while and posed for pictures. Thanks guys!

You may not recognize her without a shower head sticking out of her mouth, but here’s Helene Udy, another MBV cast member who was gracious enough to pose for a pic! She hasn’t aged a bit since 1981, and is ridiculously nice.

As he approached the table, we were afraid he might pick-ax us, but luckily he just wanted a shirt! Here’s Neil Affleck; Axel Palmer himself!

Guess who’s a huge Fright Rags fan? Dario Argento! He stopped by the table after having fan after fan come to his table wearing our shirts! We couldn’t have been happier to gain a new fan, especially one who we have been digging for years! Here’s Ben and Zornow (not Cousin IT) with the man himself, Dario Argento.

Last but not least, we were honored to have Bill Moseley stop by the table in admiration of our shirts. He was gracious enough to pose for a pic even though he was on his way out. Unlike his characters Chop Top and Otis, Bill is always happy to meet the fans and takes time to support the vendors.  Here he is with Matt, Ben, Tim and Mike.

Thank You again for all the support this weekend! See you in CT for the June Monster Mania!

Anyways from getting to know John he told me about his blog, that I had read before but didn’t connect that he was the one writing it. I started reading it on a weekly basis and saw what heart there was in it. It was in October of this past year where I found myself addicted really. I started reading older posts (he has every one of his posts from his June 2008 inception on the site). I read Horror History 101 (http://www.freddyinspace.com/2008/11/horror-history-101.html) and was jazzed that someone took the time out to dispel the popular rumor that George A Romero invented the Zombie film. I mean, he made it what it is, but it did exist before Night of The Living Dead. As I continued reading the back catalog I loved that John had a sincere passion for what he was writing about. Let’s be serious, in this day and age where almost all of us have our passion as a hobby or a side project it was awesome to see someone who put his heart into every single blog post.  He wrote blogs about the things that spoke to me, and  to most other horror fans I inferred. A blog about General Mills Monster Cereals (http://www.freddyinspace.com/2008/09/ode-to-greatest-cereal-on-earth.html), another that cleverly called attention to the premature creative deaths of some of our most celebrated Horror directors (http://www.freddyinspace.com/2008/09/what-happened-to-greats-of-horror.html) and another which let me know I was not the only person in the world with an affinity for the Tales From The Crypt episode “People Who Live In Brass Hearses”…I’ve always been a sucker for Brad Dourif (http://www.freddyinspace.com/2009/05/tales-from-crypt-my-favorite-episode.html) .

John has also been a Fright Rags fan for much longer than I have known him. And he has been huge in spreading the word on our shirts, for which we are all especially thankful. It means a lot to us that he has taken time out to call attention to a sale or a new shirt on his blog time and time again. It was especially flattering that we made his Top Ten Horror Shirts of All Time List, not once or twice but 4 times! In case you were wondering, our Ladies of The Evil Dead limited edition shirt was #1 (http://www.freddyinspace.com/2009/11/top-10-coolest-horror-shirts-of-all.html). It seemed natural that when Ben and I started talking about interviews we’d like to post on the Fright Rags blog that John was one of the first names that came up. He’s a dedicated customer but more than that he is a dedicated Horror fiend, and he makes all of us proud to be part of that level of Nerd-dom.

John and I joked that we would have a drunken Aim chat one night (John can be a bit shy or so he claims), and true to his word he did have a Milwaukee’s Best in preparation for the interview. I realized that in order to let you have the full John Squires experience I should just post the interview in it’s entirety, and not truncate him at all. So sit back, relax and enjoy an interview with John Squires, creator of Freddy In Space (www.FreddyInSpace.com)

*Kristy: Let’s start out simple. Give us a what and where on how Freddy In Space start out.

*John Squires: Well I’ve always been a huge horror fan, since arguably before I should’ve been exposed to horror movies, and for years I wanted to make a website where I could share my views on the movies I loved.  I tried several times, over the course of several years, but realized I just didn’t have the skills to make a website.  And then I discovered blogging.  Once I realized I could pretty much just type what I wanted to say and not have to worry about all that HTML stuff, I knew I had met my match.  So I came up with what I thought was a catchy name and started writing.

*Kristy: Where did you come up with the name Freddy In Space?

*John Squires: When I first started blogging, I was kinda bummed out about the current state of horror and I intended to reflect that in the blog.  I’ve always said that if Freddy were ever sent to outer space, I’d know that the genre would officially be dead, so Freddy In Space seemed like a fitting name for a blog that was intended to talk about how horror just isn’t what it used to be anymore. And if Freddy is actually ever sent to space, mark my words, I will quit blogging! I might even quit life.

*Kristy: When it started did you worry about getting a fan base?

*John Squires: Honestly, I really didn’t.  I never expected the blog to be read by too many people, if any at all.  I’ve always been the kind of person to write things down and document stuff and it just felt like a good way to put down my thoughts on movies and the genre as a whole, so I could look back and read it.  Whether or not others wanted to read it was something I wasn’t too concerned about.  Obviously once people starting reading and liking it, I couldn’t have been happier.(The real answer is that I never worried because I knew people would flock to my amazing writing talents…but we won’t include that)

*Kristy: We Won’t?   What year did Freddy In Space start?

*John Squires: June 2008.

*Kristy: What was your first article?

*John Squires: It was titled “The Death of Death” and I talked about my memories of renting horror movies as a youngster and how sad I was that those days are gone.  I also bashed Blockbuster a bit. For the record I used to work at Blockbuster and I quit by placing a note stating that I quit in the drop box.

*Kristy: Did you ever think of taking on writers? Or has it always just been you and you never thought of having anyone else on?

*John Squires: I’ve had a few people e-mail me and ask if I was interested in having other writers, but no, I’ve never considered it and it’s not an idea that I think I will ever be into.  If I was making some big horror site, like a news site for example, I’d want other writers.  But for my little blog that people come to to read my opinions and thoughts, it seems stupid to have other writers on board.  Start your own damn blog, this one’s mine!

*Kristy: Has anyone ever asked you to write for them?

*John Squires: Yes and I’ve briefly written for a couple other sites.  One was Benevolent Street, which is run by my friend Tony Carroll, and the other was based in the UK and I can’t even remember the name of the site.  With both those gigs I quickly realized that I wanted the stuff I wrote on my own blog, not on somebody elses.  Unless one of the bigger sites comes a knocking, I think I’ll be keeping it that way from now on.

*Kristy: What are some of your favorite Horror blogs/sites out there right now?

*John Squires: Like everyone else out there, I always enjoy reading The Vault of Horror and Day of the Woman.  Consistently great content from those two.  There’s also a blog called Basement of Ghoulish Decadence that I really dig because the guy who writes it is a huge VHS nut like myself.  Haunt Style, which is basically just an ever evolving collection of cool horror related stuff/products, is another favorite that comes to mind. I like and appreciate any horror blog that strays from the norm and doesn’t merely review movies.
Lets be honest, who the hell wants to read yet another persons thoughts on Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

*Kristy: Name your Top 5 favorite Horror movies!

*John Squires: Since you asked for my favorites, and not necessarily my picks for top 5 “best”, I’m gonna have to go with movies that I can watch over and over and never cease to be entertained by. Psycho may be a great movie, but I can’t lie, it kinda bores me.
Dream Warriors, Cabin Fever, Devil’s Rejects, The Shining, and Hatchet. Yes I just effectively said Dream Warriors is better than Psycho.  Suck it, Hitchcock! It’s been a favorite since childhood, so I have a really strong connection to it. And quite frankly I’d take it over the original Elm Street any day of the week.

*Kristy: Who is the hottest Horror chick and who is your favorite Horror actor?

*John Squires:  Hottest horror chick will always be Elvira.  Favorite horror actor has gotta be Englund.  He may not always be in the greatest movies, but being Freddy is enough for me.

*Kristy:  What is your best memory of seeing a movie in theaters?

*John Squires: Without even thinking about it – Grindhouse.  People can bash that movie all they want, but the experience of seeing it on the big screen with my  brother and parents will probably never be topped.  It was so much fun and I don’t envy anyone who didn’t get the chance to see it in the theatre.

*Kristy: What are some of your favorite posts that you’ve done? Or one that was most well-received by your fans?

*John Squires: I think the most rewarding post I’ve done was a tribute to all of the actors from the Friday The 13th movies that are no longer with us.  Not only did it get posted on several websites and get a huge response from readers, but it also got the attention of several friends of a few of the late actors.  It’s times like that that make the endless hours of writing and researching completely worth it. In terms of favorite posts, getting the chance to interview Adam Green was pretty damn cool.

*Kristy:  Where do you see Freddy In Space in the future?

*John Squires: I just hope to continue updating it on a somewhat regular basis for as long as possible.  As long as I can keep it running ad not let my regular job get too much in the way of doing what I love to do, iIll be happy.  So in the future, I see more of the same from the blog. As for my future, I hope to someday stop procrastinating and start writing my own horror movies, so bloggers of the future can rip them apart and tell me how much they suck.

*Kristy: And now for the important Fright Rags questions! Do you know when you first heard about Fright Rags?

*John Squires: Many years ago my brother got me a maroonish Nosferatu shirt for Christmas and if I’m not mistaken it had “Fright Rags” printed on the back.
That was my first introduction to the company but it wasn’t until years later that I saw them at a convention and really fell in love. Sadly the Nosferatu shirt no longer fits me too well, but I still have it!

*Kristy:  Do you remember the first shirt you bought yourself?

*John Squires: I actually don’t remember the first one I bought…I’ve bought so damn many over the years!  I honestly have only 1 or 2 shirts in my closet that aren’t Fright Rags.

*Kristy: which is your favorite?

*John Squires: Gotta go with Killer Klowns.  One of my favorite horror comedies and such an amazing design.  After that it’d be Zombie vs Shark.

*Kristy: Why do you think people dig Fright Rags so much?

*John Squires: Because the horror fan had been hungry for kickass horror shirts for years and for years they were never able to get them.  Until Fright Rags came along, it was a simple square image of the poster art printed on a t-shirt.  Once a company came along that actually delivered a horror shirt you could be proud to wear, rather than walking around like a billboard for a particular movie, it was only natural that they’d catch on and become a big success. I don’t want to walk around wearing a shirt that says “The Exorcist” on it.  That’s lame and that’s all we had to pick from before Fright Rags came along. Thus, I bow before Ben’s feet as many a horror fan surely does/should!

*Kristy: Do you get a lot of reaction about the shirts when you wear them?

*John Squires:  Yes, absolutely.  Nearly every time I leave the house wearing a Fright Rags shirt, which is pretty much every time I leave the house, I get a comment on whatever shirt I’m wearing.  It ranges from people complimenting the shirt to whole conversations starting up about the movie. I remember I was in an antique shop once wearing my Killer Klowns shirt and a guy came up to me and said “I love that movie!” and we had a whole conversation about it.  Without that conversation starter, two Killer Klowns fans would’ve walked past each other without even knowing it! And that’s a damn shame, if ya ask me.

*Kristy:  What shirt do you wish you own, or do you own pretty much all of them?

*John Squires: Near Dark.  I intended on snagging it up when it was 10 bucks but my size was all sold out by the time I went to buy it.  I’m shocked that that shirt has slipped through my hands for so long, being that I’m such a huge fan of the movie. I feel as if I should own any and every shirt that has Bill Paxton on it.

*Kristy:  What do you think of Ben, even though you pretty much already said it.

*John Squires:  I of course have incredible respect and appreciation for him.  Without him I’d look a lot less cool, I can tell ya that much!  But I’m also kinda jealous that I didn’t come up with such a cool company before he did, I gotta say! It may sound kinda corny to say being it’s only horror t-shirts and all, but he’s really a pioneer.  In the last several years I’ve seen so many companies following the same kinda format Fright Rags does and even making shirts that look very similar in design. There’s a ton of shirt companies out there now making original design horror shirts, whereas there never were before.

*Kristy: What are your dream Fright Rags shirts?
*John Squires: Bubba Ho-Tep, I Spit On Your Grave, Silent Night Deadly Night, Intruder!

*Kristy:  Well Thanks for taking the time out for this interview John.

*John Squires: No, Thank You Kristy! You are one of the coolest people I know and Ben was a genius to bring you on the old Fright Rags team.**

**In the effort for fair reporting, I should mention he didn’t say that last part at all, but I can tell he thinks it at least once every time we talk.

Don’t forget to check out Freddy In Space!

Website: www.FreddyInSpace.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Freddy-In-Space/78732689301?ref=ts
Twitter: http://twitter.com/johnnyboots

Going to Horror Conventions has become a big part of my life over the last almost 2 years. I’ve been a Horror nerd since I was about 3 or 4, but only started going to Cons over the past couple of years. Mainly because it took me that long to find friends as enthusiastic as me about Horror who would trek 4 or 5 hours just to meet some Horror celebs and geek out on action figures and rare out of print dvd’s. It was at Monster Mania in August of 2008 that I met Ben Scrivens, owner/founder of Fright Rags and he changed my life for the better. Because of him not only did I start working for the greatest Horror t shirt company in the universe, but I met some of my all-time favorite Horror celebs and got an awesomely painful concussion from Jeff Zornow at Monster Mania Conn this past June! On a personal note, if it weren’t for Fright Rags and the Con life I would have never met my boyfriend, and I would have never met Fright Rags superfan Mike Kenny, who is now practically engaged to my niece Melissa. I am overstating it, but the Convention life has given me so many amazing experiences, and so many new friends, it’s a life I could live forever, and hopefully I will…

It prompts me to ask the question of you: What are some of your favorite Convention moments? It can be any Convention, whether Fright Rags has a table there or not. We’re about to start a new Con season and it just made me want to know more about your experiences at Cons! Have you met your significant other there? Met a celeb who was a class act? Met a celeb who ruined your childhood memories of them? Tell me all of it! Fright Rags customers happen to be the best part of this job, so I would be jazzed if you took a moment to share!

You will catch Fright Rags in all three installments of Monster Mania (March, June and August) and hopefully more Conventions this year-we will keep you posted!

Thanks!

-Kristy!

Miguel Nunez was the one person I was dying to meet at this Convention. He is an 80s horror staple, in such films as Return of The Living Dead and Friday the 13th Part 5:A New Beginning. I gave him a Partytime shirt and he freaked and demanded he sell them at his table. I was happy to oblige. Something even cooler with him happened the next night, but more about that later.

This was probably the best moment of the Convention for me (one of many). John Landis, director of An American Werewolf in London, stopped by the table on Saturday morning. He loved the shirt and gladly took two of them and took this picture with me, showcasing our awesome AWIL shirt. His manager later told me who the second shirt was for…Rick Baker (Academy Award winning Effects makeup artist, who did the effects for AWIL and also Michael Jackson’s Thriller). Very cool to think of Landis and Baker trolling around in Fright Rags shirts!

David Naughton, one of the stars of An American Werewolf In London also loved the shirt! He was very nice. I definitely love meeting Celebs who are easy to talk to and don’t remind you who they are, or make you feel beneath them. He was a sweet guy.

One of the best moments of the Con, was when I looked up to find 4 unrelated fans at the table in varying aged degrees of Fright Rags shirts. I had to save this for posterity. Fright Rags shirts were EVERYWHERE. Our amazing fans represented us well!

Dee Wallace is one of the nicest Celebs you will ever meet. I have never met one person with a bad story of meeting her. Needless to say she loved my Popcorn shirt from the Fright Rags vintage collection. She sells our Cujo shirts at her table! I was tickled pink when she said “You’re the cutest thing I’ve ever seen”…must’ve been the shirt….

Ron Sloan & Carol Locatello (who genuinely were the nicest Celebs at the Convention this time around) aka Junior and Mama from FT13th Part5: A New Beginning, stopped by the table to show the love. You will recognize Tim and myself, and the other guy is Mike Kenny, one of FR’s biggest fans, and biggest helper at the Convention in Ben’s absence. Thanks Mike! Keep in mind, Carol thought it would be funny to flip off the camera, based on how mean her character is in the film, she loves Fright Rags!

Stay Safe Reckless! Shavar Ross aka Reggie The Reckless from FT13th Part 5 also stopped by the table, and picked up one of the What Would Jason Do? shirts.

Travis Van Winkle proved to be nothing like his character from the Friday the 13th remake. He was a great guy and stopped to take a picture(he suggested we use our gang signs). He is a new Fright Rags devotee. He stood and oogled the shirts for a minute before deciding on what he wanted. The sweet guy even took one home to his girlfriend.

There were so many good moments that Tim and I both had meeting all of you, and also celebs…but one interaction sort of took the funny cake if you will…because I don’t want to ruin the surprise…click the link below and see what I managed to coerce  a celeb into doing…it really didn’t take that much convincing!

What Time Is It?!

None of us can wait for the next Convention! Hope to See You There!

-Kristy

The Totals:
-Number of rest stops:2
-Number of minutes spent talking about serial killers: Approx.30
-Number of times we sang off-key to oldies: Too many to count
-Number of energy drinks consumed: 2 each (Tim-Monster, Myself-Starbucks Dbl Shot Espresso). Plus Tim had 2 Mountain Dews, and I had a Coke and a bottled water…how did we get away with only 2 rest-stops?

On the road...we're so cool.

Now, Thursday is really just the pre-cursor to all the glory that follows. Everybody is antsy and excited about the festivities that will commence the next day. It’s a “Hurry up and wait” situation, but that’s the fun of it.
In actuality once you get in, take your bags to your room, and eat dinner, it’s people watching time. Convention set-up doesn’t begin until Friday at noon, so all that time  is prime time for Celeb Watching. For this endeavor, we had the opportunity to sit and people watch with Mike Kenny, one of Fright Rags biggest supporters. In the span of a couple of hours we saw:

-Dick Miller
-James Duval
-Kelly LeBrock
-Derek Mears
-Miguel Nunez
-Felix Silla
-Erin Gray
-Shavar Ross
-Michael Biehn
-Jennifer Blanc

Now the greatest of all of these sightings, was actually a meeting. Thanks to a chance encounter that Mike had with him at Fearfest, Ron Sloan (Friday the 13th:Part 5) stopped by to say hello as we all sat around. I will be honest, while Part 5 is my favorite, Ron Sloan’s character is one of the most annoying in any Ft13th ever. He was overly gracious for any fan recgnition of the film.  A genuinely nice guy, and his wife was sweet too.  He was even in an episode of Tales From The Darkside, he was telling me, which I found infinitely cool too. He was a great guy, and I can’t wait til tomorrow when I get him to autograph my Part 5 laserdisc (yes, I am pushing up my nerd glasses right now).

I have met Derek Mears a handful of times, and he always remembers my name, which is flattering to some merchgirl who spends most of the Convention behind a table. I have a bit of a past with Derek, and no, we never dated, he’s happily married to a beautiful woman, and he doesn’t wear glasses, so I’m not interested. I had the chance to interview him on my radio show on Friday the 13th this year, the day that the new Ft13th film came out (if you’re interested in hearing the interview, I can send you an mp3 of it! Just email me). To make a long story short,some communication got mixed up betwixt myself and his p.r. people and I missed my timeslot to interview him. Not only did Derek stay to do my interview, fitting it in after his last one, but he almost missed his plane to do it. He is a class act in more ways than one. If you have ever met him you know what I mean, but if you have never met him, definitely go up to him at the next Con you see him at, even a brief interaction is worth it.

Bill Philputt is an awesome guy who manages a lot of people at these Conventions; Derek Mears, John Landis, PJ Soles, the list goes on and on (re-evolutionmanagement.com). He stopped by to give me the scoop on some guests about to be added to his Festival of Fiends in Indianapolis..which makes me want to go more and more each day

The sad thing is, Tim missed all of this, he conked out at 9:30, and like clockwork, as soon as you go to bed, all the fun stuff happens. Impromptu celeb spottings, meetings/greetings, boys from VHSPS.com calling to see if you want to gather a mob to go see Inglourius Basterds at midnight (I wanted to go, but I nearly blood-oath promised my best friend I would see it with her as soon as I got back home). Everything happens when you let your guard down. Poor Tim, as I am sitting here typing this, I am telling him about everything he missed, and he is kicking himself now

I guess the final icing on the cake, was the most unexpected of all. If you have learned already, I am a huge fan of Return of The Living Dead. Miguel Nunez has been walking around the lobby on and off talking to fans. And for some reason, I cannot gather the nerves to just say hello, and introduce myself. Sitting next to me is my FT13th 5 laserdisc, and my never been opened Return of The Living Dead vinyl, just waiting to get his ink on it. As I walk to the elevator, he walks next to me, and we end up sharing it. I suck it up and introduce myself and he shakes my hand, immediately noting how awesome my Limited Edition Stripe shirt is. And he tells me he has a vintage one. Then I tell him I’m bringing him an awesome shirt tomorrow ( a PartyTime shirt, of course, from ROTLD). And he smiles and Thanks me in advance. He talks about a Con he’s doing in Tulsa, I’m dying to go…Thom Mathews will be there…aaaaaahhhhhh. Random meetings…one of my favorite things about Convention life…I love being starstruck by people I grew up watching.

So, thoughts? I can’t wait til we unpack all the merch, and get set up. Zornow comes tomorrow, and that should be an adventure…just know last time Jeff and I were together he accidentally gave me a concussion, so let’s see what he does to me this weekend.

To top everything off, I became a great aunt again today. Violet Marie was born at 6pm tonight. This weekend rules so far…

I cannot wait for all the real fun to begin…wake up Tim.

-Kristy (1:12am Friday morning)