When I interviewed Right Brain Productions about CreepyCon for the Fandom in the Center City article earlier this year, they told me that they “want people to be able to buy their ticket and be able to stay as long as they want and feel like they got their money’s worth.” They weren’t joking around. Halfway through my time at CreepyCon, I had to stop and eat. The entire time, I felt like I was missing a dozen events and moments.
The short of it is that the con is worth the price of admission. But what did the 5,000 attendees at the Knoxville Convention Center get for their money this past weekend?
Fans of horror, the macabre or Halloween could explore the entire space of the Knoxville Convention Center’s Exhibit Halls A and B and find something to match their tastes. Like most cons, vendors line the aisles but with horror-themed wares. The main stage featured non-stop panels, contests and live demonstrations. Classes and smaller panels were offered in rooms set up on the floor, and sideshow attractions were scattered throughout.
The first major difference I noticed with this fan convention after walking in was literal dark and light sides. One-third of the space was completely darkened from above, illuminated by vendor lights only. The ambience set a spooky tone. The other two-thirds was fully lit. In this area, celebrities who have been involved in horror-related projects were signing autographs and taking pictures.
‘We Have the Light Side and the Dark Side’
Kris Bell, the Grand Duke of Spook and Monster of Scarimonies, hosted most of the events on the main stage. He is the “guide to the ghoulish, everyone’s phantom that’s foolish” and added “I just have a great time on the main stage all weekend. I emcee all the shows and get to meet all these wonderful people.” He hosts panels and contests, including a high energy cosplay and Scream Queen contests. Sadly, I missed the Scream Queen contest in which contestants give their best screams on stage.
Bell said that his wife was a vendor at the very first CreepyCon, and he “started bugging them [to be the host] for the next year.” Living locally in Kodak, he has been host for the last eight years. He said that CreepyCon was “unlike any convention that [he’d] ever been to. We focus so much on live entertainment and guest interactions.” He cited events like flesh hook suspensions, aerial artists and Finnegan’s Sideshow Circus, adding, “there’s so much to see at CreepyCon that you need three days to fit it all in.” And he was right.
Bell compared the convention to a live rock show. He said, “we have the light side and the dark side over here, which is something I don’t see a lot of conventions do at all. And I really think it just makes us stand out a lot. The focus on the guests, live entertainment, and just so much to see here.” He said that his favorite event was the Scream Queen contest, “watching these people just blow their vocal cords out for glory. And of course the costume contest is always just a huge hit.” He urged people to come check out the show in 2026 show if you couldn’t this year.
To get a sense of the vibe, check out the video below:
Buying Merch in the Vendor Hall
I’ve been to a lot of cons and visited several vendor halls. CreepyCon’s merch is some of the most diverse I’ve ever seen. Standard items like t-shirts, artwork and food are offered, but so are taxidermy animals, scary dolls and clown masks. Booths offering tattoos, make-up and hair styling were scattered throughout. Everything one needs to kit out your scary space and ghoulish aesthetic. I spoke with two vendors: Froggy’s Fog and local shop Nirvana Comics about why they vended at CreepyCon.
Caitlin Hodges of Froggy’s Fog in Columbia, Tenn., told me that they “do special effects. We sell fog, snow, haze, bubbles, as well as scents that can go inside your fluids or be like room aromas.” They said that the Halloween and haunted attraction industry was one of the industries that embraced them as a new company and helped grow into what they are today. In their third year vending, they noted that they have grown with CreepyCon. Their fog helped set the tone on the vendor floor.
Grant Mitchell, co-owner of Knoxville’s Nirvana comics, was set up at CreepyCon for the first time after an employee encouraged them to come and be a sponsor of the show. He added that “Jennifer [Johnsey of Right Brain Productions] has just been so wonderful.” When asked about the comic books he was selling, he reminded me of the history of horror in comics. He said, “Horror has a really unique history in the comic book industry. Comic books back in the day from EC Comics, such as Crime Suspense Stories and other horror books actually led to the creation of the Comics Code Authority.” He discussed horror comics from the ’90s and said “horror has a really complicated history with comics, but nowadays it’s probably one of our most popular genres outside of Marvel and DC.”
Asked about the vibe, he said, “Everyone’s just having fun. Everyone’s happy to be here. There have been some crazy cool cosplayers. We’ve had Toxic Avenger holding his Toxic Avenger comic. We had a Mars Attacks alien walking around. You don’t have a bad time at a horror convention. The horror community is definitely connected to the nerd comic book community.” You can find Nirvana Comics on Bearden Hill, next to Soccer Taco and behind the art gallery. He added that they have a new Hellboy exclusive cover coming out next week.
Panels, Workshops, Demonstrations and Contests
Like much of the rest of the convention, there are far too many panels, workshops and demonstrations to list. You can see the 2025 offerings here. I did have a chance to step into Kacy Noel Art’s free oil painting class as she worked with participants to create Halloween-themed oil paintings. A panel of horror and supernatural authors was just down the row in another panel room. Sandy Larson and Sandsations, a local dance group who just got accepted into this year’s America’s Got Talent, led a Witch’s Dance Workshop. All of these panels were taking place at the same time. Blink, and you’ll miss something. Better yet, Don’t Blink (for all you fans of creepy Doctor Who episodes).
I attended two contests, the main costume contest, featuring categories of recreations, originals and groups, and the Zombie Beauty Pageant. The main stage seating was standing room only for the cosplay contest, and the costumes were incredible this year. My favorites were the “hag” and a recreation of Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors. The Zombie beauty pageant was later in the day and featured favorite body parts that each Zombie most enjoyed eating. Kris Bell hosted both contests and sadly I missed the Scream Queen contest as I was interviewing on the “light side” of the con floor. Again, take a look at the website for more information about other contests held during the weekend.
Celebrities in Horror (and other Genres)
Ghost Hunting guests included the Fourman Brothers of Paranormal Nightmare series and Amy Bruni of the popular Ghost Hunters series. Robert Kurtzman, a make-up artist for horror films over the last 40 years brought several of his creations. Kurtzman was also part of a reunion of sorts for actors featured in the Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House. Actors Henry Thomas (who was also Elliot in Steven Spielberg’s 1982 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), Robert Longstreet, Fedor Steer and Katie Parker were all in attendance. Supernatural co-stars DJ Qualls and Ty Olsson were popular with autograph seekers.
I also had a chance to chat with some of the celebrity guests in between autographs and photo shoots with fans. We discussed the productions they’ve been in, what they have coming up and if they’d had a chance to see some of Knoxville. Check out the video below with Henry Thomas, Robert Kurtzman, Katie Parker and DJ Qualls.
The Horror and Halloween Community
Many congoers at CreepyCon are local or regional; however, the radius of travel for congoers continues to expand. Attendees come to the show for varied reasons. Amanda Beth traveled around six hours from Charleston, South Carolina to attend. She said that her “daughter wanted to come with me last year, and we were only able to come to one of the days last year. So she’s like, we’ve got to go to all three days next year.” Her daughter dresses as a Velociraptor named Connor and is also in a clown group called the Clown Cartel. The group calls her Tiny Diny and Beth Tiny Diny’s mom. She said the group was very protective of her daughter.
She said, “I like flirting with the famous people. And now I like getting tattoos.” Beth got her first tattoo, a teal giraffe with a bow tie, at 51 years old during CreepyCon. She said it was inspired by her Twitch user name, tealgiraffe44. She added that they got the VIP package and an upgraded hotel in downtown and “we [are] going to just live like queens for a weekend.”
I’ve noted this before, but I consistently hear from organizers of conventions downtown that increased room counts and improved quality of downtown’s hotels has an effect. This was one more reminder that as we develop new hotels, there will be an audience.
Pam Brehm from New Market said that she had acted in the haunted house space for 27 years and her daughter followed her into the business. She said that she enjoyed the community and wanted to come meet the actors. Amber Coin of Haunted Trails has been coming since 2019 and said that she loved the environment and the chance to get some “scream therapy” in while she was there. She added, “it’s genuinely awesome.”
I’ve been a long-time con attendee, and it’s a major part of my life. Many of my personal vacations surround trips to cons. When the pandemic hit, I was able to fill some of that space with virtual cons that were held that year. The very first fan convention I went to when they opened back up was CreepyCon (when it was at the Jacob Building).
Though we were all masked, it felt like coming home. That 2021 show was a shadow of what I experienced at CreepyCon 2025. Right Brain has built out an incredible show for the fan community that loves the horror genre, Halloween and the macabre. I will be returning in 2026 as an attendee and hope to take in much more of this expansive con.
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