Days of The Dead Is Coming!

Days of the Dead is a great horror con which debuted in Indianapolis several years ago. Since then, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Louisville and Charlotte were added. I attended the first DotD in Indy and every one there since, as well as all of the Chicago ones and the Louisville debut in 2016, too.

Some day, I plan on traveling to LA, Charlotte and Atlanta to experience DotD there and I love the short trips to Indy and Louisville, but the ones in Chicago are always my favorite. I enjoy seeing so many of my Chicago friends there, plus it is only a twenty minute drive.

DotD is coming to Chicago (Schaumburg) Friday, November 17 through Sunday, November 19. As always, I am super excited about attending.

The celebrity lineup is so jam-packed, I struggle picking a headliner. It doesn’t even matter. Just look at the list and enjoy them all.

Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings)
Jeremy Bulloch (Star Wars)
Linda Blair (The Exorcist)
Fairuza Balk (The Craft)
Ryan Hurst (Sons of Anarchy)
Daphne Zuniga (Spaceballs)
Jen and Sylvia Soska (American Mary)
William Zabka (Karate Kid)
Lisa Marie (Ed Wood)
Diora Baird (Night of the Demons)
Eugene Clark (Land of the Dead)
Alice Krige (Silent Hill)
That’s a pretty awesome dozen. That lineup alone would be enough for any convention, but that is just the beginning for the DotD lineup. There will be a few mini-reunions.

From Hellraiser, there will be Simon Bamford, Doug Bradley, Barbie Wilde, Nicholas Vince and Andrew Robinson. From House of 1000 Corpses, there will be Sid Haig and Bill Moseley. From Robocop, there will be Ronny Cox, Gaylen Gorg and Ray Wise. From Aliens, there will be Carrie and Christopher Henn. From Friday the 13th, Kane Hodder and Steve Dash will be appearing.

Even with all of that, there is still a lot more celebrity greatness. On the music side, the legendary Dee Snider and Phil Anselmo will be there.

I saved two Hall of Fame wrestling tag-teams for last. DotD and wrestling have an interesting relationship. While some diehard horror fans question the inclusion of wrestlers, the lengthy lines of fans for past guests like Ric Flair, Sting, Bret Hart, Roddy Piper and more indicate that the folks at DotD know what they are doing.

This year, Demolition (Ax and Smash) and The Rock and Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) will represent the wrestling world. I can’t even guess how many matches each wrestled and how many belts each has had. Will the official DotD title belt be up for grabs?

That lineup is incredible from top to bottom. An offbeat pick, but the one I am most wanting to meet is Zaphne Zuniga. I don’t recall her doing any midwest appearances.

There are also many events in addition to the meet-and-greet. Jeremy Bulloch will have a rare photo op in full Boba Fett costume. This is a must for Star Wars fans.

Other celebrities will have special photo ops, too, including Steve Dash as Jason and a Hellraiser group photo op. Of course, there will be plenty of chances to take regular pictures with the stars at their tables, too.

An independent film festival will be running all weekend. This is a chance to catch some great horror, while supporting indy horror.

Other events include the Chaostume Contest, the FX Makeup Challenge, various panels, Q&A’s, tattoo events and so much more. Sometimes it is a bit of a challenge attending everything of interest, but it is well worth the effort. There I just so much fun happening all weekend.

One last cool thing for me, especially since it is in my hometown, is seeing so many friends. I have made great friends at DotD, like the organizers, staffers and attendees and I have also encouraged many friends to join me in the horror fun. It’s almost like a big family reunion.

Lastly, I must give props to the organizers and staff. They never ask for credit, but they earn it over and over. They work very hard to make things run smoothly and to ensure everyone (including the celebs) have a great time.There is a reason why DotD has grown so much since that first show in Indy and it all starts at the top.

DotD has quietly become a major horror convention. It attracts big name celebrities and thousands of attendees at every event. I’ll be there as usual and I hope to see many familiar faces and some new ones, too.