She Loves Halloween And Scary Movies; Ocean County Woman Hopes To Be Next 'Face Of Horror'

TOMS RIVER, NJ — From the time Ashley McClelland was young, she has loved Halloween horror movies.

"I would beg to watch with my dad," McClelland said Wednesday. "Jason. Freddy. Chucky. You name 'em!"

McClelland, 34, has taken her love of horror movies to another level, competing to be the next "Face of Horror." The contest, hosted on the Face of Horror website and shared across social media, offers the winner a $13,000 prize and a horror photo shoot and profile in the magazine Rue Morgue, which caters to horror devotees.

The photo shoot is with Kane Hodder, the man behind the mask of Jason Voorhees in the "Friday the 13th" movies, which is how McClelland learned about the contest, through Facebook and Instagram posts by Hodder.

" 'Friday the 13th,' 'Nightmare on Elm St.' and 'Scream' are definitely my top three favorites" among horror movies, she said.

The contest also includes workshops led by acclaimed special effects makeup artist Gabe Bartalos, visionary filmmaker/writer Adam Green, composer Rocky Gray, and actress Geretta Geretta.

The contest has a second purpose: Raising funds for the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, which provides financial assistance to families of children with cancer, along with funding pediatric cancer research.

McClelland, 34, who drives a school bus for special needs students, donned makeup to look like Freddy Krueger for the contest. While she has dabbled in horror makeup since she was a teenager and said she would love to go to school for horror makeup, she has never tried out for the cast of Fright Fest at Six Flags Great Adventure.

"I am an avid Halloween haunt attendee so our weekends are filled going to different Halloween attractions," she said. "Some we have been to and frequent often and some we make sure we have never been to so it's a new experience."

Winning the contest would be a dream for McClelland.

"I love everything about Halloween from the costumes to the cooler weather," she said. "The color-changing leaves and the decorations being put up on houses and in yards."

The cash prize especially would come in handy, as McClelland getting married during Halloween season, in late October 2024.

The theme for her wedding? "Nightmare Before Christmas!!" she said.

The contest has nine rounds of voting, and McClelland was leading her group through the fifth round, called the "Witch Trials."

The remaining rounds include the "Re-Animator" round, for those who are second in their groups in the Witch Trials, Oct. 13-15; "The Living Dead" round, which includes the Witch Trial round winners and "Reanimator" round winners, from Oct. 16-26; the "Last Scream" round, from Oct. 27-Nov. 3, and the "Final Cut," Nov. 3-9, which will determine the champion. All of the rounds are determined by public voting, the contest says.

You can vote for her here. The fundraising aspect offers extra votes for a donation to the B+ Foundation.

"So far we have been holding down first place the whole time," McClelland said. "I couldn't ask for a better support system through this!"