[Con Review] The 2014 National Haunters Convention and Halloween Show

Conventions come with all sorts of themes and in all sizes. The juggernaut holiday that is Halloween is definitely not one to be left out for having their own either. This year's National Haunters Convention and Halloween Show, held May 2nd thru 4th, is definitely no exception to that.

Weirdly enough, none of us have ever been to a haunt convention in the past. You'd think that working in the business for over 20 years that would happen, but it hadn't. We were definitely looking forward to finally getting to one and what better way than NHC?

The goal behind the National Haunters Convention and Halloween Show is a bit different than some of others out there, many of which are geared only towards the industry itself. While those are great and necessary, there's another kind of market out there which isn't be touched upon and the folks behind the NHC/Halloween Show are definitely trying to tap that market.

Open not only to industry professionals such as actors, make up artists, prop companies and haunt owners, the general Halloween fan is welcome too. Everyone from just regular Halloween enthusiasts to home haunters and even the pros, it's a blend of a little bit of everything. Live entertainment, classes on tons of topics (seriously, there's tons of them), vendors and contests make the weekend full of things to do.

Recommendation: If you're a fan of horror, Halloween, or just the weird and strange, you really should hit up this convention. There's a great mix of authors, leather workers, prop makers, costume shops, haunted attractions and events that really make the weekend full of something that's surely to catch your eye. It's not the biggest convention on the block, but it's definitely one of the more fun and interesting ones, that's for sure!

 
Disclaimer: We were invited out to cover this year's National Haunters Convention and Halloween Show, which as many of you know, gives us complimentary badges to the event. As always, that has not and never will influence our opinion.

So, let's get on with, shall we? Looking for more pictures from NHC? Click here and here!

Vapor, 2014 Miss Halloween!

Again, we had no idea what to expect from the convention itself. Well, okay, we had some ideas since we had spoken with Gravely and read through the website, but outside of that? Nope, no real clue as to what we would see or experience. This year's convention started early on Friday and ran through mid Sunday afternoon.

However, we weren't able to get on site until about 6pm on Friday, which was a bit of a downer. Why? We missed the Miss Halloween competition. Which, from the sounds of it was definitely a good time for everyone.

The Miss Halloween competition is open to everyone from every kind of background you can imagine. All you need is a costume and a great character to enter, but definitely be sure to be there early so you don't miss out! Turns out that Castle Blood's Vapor won this year, which I think is definitely fitting. You never know what she'll end up doing and always happy to see a cast member from one of our favorite haunts rising to the top, even if they've already risen as it were.

Crowds were fairly light on Friday evening, which was a little surprising to us, but from all accounts it had been steady at least. The fact that many people have work/school/etc to deal with can put a damper on conventions that start on Fridays and NHC is no exception there. So, if you're planning to go, block out Friday too since the Haunt Tour also is held on Friday night. This tour, costing $99 this year, takes you out to one or two local haunts to experience them and get some behind the scenes looks into what makes them tick. Along with dinner and transportation being included, for all those die hard haunters and haunt fans out there, it's a must experience part of the weekend. Sadly, we didn't get a chance to go this year, but we will try to hit up Kim's Krypt and Field of Screams Maryland during Haunt Tour 2014!

However, if you can't make it Friday, then Saturday is the day for you. Not only is this when they hold their annual hearse show and make up war during the day, but also the night of the costume ball that night.

There was a pretty good turn out for the hearse show, featuring at least a dozen or so professional cars showing up. Thankfully the weather was cooperating early in the day and they could be viewed in all their glory. It's never a bad day when you can check out a few hearses and their displays, right?

I've got a soft spot for professional cars, so this was definitely a treat and many others definitely were loving not only the cars, but the displays that the owners put out as well. There's just something special about a hearse and as the saying goes "Don't let your first ride be your last!".

Lee Press-on Nails on the Hydra, who knew?!

Back inside, the convention was kicking off it's annual Make Up War. This competition pits teams of artists, solo or multiple, against eachother in trying to come up with a design that meets the theme of the competition. This year it was Mythological Creatures and the five teams that competed this year, definitely brought their A games.

With only an hour and fifteen minutes to complete the task, the clock is definitely against them as they worked to perfect their creations. Creativity has many muses and they were definitely at work here.

The artists were definitely pulling out every trick in the book and some of the ideas they came up with were really quite ingenious. I mean who knew that Lee Press On nails could be used for spikey boney bits? Not me, that's for sure. All of the creations were amazing, though the "Fukashima Mermaid" was definitely up there on the creativity scale. Such a cool concept.

The Make Up War's Best in Show, Wood Nymph

In the end though, there has to be a Best in Show and this year it went to a solo artist, and her Wood Nymph ( by +Porcelainette ) . Not only was it the most complete costume, but also showed a lot of skill in creating complicated results using simple and effective techniques. Definitely worthy and just goes to show that overly complicated isn't always the the way to go.

Seeing a live competition like this was really cool and definitely starts to get the creative juices flowing in one's brain. I mean, there's less than 6 months until Halloween and it's never bad to have a few ideas kicking about.

We spent the rest of our day wandering about and buying a few things from various vendors. We also checked out the haunted house that's set up in the back of the hall as well.

Before we get to that, there were some pretty awesome set ups from the guys over at Nevermore Productions, 13th Ward, Fright Props and several others that I'd be here all day naming. That said, can't forget about the independent vendors either. Again, you'll find some very different stuff here that you likely won't expect.

One of the coolest little things we came across was from Dead Buddies and there was no way we could resist picking up a few. They were just too cool to pass up on.

This is the kinda stuff that we love and it's awesome to see them at a convention such as this. Many other haunt conventions might pass on them, but we're happy to see that NHC still supports the little guy in that respect. Everyone loves the big flashy booths for sure, but again, this show is for every Halloween fan. Anyway, on with the haunted house!

While it's not exactly something you'll see during Halloween at a major haunt, there were a few great props within it and some interesting ways of doing things. Sure, it could've been longer and definitely a bit more populated, but for $4, not going to complain too much here. That and after a bit of thinking on it, it really shows what you can do with minimal staff and some creativity. Definitely something for home haunters to think about for sure.

The Haunted House, small, but still fun.

The floor closed at 6pm on Saturday, compared to 8pm on Friday, so we didn't have too much time left to explore things. However, the reason it did close so early was a good one, at least we figured it was. Every year there is a costume ball with a theme and a costume contest that goes along with it.

Held across the parking lot at Arnold's Family Fun Center, good fun was definitely to be had. It started in the parking lot as Father Evil was already having some fun finding new converts. (video coming soon, it's glorious)

This year's theme for the costume contest? All things Egyptian. Sure, it's been done to death in a lot of places, but when you get a bunch of people together with this much talent, you're sure to get some great costumes happening and it wasn't a disappointment. While I can't say much of the food, as we didn't pay for the event ($40 per person) and didn't feel right about that. I can say that everyone was having a great time and heard that many had enjoyed the food quite a bit (apparently the cheesecake was a hit too).

Two of the winners from the Costume Ball

Before long the costume contest started and those in theme, and a few not so much, were paraded before the room one by one. Everything from pharaohs, archeologists, mummies and warriors all were there, even an odd appearance by Jason Vorhees.

Everyone seemed to be having fun with the concept, but don't think that you can't show in a costume if it's not in theme. Not only was Father Evil and Ms Sideshow in attendance, but there were many other great costumes there as well. It's a fun night to go a little crazy and show off a little. Don't have a costume? Still go, it's worth the time and might win something from the raffle too!

Afterwards, we went a little crazy and joined in on a Haunters vs Normies round of Laser Tag and some even went go-karting. Yeah, this definitely wasn't your normal night of partying, not by a long shot. However, the combination just worked and we're looking forward to seeing what next year's will bring already.

Amazing creations from 13th Ward

Sunday was a quite one for us as we had to pack up and get ready to head back across the state, but not without a quick trip around the show floor to say our goodbyes and see what else was going on. The shortest day, only open from 10am-4pm, it was still fairly busy and definitely a few new things were lurking out and about. Top that off with the free show from John Cassidy, and it wasn't a bad day at all. 

In the end, the National Haunters Convention and Halloween Show is definitely a unique event. It's just as much a networking and industry convention as it is one for the fans and enthusiasts as well. Between all the classes, competitions and other events, there really is something for everyone here.

Again, it's not the largest convention and we may have liked to have seen it be a bit larger, it's still got quite a lot of potential and we're hoping that it continues to grow and build off it's successes each year.

We'll definitely be back next year and are already planning on getting into the spirit of things a bit more with our own costumes and other such madness. Just what are we planning? Well, you'll have to go to find out!

For more information, keep an eye on the official National Haunters Convention and Halloween Show website and follow them on Facebook or Twitter. Probably won't see much about next year for a little while yet, but I'm sure it'll show up sooner than later!