it’s February. Halloween is a distant memory. The shades of orange and black colors are replaced by cupids, red, white, and way too large boxes of chocolate. Luckily for all of us horror heads, there might not have been a bunch of oranges and Jack O’Lanterns, but there were plenty of radioactive greens, Jason Voorhees, skeletons, ghouls, Ghostfaces, and of course, some of the stars of Scream (1996). CreepIE (pronounced CREEP-EYE-E) Con 2023 emanated from the Ontario Convention Center in Ontario, California for Horror and Halloween fans to enjoy a little slice of that October magic.

The convention definitely had more people than their event last year, but they also had a good chunk of the cast of Scream, more booths, speed dating, an arcade, and other celebrities doing signings and pictures. Plenty of people showing up meant that the event as a whole was more crowded than ever, but that’s the tradeoff for a successful convention. They took up the entire room for the main hall of the Ontario Convention Center and then some of the side rooms as well.

The Booths Of CreepIE Con 2023

If you were in the mood for shopping at CreepIE Con 2023, there was no better place for horror/occult related, well, anything. There were booths selling Funko Pop! figures, Blu-rays, DVDs, 4Ks, VHS, toys, candles, apparel, masks, art, and even a couple of booths doing tattoos. Yes, people were permanently altering their bodies at CreepIE Con and it was awesome.

One of the real highlights was The Bleach Cafe. They’re a SoCal-based shop that takes regular horror or pop culture shirts and gives them a nice bleached twist. If you think the Goosebumps logo looks cool oozing green goo, well just wait until you see it on a t-shirt with a bit of bleach making that goo really pop. Or how about a Nightmare on Elm Street shirt with bleached slashes on the back from Freddy’s glove? You can get those and more at their shop. If you’re at a horror con, make sure to check them out, or check out their Instagram page for the shirts they have for sale.

As for the rest of it, it’s like a lot of horror conventions, with plenty of places to spend your money on some of the coolest items for your collection. If you need a copy of Society from Arrow Video that has limited edition packaging, you could find it at CreepIE Con. What about a two-pack of Funko Pop! Stranger Things figures from Comic-Con 2018 with Billy and Karen? You could have grabbed it at this convention.

In regards to booths, CreepIE Con 2023 was a massive success.

Extra-Curricular Activities And Massive Lines For Signings At CreepIE Con

Outside of the booths, the main event of CreepIE Con 2023 was the fact that they had three of the stars of Scream in the house for autographs and pictures. Outside of Bruce Campbell and perhaps Robert Englund, I’ve never seen a line longer than the ones they had for Jamie Kennedy, Matthew Lillard, and Skeet Ulrich. It doesn’t help that the three of them are stars of their own in things like Scooby-Doo, Riverdale, and Ghost Whisperer.

There was also a considerable line for the guests from the Terrifier series like director Damien Leone, David Howard Thornton, and Lauren LaVera. It was also a Leatherface reunion of sorts with three different actors who’ve put on the dead-skin mask showing up, Mark Burnham, Bob Elmore, and Brett Wagner.

Outside of the traditional con activities, they also had the CreepIE Arcade, a Fear Farm Haunt Experience to give you a taste of what’s to come this Halloween season, and horror speed dating. If you’re searching for horror-themed pinball machines or the love of your life (and death), this was the place.

Some Suggestions To Make 2024’s Event Even Better

The only thing at CreepIE Con 2023 that wasn’t the best was a lack of food options. There was one concession stand in the hall and it was jam-packed. Once you get into the convention hall, there were in-and-out privileges, so you could easily have food trucks in the parking lot or on the walkway outside. It’s an easy fix that would give people more options for food and not just the one concessions stand to get overwhelmed. The line for the concessions was as long or longer than some of the picture/autograph opportunities for guests.

Outside of that small quibble, CreepIE Con rivals any of the other big horror conventions in Southern California like Midsummer Scream or Monsterpalooza. Plus, getting into the event and parking was a breeze with ample parking lots, and the security line moving briskly.

If you get the chance to go in 2024, you don’t want to miss CreepIE Con. Get more information on their website, Creepiecon.com!

For more on Horror, make sure to check back to That Hashtag Show.

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