Tromeric Takes On Crypticon 2014

My favorite weekend of the year has come and gone. I have made it to most of the Crypticons over the years, and each one has been an amazing experience. The first one was huge for me, as it was my first legit horror con. The second was great, but I was so broke at the time, I realistically should have skipped it, but that's not my style. I then missed a couple, but three years ago, made my return. Last year was great, but it was also the first time I was a vendor, and not just an attendee. This year, time did not allow for that. Jacob VonKlingele and I let it sneak up on us, and we knew we just couldn't get enough stuff ready to make it worth it. Even with that knowledge, I couldn't miss it. It has always been such a great event. As the guest list was announced, it became more apparent. Lynn Lowery, The Soska Sisters, Tristan Risk, Jeffery Combs, John Kassir, and many more. 

 Jump ahead, and it was finally time. I worked a bunch of extra days beforehand, just to make sure I had enough cash to fully enjoy . My train left Friday morning, and I worked all the way up until Thursday night. I work graveyard, so that didn't leave much time for sleep, but I am more than happy to make sacrifices, to make an event better. I got off work, got everything ready, tried to sleep, but it just wasn't in the cards. So I prepared with coffee, smokes, and herb. Peter Poison gave me a lift to the train station, and it began. 

There was a water scare here in Portland, the day I left. It affected my trip, as the train had been filled with water from Portland, which now was known to be unsafe to drink. The worst part of that was that due to the potential risk, no coffee was able to be brewed. That is not a good thing when you have already been awake for 24 hours, and still have a trip, and a ton of planned events left in the day. Luckily I am a man of action, and compromise, so I did the responsible thing and just drank whiskey. 

I got into Seattle, and was greeted by Mr. VonKlingele. We instantly started hunting for VHS, and other things. A few great finds right off the bat, it gave me hope this weekend was going to live up to my expectations. We then returned to his house, where he gave me a stack of things that he had found for me over the last few months. Included in that, was one of the Dr. Tongue HorrorBalls he surprised me with. It hadn't even officially started, and I already had a full weekends worth of finds. Not a bad way to start.

Love the look of this cleaner.

Oh shit! So excited

So stoked on these. I need the rest.

Just a start on the VHS for the weekend.

After our initial hunting, we loaded up the car, and headed to North Bend for some Twede's Diner. If you're not familiar, that is the diner they used for Twin Peaks, as well as Fire Walk With Me. Not only is it a filming location for one of my favorite shows of all time, but it is also an amazing place. They have over fifty burgers to choose from, and that is just the beginning. They of course have plenty of cherry pie, and coffee. It had been a couple years since I had made the trip, so I was more than excited. Got a little bonus, when I found out that an old friend from Twin Peaks Fest was going to meet us.

After this, we headed back to his place, and readied ourselves for a relaxing evening, preparing for the next day, which would be the day we had been waiting for. Crypticon. We grabbed some food for the house, and I got myself some Adult Chocolate Milk, to go along with the other treats I had brought. We spent the remainder bullshitting, smoking, and having some nightcaps. In the end we got some sleep, but not nearly enough after being awake for roughly 40 hours, but hey, that is part of the experience, right?

Once we made it into the con, we got right to it. Checking everything out, seeing old friends, and meeting the guests. I will just let the pictures do the talking for this. I will start with some friends. 

Nick Gucker holding up his amazing Re-Animator print, and to the right some stickers, and a copy of From Beyond he did the cover for.  I have a few of his posters, and they are all amazing. Check him here. 

 Two of my favorite ladies at Crytpicon,  Becky Hansen, and Michelle Kilmer,. Check them out here.

My good friend James R. Beach. Always selling me those tapes.

From our neighbor last year, Devon S. Devereaux. Check him out here.

Now lets move onto the guests. This year was a very eccentric list, which I enjoy. There were a ton of great people to meet, but these are the ones I was able to hit up. Some truly memorable moments were had. 

 

Jeffery Combs who you may recognize from a little movie named Re-Animator. Who am I kidding? Of course you know. Well, he was a true gentlemen and told us all kinds of stories about the making of Cyclone, as Jacob VonKlingele had him sign the VHS. 

 

Tristan Risk from American Mary, was both insanely nice, and insanely beautiful. 

Zach Galligan from Gremlins and Waxwork. Nice guy, didn't have much time to talk, or get a picture, but glad to meet him, and get this badass pic.

 

John Kassir, who you may know better as The Cryptkeeper was hilarious. He was very excited to sign the Tales From The Cryptkeeper VHS that Jacob had graciously given me. 

 

Lynn Lowry has always been one of my favorite ladies of horror. So many roles of hers I love, but in the end I had to go with this Shivers print. She was so sweet. 

The Soska Sisters were just as nice in person, as they have been online. I really appreciate it when directors and actors take the time to reach out to their fans online, but find it even more impressive when they remember you in real life. Not only were they great, beautiful, funny, and nice, but they even took the time to write me on Twitter, a gesture that I know I am not the only one who received. That is a whole new level of appreciating your fans. 

There were so many others I would have loved to have met, but timing just didn't allow it. I will finish this up with the rest of my acquisitions from Crypticon.

After the con, we went back to the VonKlingele household. We made some fish tacos, had some drinks,smoked, and bullshited. A little sleep then it was onto a full day of hunting. Alisha VonKlingele was able to join us for this day, which was nice, as I had barely been able to see her. We went all over digging for tapes. Some good scores overall, and Jacob and I did some trading while we were at it. No holy grail or anything, but some solid finds, including a couple of laser discs.

The best tape I have ever found in the wild.

 I had a ton of luck with book finds, including a ton of non Goosebumps related R.L. Stine's. 

The covers on these things kill me. So classically nineties. I also found some Indiana Jones books he had written. I had no idea those even existed, so that was a nice surprise.

I also found a pretty sweet Goosebumps toy at Half Price Books.

When we returned after an amazing dinner at a Japanese restaurant, I ended up getting a huge Goosebumps collection from Jacob's son Elias. I love me some Goosebumps, and had what I thought was a pretty impressive collection. Well, now my collection is insane with all these new additions.

It is impossible for me to put how amazing this weekend was into words, but I still tried. Hopefully you enjoyed seeing all of the random things I found, and great people I was able to meet, and see again. Thanks to everyone involved in the making of this weekend. From the organizers, the vendors, the guests, the friends, and anyone else who made it happen. Until next year.


- Tromeric