Walker Stalker Convention Denver - John's Recap

I remember, if you will...the dark ages of the horror genre. When any television show that brought forth nightmares and monsters aired at the latest possible time that it could and only lasted a season or two at a time simply because the interest was never there outside of a handful of fans.

We all know that the times have changed when it comes to that, since The Walking Dead has become one of the biggest shows on the planet and plenty more horror is starting to pop up in our prime time programming, but what I never realized, is how big of a genre horror has now become and how along the way the need to be scared and the fun that comes with it has given the genre a life it has never known, until Walker Stalker Con that is.

This awesome convention, one that travels from city to city to celebrate the wonder of the living dead and all things horror, made its way to the Mile High City this past weekend and having never attended it before, I have to say that I was blown away by it. For starters, I've never seen such an incredible gathering of cast members from The Walking Dead, but more importantly, I've never seen the zombie genre or the horror genre celebrated quite like this. It was amazing to watch people jumping up and down in line to meet their favorite stars from the show, and every single smile that went into a selfie with Michael Cudlitz or Josh McDermitt went from ear to ear. But what truly surprised me most...was how many families I saw in attendance.

Everywhere you went, there were generations of horror and zombie fans to be found. I saw little kids dressed like Freddy Krueger waiting in line with wide eyes to meet Robert Englund himself. I saw families dressed up like walkers roving about to stop for pictures and see the sights and well...the images blew me away. For a genre that was once relegated to the midnight hour to be forgotten because it was deemed to be only for a niche audience, how far we have come. Horror has finally become a true staple of mainstream pop culture and judging from how long those lines went outside the National Western Complex and from within the con itself, it's not going anywhere any time soon.

Much of that is courtesy of Walker Stalker Con itself. Sure, you'll find Walking Dead guests at conventions all around the country, but to have this many under one roof, all ready to greet their fans and say hello changes things, especially when they are this accessible to everyone in attendance. After all I had the chance to shake hands with Judith O'Dea and Russ Streiner from Night of the Living Dead and I even got to pose for a picture with Eugene Clark from Land of the Dead, all included in the price of the autograph I picked up from him and that's what makes Walker Stalker so incredibly special. It removes the mythos of horror, the stigma that the actors are tied to their characters and allows the fans to see them for the great people they are. Because of that it makes Walker Stalker Con a can't miss event, and I certainly hope they swing back through Denver and allow us to celebrate the wonder of pop culture's hottest new genre once again.

---