Saturday, April 27, 2024
Attendees at this year's Spooky Spectacle event may never sleep again after speaking with horror movie actor Ken Sagoes, known for his role as Roland Kincaid in “A Nightmare on Elm Street III and IV.”
Sagoes will be at the Lake Granbury Conference Center located at 621 E. Pearl St., for the 12th annual event on Saturday, Sept. 23 and Sunday, Sept. 24.
Brandy Herr, co-founder of the Spooky Spectacle, first met Sagoes at Monster Con in San Antonio a few years back. After editing three of his books, the pair became fast friends — leading Herr to feel comfortable enough to ask Sagoes to appear at this year’s event as a guest.
“He was like, ‘Of course I'll come in for you, Brandy,’” she said. “He's just the sweetest guy. You'll definitely want to meet him.”
Sagoes became nationally known for the role of "Kincaid" in the two “Nightmare on Elm Street” movies, making him the first African American to survive an international horror film and return for a sequel. He is also an author and will be on hand during Spooky Spectacle to sign copies of his new horror graphic novel.
“The first 50 people who buy autographs will get a free gift from him,” Herr added.
Other special guests will include Kristina Downs of the Texas Folklore Society, Paranormal Investigator Leila Olivarri, and a special live horror story performance from radio show Freeze Frame & Kirk.
Attendees at Spooky Spectacle will also be blown away by exhibitors in a variety of genres, including horror, paranormal, science fiction, cosplay, fantasy, and metaphysical.
“Ink of Geek, she comes just about every year, and she does really great artwork,” Herr said. “She does drawings with horror movie characters. We also have Pink Light Images and Weirdo Weddings. She's a wedding photographer, but she specializes in weird weddings, so elopements and people that have a horror movie theme, that kind of stuff. She'll be doing a panel about how to come up with a weird wedding. We also have our ghost hunting group, Research and Investigation of the Paranormal (RIP), who will be showing off some of their equipment and talking to people about their investigations.”
For 12 years, Herr has been putting on Spooky Spectacle, with the intention of creating a different and otherworldly event for those who enjoy everything paranormal.
“My mother's the one that came up with (Spooky Spectacle),” Herr said. “We do ghost tours, so she was saying how it would be cool to create an event where a bunch of groups would come together in a conference, and it just kind of snowballed from there.”
Spooky Spectacle was originally called the Granbury Paranormal Expo, which focused more on ghost hunting. However, Herr said the name was eventually changed to Spooky Spectacle in order to create more of an inclusive event for those who enjoy fantasy, science fiction, and horror.
"It evolved to where it's almost like a comic con kind of event, but with a spooky angle,” she explained. “We still have a ghost hunting group and that kind of stuff, but it's a little more inclusive for everyone who’s just into anything weird.”
Herr said guests are welcome to show up in their own costumes as the event is technically a Halloween party.
“I'm excited to see the excitement of everyone else,” she said. “I have people who have thanked me for putting it on each year because it gives a little something different in Granbury for the weirdos out there. I love checking out the fun, nerdy stuff and seeing the costumes.”
Admission is $5 per person and children five and under get in for free. A portion of the proceeds will also benefit Texas Equine Xperience and Sanctuary (T.E.X.A.S. Rescue Inc.).
The event will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23 and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 24.
“We are so excited to put on this event each year,” Herr said. “All the support we continue to receive from Visit Granbury and our followers means so much to us.”
A welcome party will be held on Friday, Sept. 22 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Hewlett Park on Pearl Street. The party will feature live music from The McGrath Project and is free to the public.
For the latest news and updates on the event, visit SpookySpectacle.com online and like the Facebook page at facebook.com/SpookySpectacle. Herr can be reached by email at TheSpookySpectacle@gmail.com or at 817-964-6524.
Herr added, “If you love Halloween and you're excited to get started (for this year) then this is a great way to do it.”
ashley@hcnews.com | 817-573-1243
