Despite the snow that blanketed the Northeast two weeks ago, thousands of people made their way to Cherry Hill, NJ for Monster-Mania Con. Once again, the event was held at the beautiful Crowne Plaza Hotel spread out across the ground floor of the venue.

The weather certainly didn’t hinder attendance, as the convention was packed throughout the weekend. Thankfully, the vendor halls and autograph rooms are large enough to accommodate the crowd. The vibe was high on excitement and anticipation for big name guests that included John Cusack (Say Anything, High Fidelity, 1408, and 2012 among many more films) as well as Caleb McLaughlin and Gaten Matarazzo who play Lucas and Dustin, respectively, on the popular Netflix series Stranger Things.

There were three rooms and two hallways set up for vendors and artists. They sold lots of cool horror-themed shirts, DVDs from new movies to those that are out of print, paperback books and first editions, jewelry, movie poster prints, pint and shot glasses, and decorative pieces from fake carved pumpkins to dolls to Christmas ornaments. Many vendors had a variety of horror, science fiction, and comic related toys, including the newest collectibles back to pieces from the ’70s.

Artists displayed a plethora of interesting work. They had licensed reimagined movie posters, realistic portraits of characters, and imaginative paintings.

In addition to Cusack, McLaughlin, and Matarazzo, guests were Mark Steger (Stranger Things), Ashley Bell (The Last Exorcism), Danny Lloyd with Lisa and Louise Burns (The Shining), Nick Castle (Halloween), Louise Fletcher (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Kristy Swanson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Doug Bradley (Hellraiser), Ted White (Friday the 13th Part 4), C.J. Graham (Friday the 13th Part 6), Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th 7-10), Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator), D.B. Sweeney (Fire in the Sky), Bex Taylor-Klaus (Scream: The TV Series), William Zabka, Ralph Macchio, and Martin Kove (The Karate Kid), Adam Green (director Hatchet), Dean Cundey (cinematographer The Thing), Lloyd Kaufman (Troma writer-director-producer) and Lita, Barry Windham, J.J. Dillon, and Tully Blanchard (pro wrestlers). There will also be a reunion for John Carpenter’s The Thing with Wilford Brimley, Thomas G. Waites, Joel Polis, Richard Masur, and Peter Maloney.

Gemstone Publishing Associate Editor Amanda Sheriff and Hake’s Senior Cataloger Mike Bollinger were there to promote the upcoming Overstreet Guide to Collecting Horror. “I got a lot of really good feedback at Monster-Mania,” Sheriff said. “Everyone I talked to about the book was enthusiastic and excited for it. I listed some of what would be covered and got nothing but positive feedback on the breadth of topics within horror collecting that will be in the book.”

Films shown throughout the weekend were Friday the 13th Part IV, Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part 4, Jason X, The Thing, Exorcist 3, The Last Exorcism, The Last Exorcism 2, Hellraiser 3, 1408, The Shining, Rocky Horror Picture Show, No Clowning Around, Spawn, Hellraiser, You’re Next, Re-Animator, Halloween, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Q&As were held with Lita Ford, Kristy Swanson, The Men Who Were Jason, The Shining reunion, Karate Kid reunion, Stranger Things reunion, and The Thing reunion. Other events included the costume contest, Alan Howarth live in concert, and Auction for Yorkie Rescue.

During her panel, Swanson talked about many films she was in. She shared stories about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, talked about working with Charlie Sheen in The Chase, how intense it was filming Higher Learning, and her more recent choices that are mostly made for TV movies. She talked about working with Louise Fletcher on Flowers in the Attic, recited her line from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (much to the delight of the audience), and told a story about how John Hughes wrote a part for her in Pretty in Pink.

In the panel for The Men Who Were Jason, Jason Voorhees actors Ted White and Kane Hodder (C.J. Graham was unable to attend due to his photo session), shared onset stories from throughout their Friday the 13th movies. They shared thoughts on being stuntmen, told the audience how they became stuntmen, and told stories about other times in their careers – from working with John Wayne (White) to being a part of the Hatchet franchise (Hodder).

Cosplayers had a solid presence at Monster-Mania. The usual assortment of bad guys were there, with Freddy, Jason, Leatherface, Ghostface, and a little Chucky. Characters from The Walking Dead were represented, including Carol, Daryl, and Rosita, as well as several cosplayers dressed as Negan. Some cosplayers came as characters from the guests’ projects, including a group of ladies for Stranger Things and a pair of girls as the twins in The Shining.

Once again Monster-Mania pulled out all the stops for their attendees, putting on another great convention for horror fans.