The Malice at the Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex got me thinking about some of the other odd venues I’ve worked. Several barns, one abandoned slaughterhouse, the country club, many kid’s birthday parties, carnivals, the Eastern Idaho State Fair.
The one that sticks with me the most is a HorrorCon at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Raleigh Durham Research Triangle in Cary North Carolina. Maybe because I didn’t know I was working a HorrorCon going in. I thought it was just another show when I booked it.
Driving to the venue I saw a woman pumping gas wearing a hockey mask and I thought “Whoa, I have a fan and she’s super dedicated.” Walking into the lobby I saw several more women wearing hockey masks and I thought “Whoa, did I become famous overnight? Am I going to be rich soon?”
That’s when I learned about HorrorCons and that some women love that zombie (sorry Stella) killer who wears a hockey mask to hack naked teenage girls up. If you had asked me I would have guessed that a HorrorCon, like a wrestling show, was mostly dudes. Mostly a certain kind of dude.
Wrong again Gracie. There are plenty of women out there that are fanatical about their horror movies. Makes sense when you think about it, given how much women love true crime murder porn. I wonder if liking these things is rooted in the very real possibility of a woman being murdered by a guy at any moment.
Since no one told me it was a HorrorCon I didn’t have anything prepared, I don’t know what I might have done even if I did but everyone else on the show either had a horror-type gimmick or did one for that show. It’s a thing wrestlers do sometimes, special personas for genre shows.
I figured I would be fine with my hockey mask. Wrong again. The crowd hated me. When I came out they were booing so loud you couldn’t hear my name announced. And this joint had a good set up, there was a nice sound system. Normally I want people to hate me, but this was what we call “go away” heat. That’s where they don’t hate you and want to pay money to see someone kick your ass but they hate you for real.
I’ve said before that a wrestling goal of mine is to have heat like old school heels when people thought wrestling was real but if that’s what it’s like it’s not as much fun as I thought. I thought someone might take a swipe at me with a real machete.
After the show in Crystal Falls Lounge I asked a horror social media podcast lady who must have been taped into her black leather outfit why everyone was so mad at me. She explained that my mask is not the same kind used in any of the movies with that guy. Therefore I was a poser, which is the worst thing you can be at a HorrorCon.
Then she asked if I wanted to go back to her room. Which is the other reason I won’t forget that job. I’ve never been hit on so much in my life. Not even close. According to the bartender these HorrorCons are hook-up city. There’s something about dressing up like a supernatural killer and watching a gallon of fake blood that makes horror people want to bone.
Good to know.
