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My Monster Weekend

November 14, 2004 - 3:45 am

I have an intense fascination with Freddy Krueger. I wouldn't go so far as to claim that I'm his #1 fan, but it's pretty close. Up until about a month ago I used to tell people that Robert Englund (the actor who plays Freddy) was the one person above all others that I wanted to meet.

This story begins when I was about 5 years old. I think it was the summer before I started kindergarten. I remember I was playing with the neighbor kids and one of the boys suggested that we watch a scary movie. There was about 6 of us kids. The movie that we ended up watching was "Nightmare on Elm Street, Part 3: Dream Warriors." This is a very monumental occasion. It was the first time I laid eyes upon Freddy Krueger.

At that point my experience with scary movies wasn't completely nonexistent. I had watched most of the Jason/Friday the 13th movies with my Uncle Ronnie. Even though Ronnie would always tease me that he'd "prop my eyes open with toothpicks" if I didn't pay attention, he'd always let me close my eyes or fall asleep. So I was never deeply scared by the Friday the 13th films.

Ok, so me and these other kids were watching Freddy, and the boys were teasing the kids that were closing their eyes and acting scared. I was determined to not be a chicken, so I kept my eyes glued to the television and didn't make a peep. THIS MOVIE TERRORIZED ME! There is one part in the movie that caused me SO many nightmares and sleepless nights. One of the characters in the movie makes puppets and hangs them on his wall. One unfortunate night Freddy chooses this boy to kill. The camera zooms in on one of the puppets. The puppet's head morphs into Freddy's. The puppet's right hand instantly grows knives and cuts itself loose from the wall. This little Freddy puppet inches its way to the boy's bed and then suddenly blows up into normal-size Freddy. Freddy tells the boy to be quiet, then with an evil grin cuts the boy from top to bottom on both legs and both arms. Freddy then pulls the boy's veins up and out of the cuts, and proceeds to 'walk' the boy like a puppet to the top of the building. The whole time there is close up after close up of the bloody veins. Freddy dangles him over the side of the building and then cuts his veins, making him fall to his death.

Yeah, so at 5 years old I wasn't quite prepared to deal with a movie like this. I was a very girly girl and had a million dolls in my room. I was absolutely convinced that one of my dolls was going to turn into Freddy and kill me. I ran into my mom and Duane's room, scared out of my mind. Mom let me sleep in their bed for a little while, then made me go back to my own room. This is my first memory of genuninely being scared. I still have a recurring Freddy nightmare that involves dolls. And I still can't watch that scene without recalling how I felt that first time that I watched it.

From that moment on, my fascination with Freddy just kept growing and growing. I watched the rest of the Freddy movies within a few years. I was still scared of course, but I was addicted. I enjoyed being terrified. And now my adoration for Freddy has turned into a fetish. You can even call it love if you want!

So, yes, up until about a month ago the person I wanted to meet above all others was Robert Englund aka Freddy Krueger. This was a very known fact among my closer friends. One day out of the blue I received an email from my buddy Todd. The subject line read "ROBERT ENGLUND APPEARANCE." My heart fell to my big toe just reading that! I opened the email and Todd had discovered there was going to be a weekend-long horror convention called Monster Mania in Cherry Hill, NJ and that Robert Englund was going to be there (not to mention practically every other horror icon). My heart started racing and I got a little flushed just thinking about the possibility of meeting my Freddy.

I rounded up someone to go with me and I bought an admission ticket for the whole weekend. I wasn't worried about figuring out how to get there or where I was going to stay, because it didn't matter. I was going one way or another.

I tried to put the convention out of my mind, otherwise I'd drive myself crazy with anticipation. It worked for the most part, because I'm such a busy person. However, I meant to buy an autograph voucher online to ensure I'd meet Robert, but I put it off too long. By the time I went to buy one they were all sold out. This was about a month before the big weekend. I was bummed, but I was still hoping that I'd have a shot at talking to him.

So the week of the convention came and the person that was supposed to go with me backed out. I still hadn't figured out how I was going to get there and where I was going to stay. There were no buses or trains that went directly to Cherry Hill. I considered renting a car and just staying in the car the whole weekend. I scratched that idea.

Friday, August 27th, the first day of the convention, finally came! I still had to go to work for the morning, so I decided to be a dork and where my Freddy get-up. Everyone at work knew how excited I was, so it was quite funny. My outfit consisted of a red and green sweater, black pants, black boots, and a black fedora (hat). I looked so hot! I don't have a glove, but I wouldn't have worn that to work anyways. I got off work at 1 pm, quickly went home and changed into normal clothes, then walked across the street to Port Authority to catch a Greyhound bus to Camden, NJ. My plan was to take the bus there, get a cab to Cherry Hill, and then figure out lodging once I was there. My bus arrived in Camden on schedule. I'd brought the numbers for a few cab companies. However, none of them were working. I started to get a little worried. I kept trying though, and I finally got through. The cab took me directly to the Hilton in Cherry Hill (where the convention was taking place) and it only cost $12. I was so impressed.

I instantly knew that I was at a horror convention, because pretty much everyone was wearing dark, gothic looking clothes. I felt like I stood out the whole weekend since my wardrobe primarily consists of the color pink, but that's ok. I went inside the hotel and called a few other hotels to try to get a room. Much to my disappointment, everything was completely booked. I was so bummed. Not only did my friend not come with me, but now I wasn't going to have a place to stay the whole weekend. I inquired at the front desk of the Hilton to see if there was anything, but they said no. Something might open up in the morning, but it would be close to $500, which was completely out of the question. My options were running out, so I sat down in the lobby and tried to gather my thoughts.

Then suddenly there he was.

My Freddy walked through the hotel entrance directly adjacent to me. He came in with a small entourage. It was like slow motion. He came in, looked around, looked at me, smiled, and then checked in. He looked exactly as I had imagined. My mind was going crazy. You can't imagine what was happening to me on the inside when I saw him for the first time. I was paralyzed. All I could do was look. Then he disappeared in the elevator. My happiness was restored! I got up and mentally kicked myself for jumping to conclusions. I was bound and determined to figure out something. I went back up to the front desk and asked if they had any lock boxes. The guy wasn't supposed to rent one to me, because I wasn't a guest, but he made an exception because of my situation. Everything was good. I left my stuff and went off to explore!

I went into the celebrity room and I was completely overwhelmed. It was incredible! There were so many horror people there! They were so accessible too. I was worried that there would be bodyguards and that I wouldn't get to talk to any of them. I couldn't have been more wrong. Each star was sitting at their own table and you could just walk up to them and chat away. I decided to just be a spectator the first day. I knew that I would sound like a starstruck idiot if I tried to talk to them on Friday. Robert Englund and Ken Kirzinger (the guy that played Jason in Freddy vs. Jason) were in a different room.

Betsy Palmer was there. She is a LEGEND. She played Mrs. Voorhies! Jason's mother! The original killer!

CJ Graham was there. He played Jason in Friday the 13th, Part 6: Jason Lives. And, oh my, he was so very good looking! Whew!

Tony Todd was there. Candyman! Candyman! Candyman! Candyman! Candyman! Say that five times in front of a mirror and the bee-breathing, hook-for-a-hand killer will pay you a visit!

Alex Vincent was there. He was the little boy from the Child's Play (Chucky doll) movies.

Dick Warlock was there. He played Michael Meyers in Halloween II.

Gunnar Hansen was there!!! Gunnar was Leatherface in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He's such a legend! I couldn't believe I was seeing all these incredible people.

Lisa Wilcox was there. She played Alice in Nightmare on Elm Street, Parts 4 & 5.

Danielle Harris was there. She was Jamie Lloyd, the little girl, in the Halloween movies. Who else?

Oh, Sid Haig was there. He played Capt. Spaulding in House of 1000 Corpses. For some strange reason Verne Troyer was there. He plays Mini-Me in the Austin Powers movies. I really do not know why he was there.

You're probably wondering what takes place at a horror convention. At this particular one, there were lots of movies, Q&A panels, concerts, and comedy shows planned for the whole weekend. There are also tons of dealers that come and sell every possible horror piece of memoribilia you can think of. Then of course the stars are there for you to mingle and chat with.

I made my way over to one of the ballrooms where they were going to be showing Friday the 13th, Part 6: Jason Lives. CJ Graham was going to introduce the film. I didn't want to miss that. There was a tribute to Vincent Price taking place, so I waited outside. Then the next thing I knew CJ Graham was standing next me. He introduced himself, and I told him I knew who he was. I won't go into any more details, but let's just say that our meeting went really well (mentally laughing). Anyways, it was really great seeing that movie again. I love it! Right after that was finished, they were showing Freddy vs. Jason. Ken Kirzinger (Jason) was going to be introducing it. I really really love this movie, so I was so excited!

The movie got over at midnight, and I was going to stay for late showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but I still hadn't figured out where I was going to sleep. I decided to take a walk and see if I could find some random motel. I walked about a mile when I came upon a Howard Johnson. I wasn't feeling very confident since it was so close to the Hilton. The front desk guy said they had one room left, but it was really expensive. I knew that it wouldn't be vacant for long, so I said that I'd be right back. I went outside to call my mom and see what she thought I should do. She didn't think the price was in my range, but she also didn't want me walking around all night. So we decided I should take it for that night, and try and figure out something else for Saturday night. I was really relieved, because I knew I wouldn't find anything else. I went back in to pay for it and discovered why it was so expensive. It was the honeymoon suite! I was very excited! But before I went to the room I still had to go back to the Hilton and get my backpack out of the lock box.

I went to the front desk of the Hilton and the guy that had rented me the box was no longer on duty. A lady took me in the back to get my things, but something had gone terribly wrong! Apparently the guy that rented it to me filled the paperwork out wrong and some man's name was on the slip that belonged to my lockbox. In other words, the Hilton people didn't believe that was my box. The lady had to call the manager of the hotel into the room. They told me I shouldn't even have a box, because I wasn't a guest. I tried to explain that the guy was just being nice, but these people didn't want to cooperate. They weren't going to give me my stuff. Then finally the manager asked me if anything had my name on it. Luckily I'd brought my checkbook! After too much wasted time, they gave me my stuff.

I walked back to my honeymoon suite completely excited! I couldn't wait to see what the room looked like! The room was set off away from the hotel like a guest house. I walked in the room, and I literally jumped up and down. The room was six times the size of my apartment. There was a hot tub right in the middle of the room. I had a big screen tv and a HUGE king size bed. I felt like royalty! There was furniture and all the fixings too. It was fabulous! I immediately jumped in the hot tub and jammed out to some music that I brought. The hot tub was amazing. There are no words. I could stretch all the way out and float in it. When I sat in it, my head went under the water. It was so awesome. The whole room was surrounded in mirrors too, even on the ceiling. It was definitely a honeymoon suite. I had such a great party that night! SOOOOO much fun! Needless to say the next morning I booked it again for Saturday night.

Ok, so Saturday was going to be the day that I spoke and met everyone. My goal, of course, was to get into the guarded Robert England room. The first thing I did when I arrived at the Hilton was go to Robert's room. The line to get in was all around the hotel. Robert was definitely the main attraction of the event and completely inaccessible unless you had an autograph voucher (which I didn't). I tried to think of a loop hole, some way that I could get inside. Then I noticed that Ken Kirzinger was at a table right next to Robert. People were stopping by Ken's table after they'd met Robert. I asked one of the security guards if I could go in just to see Ken. The guard said yes! He let me in the room! As much as I wanted to meet and talk to Ken, it was really hard trying to have a conversation with him when Robert was sitting about a foot to my left. Ken signed my copy of Freddy vs. Jason, then I asked him for a picture. I decided I'd push my luck and ask if Robert would get in the picture too. He said yes! Robert got up and introduced himself to me. This is another slow motion moment. He slowly got up from his chair and his eyes drifted upwards until they met mine, then his face broke into a smile. "Hi, I'm Robert." I reply I think. Then I feel his arm around me, and I instinctively put my arm around him. If only pictures took longer than a few seconds to take. Pure ecstasy!

All right, so my day was off to a magnificent start. Although I'd gotten the picture with Robert and I'd technically exchanged some words, my goal was more. I wanted a conversation. I decided I needed to have a talk with myself. I needed to acknowledge that Robert was in high demand, and that some people who had vouchers weren't getting to see him. Therefore, more than likely I wouldn't get my conversation. I wanted to be satisfied with what happened that morning. If I didn't get to have a conversation, my back-up plan was going to be to ask him a question during the Q&A panel that evening. I could settle for that.

I watched the movie Candyman around noon. It was being introduced by Candyman himself, Tony Todd. After that, I was off to the celebrity room. I was so excited to talk to these people. I was so proud of myself for waiting a day, because the starstruck-ness had worn off a little and I felt completely capable of having professional conversations with these people. I met Gunnar Hansen first. He is a very kind and intelligent man. I wanted to keep talking and talking with him. One of the key things we talked about was the remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He hated it. I thought it was a good remake, but NOTHING beats the original. The original is one of the truly great horror movies of all time. Gunnar signed a picture for me, and then I moved on. I went up to CJ Graham next. Oh CJ...(chuckling)! He and I chatted for a while. I told him about watching all the Jason movies with my Uncle Ronnie when I was little. He signed a picture made out to Ronnie with a little line about toothpicks. I told him my uncle would cry when I gave it to him. I met Betsy Palmer next. Betsy is a little crazy, but she LOVES to talk. She told me story after story about her life. It was awesome! I very, very much enjoyed meeting Betsy. I met Alex Vincent next. We chatted for a bit, and I'm pretty sure he was hitting on me, but I pretended not to notice. He took a picture with me holding a Chucky doll. It's a good picture. Next I met Tony Todd. He is a very intimidating guy. Not only is he huge, but his voice cuts right through you. It's exactly the same tone he uses in Candyman, very strong and powerful.

The best film of all was being shown next, Nightmare on Elm Street, Part 1. It was being introduced by Robert England too. There was no way I was going to miss it. I got there, and people were already spilling out into the lobby. I decided to push my way inside, and then I walked up to the very front and sat down on the floor. No one told me not to either. It was so easy! Then they announced that Robert needed to spend the time chatting with fans, so he wasn't going to introduce the film. Well, that didn't go over very well, and everyone starting screaming his name. It worked! He came in and spoke. I have to tell you that everytime I saw Robert during this whole weekend, there was no one in the room but he and I. Each time I was looking at him, I could only see him. It was fantastic. I took advantage of and cherished each moment. During the introduction Robert said that you should pay attention to the ending of the film because it explains what the whole film means. I was completely thrown off by that comment. I grew up loving this movie and to be told something about it that I didn't understand definitely did not sit well with me. The movie was great of course! Directly after that movie, I watched another one. Danielle Harris was going to be introducing Halloween 4. Her introduction lasted about 10 seconds and was kind of disappointing. Oh well, she seems like a fun girl. After the movie I made my way over to where the Q&A panels were taking place. The first one that I wanted to watch was "Women of Modern Horror." It included Lisa Wilcox, Betsy Palmer and Danielle Harris. It was really good, even though Betsy talked for the majority of the time. Like I said earlier, she LOVES to talk.

The next Q&A panel was "Men Behind the Mask," and it included CJ Graham, Tony Todd, Gunnar Hansen, Dick Warlock, and Sid Haig. It was absolutely hilarious. These guys are very animated. It was a good mix of personalities. The Q&A with Robert Englund and Ken Kirzinger was next. It was THE event. Every single person that bought a ticket to the convention was there. I fought for a good seat and won, even though I accidentily hit a little boy in the head. It really was an accident! I swear! I had accepted that I wasn't going to get a lengthy conversation with Robert, so I was a little nervous about asking a question. I hadn't really planned a question either. Plus there were a million people there, so I didn't even think I'd get called on. Robert and Ken entered the room, and as soon as I locked my gaze on Robert my inhibitions went away, my mind turned to mush, and I couldn't hear anything but my heartbeat. Practically everyone raised their hand to ask a question, so my confidence was quickly spiraling downward. However, I was the second person picked!! I was so happy to be picked I almost forgot to speak! This is exactly what I said:"Robert, I came here this weekend hoping to have a conversation with you. I haven't managed to do that yet, but I know you're awesome with your fans, so I know my time will come. My question comes from what you said during your introduction earlier today. What did you mean when you said we should pay attention to the ending?" I admit, I took more time than I should have, but it was MY moment. It was wonderful too! Not only was it the best question asked, but Robert looked at me the whole time I was speaking, and he looked at me the whole time while he answered. I was satisfied. Satisfied. Sat-is-fied! Everyone in that room learned something about Nightmare on Elm Street that they didn't know before I asked that question.

I was going to go to the midnight showing of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but I was extremely anxious to get back to my palace of a hotel room. I called pretty much all of my family and friends when I got back to my room (to brag). I couldn't help it. Life was just too good to not tell my people. I stayed up really late partying in my hot tub, jumping on my big bed, dancing all over the room...you get the idea.

I was so sad to check out of the hotel the next morning. That room was fucking awesome, and the weekend definitely wouldn't have been as fabulous if I'd stayed somewhere else. It was totally worth draining my checking account. I had to carry my backpack around all of Sunday. It wasn't that big of a deal though, because I was mostly sitting. I went to two more Q&A panels, which were so great! I learned SO much about these people. There were a few of the stars that I hadn't met yet, so I took care of that. Dick Warlock was such a nice man. I wish I could have thought of more to say/ask. He took a picture with me and then gave me a kiss on the cheek. SO nice. After that I took in a couple movies. The first movie was Nightmare on Elm Street, Part 4. It was being introduced by Lisa Wilcox. The other movie was Nightmare on Elm Street, Part 6: Freddy's Dead. I was so excited to see these movies, because I hadn't seen them in a REALLY long time. It'd been at least 5 years. They even showed the 3D sequence in Part 6, which I'd never seen before. The last movie got over at about 5:30. There wasn't anything left to do, so I decided to take off. Ironically Robert was leaving at the same time too. There was a small crowd around him, so I kept my distance. I just wanted to stare anyways. I stayed long enough to watch Robert drive away, then I called a cab and went back to Camden. On the bus back to NYC I was SO depressed. Don't get me wrong, the weekend was absolutely wonderful. I was just genuinely sad that it was over. I felt like crying.

This weekend ranks up there to one of the best times I have ever had. I took SO many amazing pictures! I will remember this weekend the rest of my life, and I can't wait until Robert and I cross paths again...because we most definitely will!

As a side note, I only spent $15 on food the whole weekend (and that's stretching it).