Spooky Empire is a horror convention in Orlando, Florida held twice per year. And the first 2021 event is scheduled for April 30 – May 2 at Wyndham Orlando Resort.
The event, which is approaching its 20-year anniversary, is known for hosting a large number and wide array of celebrity guests and vendors. Spooky Empire also brings film and tattoo festivals, both highly popular among attendees. It is one of the largest horror conventions in the nation, which hosts attendees from around the world.
Here are four horrific reasons to attend:
Reason # 1: You can get spooky in April
Where else in the world can you get spooky in April? Nowhere. Getting spooky should not be limited to October. Go get spooky in April. And face the fact that some people need more horror.
Reason # 2: Spooky Empire is a three-day convention
Many comic conventions are two-day events, sometimes leaving fans aching for just one more day. Spooky Empire delivers in this regard. The three-day convention runs from Friday through Sunday. Our advice: Start early, stay late, sleep next week.
Reason # 3: Big-time celebrity guests are signing autographs and doing photo opps (some of them bloody)
Spooky Empire features big actors who have starred in iconic horror movies.
Michael Biehn is an actor well-known for his roles in “The Terminator,” “Aliens” and “The Abyss” – all James Cameron films. Interesting note, his acting career started with two brief scenes in the iconic movie “Grease” with John Travolta. (photo credit geekculture.com)
Barry Bostwick is an actor best known for his role in the iconic movie “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” He also has earned a Tony Award for his work in the musical The Robber Bridegroom. (photo credit: celebsnow.co.uk)
Ricou Browning is best known for his role as Gill-man in the iconic horror movies “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” “Revenge of the Creature,” and “The Creature Walks Among Us.” He is the only actor to portray the creature more than once, and the only Gill-man still alive. Interestingly, he also co-created Flipper, another iconic film. (photo credit: geekgirlauthority.com)
Scout Taylor Compton is an actress best known for her role in the iconic horror films Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009). She is considered a “scream queen,” a title reserved for only the most notable female horror actors. (photo credit: themoviescene.co.uk)
Richard Dreyfuss is an actor best known to horror, thriller and science fiction fans for his roles in the iconic movies “Jaws” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” He has won the Academy Award for Best Actor as well as numerous others honors like a Golden Globe Award and BAFTA Award. (photo credit: consequenceofsound.net)
Warrington Gillette is an actor best known for portraying Jason Voorhees in the iconic Friday the 13th horror series. His other horror work includes Penny Dreadful. (photo credit: hollywood.com)
Danielle Harris is an actress best known for her roles in the iconic horror franchise “Halloween.” She is considered a “scream queen” who also has been inducted into the Fangoria Hall of Fame. Additionally, she is known for her voice work in the Nickelodeon TV series “The Wild Thornberrys” and the movie “Rugrats Go Wild.” Also of interest, she started as a child actress in the movie “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.” (photo credit: horrorfacts.com)
Kristina Klebe is an actor who has starred in remakes of iconic horror movies, including the 2007 remake of “Halloween” and in the 2019 remake of “Hellboy.” (photo credit: cinemorg.fandom.com)
David Naughton is an actor best known for his lead role in the iconic horror movie “An American Werewolf in London.” Notably, he also had a song called “Making’ It” that made the Top 5 of the Billboard charts. (photo credit: artsbeat.blog.nytimes)
Tom Sizemore is an actor with a long list of successful movies that includes “Saving Private Ryan,” “True Romance,” “Natural Born Killers,” “Red Planet,” and “Wyatt Earp,” to mention only a sampling. He also was recently in the 2019 thriller “The Pining.” And Science fiction fans would be upset if we didn’t add “Twin Peaks.” (photo credit: horrorfuel.com)
Corey Taylor is an actor best known for his role in the movie “Resident Evil,” but also has appeared in horror films like “Fear Clinic” with Robert Englund, “Bad Candy” with Zach Galligan — and even a cameo in “Sharknado 4”. He is starring in an upcoming horror movie called “Rucker.” Many fans know him as the front-man to bands Slipknot and Stone Sour. (photo credit: 695therock.com)
Alex Vincent is an actor best known for his role in the iconic horror franchise “Child’s Play.” He portrayed the character Andy Barclay in Child’s Play (1988), Child’s Play 2 (1990), Curse of Chucky (2013) and Cult of Chucky (2017). (photo credit: thepressgroup.net)
Reason # 4: Florida Cosplay Digital Magazine alum @Sonnenbooks will be there
@Sonnenbooks, a gifted cosplayer and prolific author of young adult horror, will be at Spooky Empire. She cosplays the characters from her books, which includes a collection of three novels called dark nursery rhymes that includes: “My Soul to Keep,” “The Lamb was Sure to Go,” and “The Little Dog Laughed.”
The multifaceted talent was featured in Florida Cosplay Digital Magazine, which is published by Florida Comic Cons. See her in the May/June 2020 issue. In our cosplayer video interview, she shares more about each book. For reference to her as an author, her name is Jackie Sonnenberg.
At Spooky Empire, she will be cosplaying a character from her “The Little Dog Laughed.” Below is her cosplay from her book “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Bonus info on her: She is a scare actor who lives in Orlando, which is the scare capital of Florida.
Event hours and tickets
The event’s opening hours are Friday 1 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. Additional hours include:
- Autograph Room Hours: Friday 4pm-8pm, Saturday 11am-7pm, Sunday 11am-5pm
- Vendor Room Hours: Friday 1pm-9pm, Saturday 11am-8pm, Sunday 11am-5pm
- Tattoo Festival Hours: Friday 1pm-11pm, Saturday 11am-11pm, Sunday 11am-5pm
Tickets are available at Spooky Empire.
Florida Comic Cons has your back when it comes to cons
Florida Comic Cons is a news media website that covers comic conventions and cosplayers in The Sunshine State. The 2021 Florida Comic Con Calendar provides a month-by-month listing of upcoming conventions and the Florida Comic Con Map illustrates where comic cons are happening throughout the state.
