Halloween 45 Years Of Terror Experience
Hello slasher fans! I have never discussed this on my blog before, but the Halloween franchise is my all time favorite slasher series and is my favorite franchise in general. When I got the chance to attend the Halloween 45 Years Of Terror convention with my dad in Pasadena, California, I was beyond excited. In this post I plan on discussing my experience with the Horror’s Hallowed Grounds bus tour, the photo ops, autographs, and the vendor booths. I intend to close with some concluding thoughts on how much fun I thought the convention was overall. The original concept started 20 years ago and was initially intended as only a Halloween 25 Years Of Terror convention. The convention was so successful that it has been held every five years since. Join me in this discussion on my first horror convention experience.
Horror’s Hallowed Grounds Bus Tour
On the day before the Halloween 45 Years Of Terror convention began, I attended the Horror’s Hallowed Grounds bus tour. Below is a bulleted list of some of the filming locations I visited from the Halloween films and other slasher films in southern California:
The Doyle and Wallace house’s from Halloween 1978.
Nancy’s house from A Nightmare On Elm Street 1984.
Town Square from Halloween II 1981.
Alice’s house from Halloween II 1981.
The toy store from Silent Night, Deadly Night 1984.
The bar from Halloween III: Season Of The Witch 1982.
The cemetery where Judith Myers was buried in Halloween 1978.
The elementary school from Halloween 1978 and Halloween II 1981.
The Rialto theater from Scream 2 1997.
The street where the establishing shot of Haddonfield was filmed in Halloween 1978.
The hedge from Halloween 1978.
Annie’s house from Halloween 1978.
The Myers house from Halloween 1978.
Where Ben Tramer was killed in Halloween II 1981.
Where Laurie, Lynda, and Annie walked home from Halloween 1978 and Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2007.
The alley Michael walked through in Halloween II 1981.
The hardware store Michael got his mask from in Halloween 1978.
The elementary and high school from Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2007.
The Strode house from Halloween 1978.
Where Jamie Lee Curtis sat holding a pumpkin in Halloween 1978.
The Myers house from Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2007 (My dad and I went here on our own, it wasn’t part of the tour).
Other film locations I visited that were not slasher related include:
The church from The Fog.
Pee Wee Herman’s house from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.
Where Sarah Connor worked as a waitress in The Terminator 1984.
The house from Pretty In Pink.
The bus tour was a very fun and informative tour. It felt very surreal and amazing to witness these locations in person. The tour guide was very communicative and informative. The tour involved a lot of getting off of the bus and walking which I enjoyed as it made for better pictures, allowing a closer and better experience. The Doyle house from Halloween 1978 was being gutted and I managed to get some scrap pieces of the house out of a dumpster, so technically I have pieces of the Doyle house which is very exciting. It was also interesting to note how close some of these locations were to each other and how they might have appeared to be in different places in the film’s they are featured in. For example, the elementary and high school’s featured in Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2007 are actually across the street from each other, the high school is not a school in real life (its a library). I also learned very interesting and obscure information on this tour I never learned while reading trivia books regarding the Halloween franchise. Did you know actor Charles Cyphers, who portrayed Sheriff Brackett in Halloween 1978, worked as a mechanic at a gas station between the Halloween 1978 and Halloween ll 1981 films? I learned that fun fact about Charles Cyphers while we were passing the gas station he worked at. Another fun part about the tour was seeing how welcoming folks and businesses in the cities were to Halloween franchise fans. Some nearby businesses even put up signs that said “Welcome To Haddonfield” which demonstrated to me that the community has truly embraced the culture of Halloween fans. The Horror’s Hallowed Grounds bus tour has given me so much insight into these locations and films that I could not have gotten anywhere else. I truly recommend taking this tour if you ever attend one of the Halloween franchise anniversary conventions. I hope sharing these highlights of my experience with this tour encourages others to take it as well. If you are interested in seeing any of the photos I took while on the bus tour, please feel free to contact me using the contact section of my site.
Autographs and Photo Ops
Attached is a list of celebrities from the Halloween film franchise I got photo ops with and autographs from:
Tyler Mane and Malcom McDowell from Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009) (Duo photo op).
Danielle Harris from Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers (1988), Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers (1989), Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007), and Rob Zombie’s Halloween II (2009).
James Jude Courtney and Rohan Campbell from Halloween Ends (2022) (Duo photo op with Myers house set). (Note: James Jude Courtney also portrayed Michael Myers in Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills (2021).
Nick Castle from John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) (With Myers house set).
I had a blast with the autographs and photo ops at the Halloween 45 Years Of Terror convention. Just being at this convention and being in the same building as some of my favorite actors from these movies was awesome on it’s own, so you can imagine my excitement at the chance to participate in photo ops and receive autographs from my favorite stars of the Halloween film franchise. Tyler Mane was very friendly in person and I was delighted at the chance to let him know he is my favorite actor to portray Michael Myers. Tyler Mane even discussed hockey with my dad and shared his favorite teams. Malcom McDowell was very nice in person and also incredibly funny. When I brought the photo op photo up to his booth to be autographed, Malcom McDowell commented that I was the only handsome one in the picture which made me both laugh and smile. When I was getting the picture taken, Malcom McDowell gestured towards Tyler Mane and said “you wouldn’t want to piss that one there off.” This made me laugh so much, I was pleasantly surprised at how funny Malcom McDowell was in person. Danielle Harris was incredibly outgoing and compassionate, I participated in a photo op in which she was dressed in the clown costume she wore in Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers (1988). When I brought the photo op photo up to be signed, she said she thought the picture was very cute and made an effort to remember my name and refer to me by my name which warmed my heart. I really appreciated how caring and considerate Danielle Harris was in person. I would say Danielle Harris was the kindest and warmest presence I encountered at the convention. James Jude Courtney was incredibly polite and smiley in person, I noted that he smiled at almost everyone he saw which I appreciated. When I brought the photo op photo up to be signed, he also offered a free selfie which I accepted and greatly appreciated. James Jude Courtney was the only one to offer a free bonus photo which is something I thought was incredibly kind of him. Rohan Campbell was incredibly outgoing and welcoming and gave off what I would call “positive bro energy.” When I was getting the picture taken with him and James Jude Courtney, I remember him saying: “dude come on over, bring it in.” He really made me smile and seemed like one of those people that would just be fun to hang out with. I was also grateful at the opportunity to let Rohan know what I enjoyed about his character. For this photo op and the one I received after it, there was also a set of the Myers house porch installed with a jack-o-lantern reminiscent of the one from the 1978 opening credits sitting on the railing. Nick Castle was incredibly polite and it was incredibly surreal to be in his presence considering he was the original Shape. I was thankful to let him know he is the legend before I walked away. He was very quiet and soft-spoken but I could tell he was happy to be there. Nick Castle had one of the longest lines of the whole convention, which makes sense considering he helped bring Michael Myers to life. I hope me sharing the highlights of my experience regarding photo ops and autographs will inspire other fans to try and meet their favorite actors from these films. If you wish to see the photo op pictures I bought, please feel free to utilize the contact section of my site to request the pictures.
Vendor Booths
The Halloween 45 Years Of Terror convention featured a wide variety of captivating vendor booths. I was very excited to see some of my favorite horror movie merchandise companies there such as Fright-Rags and Trick Or Treat Studios. I checked out both of the previously mentioned booths and got some cool stuff from the Fright-Rags booth. I got blood-splattered variants of the Fright-Rags Laurie and Michael figures which were H45 exclusives. I also got a pair of Fright-Rags Dr. Loomis socks and the Fright-Rags Dr. Loomis figure. Fright-Rags and Trick Or Treat Studios both hosted busy booths as myself and many other fans were waiting in line for limited edition items such as the blood splattered figures. There were also booths for artists who were proudly displaying and selling their unique works of art such as painting’s, 3-D metal signs, scenes and art pieces created using figures, fake decorative knives and pumpkins, and art t-shirts! I stopped by the Printed In Blood booth to purchase a limited art print that was a recreated version of the cover for the novelization of the original Halloween film. I also pre-ordered the upcoming re-release of this novelization since it has been hard to find and out of print for several years. This new edition of the novelization for the original Halloween film will feature new illustrations that were created by the artist who also created the art print I bought. I had the chance to meet this artist, whose name is Orlando Arocena, he was very polite and kind enough to autograph the art print I purchased at no extra charge. There was also an H45 event booth which featured several limited edition event items to collect. I got one of the H45 event tee shirts to wear so I can remember how much fun I had at this event. There were even booths for other slasher films. For example, there was a Texas Chainsaw Massacre booth. There was even multiple booths where you can have slasher tattoos done on your skin! The variety regarding the booths and items featured at this convention was pleasantly surprising and diverse. I can’t wait to see which booths are featured again at Halloween 50 Years Of Terror and also which ones will be new or expanded.
Conclusion
The H45 convention was my first time attending a horror convention and it wound up being the best convention experience I have had so far! There was such a wide variety of things and people to see there from all 13 of the Halloween films. Going to this convention and taking the Horror’s Hallowed Grounds bus tour truly made me feel immersed into the world of Michael Myers. There was a true feeling of excitement and anticipation in the air among the fans. My positive experience with Halloween 45 Years Of Terror has inspired me to attend other horror convention’s in the future. In November, I am planning on attending Chicago Days Of The Dead 2023 where I am also planning on participating in a photo op with Scout Taylor Compton from Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009). I also plan to attend Halloween 50 Years Of Terror in 5 years to try and recapture how magical it felt attending one of these conventions for the first time. One of the best things to look back on regarding my experience with H45 is the wonderful memories I made on this trip that will stick with me for the rest of my life. I truly view my experience at the H45 convention as a once in a lifetime experience and I am very grateful that I was able to go and have my dad there with me. Some of the best memories that will stick with me was seeing iconic locations and meeting iconic actors. I saw Malek Akkad at the convention and shook his hand and even got to see John Carpenter at a panel during the final day of the convention. The surprise of John Carpenter appearing there will definitely go down in my memory books as well. I truly recommend attending one of the Halloween franchise anniversary conventions one day if you can. It just might change your life as a horror fan, and you will never know what surprises may arise at one of these conventions.