Shocka Con In Photos

The PopCulteer
October 5, 2012  

Happy Horror Time

The first-ever Shocka Con took place last Saturday on D Street in South Charleston, and it was a rousing success, exceeding all expecations. Organizers said that they'd be happy with 300 to 800 attendees, and instead upwards of 2,500 people showed up at various points during the day-long, mostly free event.

This was the first year for the Horror/Sci Fi Con, and because it was first conceived only a few months ago, plans were scaled back from a standard three-day convention to a one-day event based around South Charleston's Mound, with films shown at The Labelle Theater and seminars at The South Charleston Public Library, just a coouple of blocks down D Street.

The even was free, but donations were accepted so they can get an early start on next year's convention. While next year's Shocka Con is expected to be a more conventional convention, I'm hoping that some of the cool elements that made this year's show such a success are retained. The Monster Parade and free concert were hugely popular.



[caption id="attachment_9284" align="alignleft" width="180"] One of The Monster Dolls dance troupe[/caption]

Mike and Rose winland did a tremendous job on short notice, and their team of advisors and organizers, which includes Dale Morton, Dave Roase Marc Adams and Carrie Stollings should take a moment to bask in the glory before throwing themselves into the planning of next year's show. Major kudos also go to The City of South Charleston, who proved that you can put on major outdoor event that's fun for everybody without completely disrupting traffic and inconveniencing commutors for several days.

The Radio Free Charleston crew was out in full force, recording what will make up most of the RFC 2012 Halloween special. Most of the images you will see today are grabbed from te video shot by Melanie Larch, Lee Harah and your PopCulteer. It was was a long, gloriously fun and exhausting day, ending with the Shocka Con after party at The Empty Glass, which featured the debut of The Wayward Girls School of Bulesque, performing with Pepper Fandango.

On with the photos...

The Monster Parade

[caption id="attachment_9286" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Darth and the boys[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9287" align="aligncenter" width="500"] This vehicle could have circled the block and been in the parade twice, but I guess that they  didn't want to re-hearse[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9288" align="aligncenter" width="500"] For some reason this reminds me of Tianeman Square[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9289" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Zombies galore! On wheels, even![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9290" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Happy Families[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9291" align="aligncenter" width="500"] The costume-winners from the movie  "Silent Hill" Actually, there's a third member of this trio, but we haven't dug up a good shot of her yet[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9292" align="aligncenter" width="500"] I already used my awful pun, so I wouldn't want to "re-hearse" it. Oh crap, I just did.[/caption]

Under The Tents

Exibitor Tents surrounded the Mound. Here's a small taste of what we found under and around them...

[caption id="attachment_9293" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Tables for The Renfiekds and Kanawha Players[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9294" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Direct from Transylvania, it's Renfields swag[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9295" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Effects Make Up[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9296" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Face painting[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9297" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Aw, the poor little ghoul is all tuckered out[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9298" align="aligncenter" width="500"] More face-painting[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9299" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Howdy![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9300" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Some dude had an incredibly accurate Chase Henderson outfit[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9301" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Magic Makers table[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9302" align="aligncenter" width="500"] More Magic Makers[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9303" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Not many people know that Martha Stewart has eleven fingers[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9304" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Cool stuff. Didn't get his name. That's what the comments section is for, folks![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9305" align="aligncenter" width="500"] It's our old buddy, Daniel Boyd. I wonder what he was doing there?[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9306" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Chillers cover model, Erica Martin , with Danny at the Chillers Table[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9307" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Writer/artist, Jason Pell[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9308" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Walking Dead "Walker," Jeremy Ambler at a table with more folks who YOU can identify in the comments section[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9309" align="aligncenter" width="500"] That's the Porkchops 3D crew over there[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9310" align="aligncenter" width="500"] None other than Burt Fleming, himself, star of the Porkchops trilogy and Zombie Babies[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9311" align="aligncenter" width="500"] The mask from Porkchop 3D[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9312" align="aligncenter" width="500"] The Zombie Babies are soooo cuuuute[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9313" align="aligncenter" width="500"] The Shocka Con alien, ascending a staircase[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9314" align="aligncenter" width="500"] "Out of de way! I ams comin' throo!"[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9315" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Spot the alien in this photo[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9317" align="aligncenter" width="500"] "I'm telling you, that fish was THIS BIG!"[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9318" align="aligncenter" width="500"] "You kids get off of my lawn!"[/caption]

The Bands

One of the major attractions of Shcoka Con was the free performances on the stage at the Mound. We caught many of these, and you'll be seeing them on our Halloween episode of Radio Free Charleston, but here's a preview...

[caption id="attachment_9319" align="aligncenter" width="500"] The Dead Ringers macabre acapella kicked off the music[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9320" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Actually, the Tom McGees kicked off the live music, going on before and after the Monster Parade, but I'm too lazy to go back and fix the previous caption[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9321" align="aligncenter" width="500"] More Ska madness from The Tom McGees[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9322" align="aligncenter" width="500"] ...and their killer horn section[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9323" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Stephen Beckner of The Nanker Phelge got into the spirit of things[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9324" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Mark Beckner of The Nanker Phelge got into his solo[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9325" align="aligncenter" width="500"] The Monster Dolls dance troupe[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9326" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Ash, from "Evil Dead: The Musical" which opens tonight at Kanawha Players Theater[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9327" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Do The Necronomicon[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9328" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Direct from Transylvania, The Renfields[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9329" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Auxilliary Renfields associate, Lucio, The Werewolf[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9330" align="aligncenter" width="500"] That drum kit, some would even say it glows. Wait...wrong holiday.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9331" align="aligncenter" width="500"] The Renfields in action[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9332" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Spotlight on Dick Ramses Renfield, with Vincent and The Fiend in the background[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9333" align="aligncenter" width="500"] All wrapped up in his guitar solo (joke stolen from Dino Stamatopoulous)[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9334" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Vincent, The Fiend and Dick Ramses[/caption]

The Wayward Girls School of Burlesque

The Shokca Con after party took place at The Empty Glass, where The Wayward Girls made their debut, with The Pepper Fandango Band.  Here are some of the photos we can get away with sharing...

[caption id="attachment_9335" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Pepper Fandango with the Wayward Girls' Mistress of Ceremony, Penny Maple[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9336" align="aligncenter" width="500"] The legendary Kitty Killton[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9337" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Elle Xombeah gets a surprise[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9338" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Lavender Menace before things got bloody[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9339" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Lilli Lugosi de-caped for the night[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9340" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Pepper Fandango laid down the music for the girls[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9341" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Penny Maple, all tuckered out[/caption]

Goodnight Moon

[caption id="attachment_9342" align="aligncenter" width="500"] We leave this photo essay with a shot of the happy full moon, which smiled down upon the Shocka Con festivities. Captured on video by Melanie Larch. Keep reading PopCult for our regular features. The next episode of Radio Free Charleston will be a "Best of Halloween" special, followed one week later by this year's Halloween show, which was recorded at Shocka Con[/caption]