Spooky Empire’s Ultimate Horror Weekend took place for 2012 just a few days prior to Halloween, brining horror fans from around the world together to mingle with celebrities, show off extravagant costumes, and have a generally raucous time. From rowdy panel discussions and Q&A sessions to unique displays and merchandise, this annual event always brings an exciting assortment of bizarre visuals and entertainment.
This year the festivities relocated to the Hilton Orlando at the south end of International Drive, kicking off on Oct. 26 with a zombie walk down the tourist-filled street. The slideshow below offers quite a few frightful photos of the event debut:
Spooky Empire Zombie Walk 2012 (Photos by Michael Gavin)
Following the undead parade, the Ultimate Horror Weekend continued through Oct. 28 with many a highlight to be found. Here’s a photo run-down of some of the most interesting sights I spotted while wandering the event’s haunted halls…
A masked killer welcomed all to the event.
This year's Ultimate Horror Weekend took over a good chunk of the Hilton Orlando's downstairs convention space.
Fresh off of a gig at Halloween Horror Nights, Silent Hill's Pyramid Head was spotted taking it easy this weekend.
Rick Grimes has taken out a few zombies in his days on The Walking Dead, but he'll be up for a challenge fighting the ghouls of Spooky Empire.
Aw, isn't she sweet? Wait... bloody stockings?
This stilt walking rocker bent down to pose for a photo. Kind of defeats the point of being on stilts, eh?
Beetlejuice's long lost sister. I bet she and Lydia would be good friends.
The Spooky Empire show floor is packed with macabre merchandise from all areas of horror.
Brain-eating cookie jar? Sure.Deadly action figures? Yep.Creepy coffee? Definitely.One can never have too many flesh wounds.With the Ultimate Horror Weekend taking place in Orlando each, year it's always fun to spot the Disney-inspired artwork, like these bizarre takes on Mickey Mouse and the Cheshire Cat.And then there are the zombie Disney Princesses.Some day my prince will come... so I can eat his brains.Must have taken a LONG time for Flynn Rider to save Rapunzel from her tower.Even that lovable Charles Manson is a Mickey fan, apparently. (Anti Warhol artwork by Chad Harmon.)Creepy baby alert! (No it's not real... but... yikes.)My Little Pony was also subject to the spooky makeover. Here are Freddy Kreuger Pony along with Jack Skellington and Zero Ponies.I think her Pinkie Sense went a little haywire. Sorry, Rainbow Dash.
The halls of Spooky Empire's Ultimate Horror Weekend are filled with interesting characters, like the Ghouligans.A few free play pinball machines were set up in promotion of the upcoming Southern Pinball Festival taking place Nov. 16-18 at the Crowne Plaza Orlando Universal Hotel.One fan's impressive tribute to McFarlane's Twisted Fairy Tales line of action figures. Little Red Riding Hood can certainly fend for herself.Some dress the part to sell their wares, like these handcrafted little hats from PaigeLavoie.etsy.comCaptain Jack Sparrow was looking a little... cursed.These frightful females were promoting an excellent cause, raising money for GoTeamRobin.com, a helping a girl suffering from cerebral palsy who needs a new wheelchair.Across the way, this bunch was drumming up interest for a low-budget horror flick called "Creeper."Watch out! Zombie alert!MorphStore.com had a few familiar folks from Syfy's hit show Face Off applying some makeup and prosthetics. Here's Derek Garcia.Nearby was fellow contestant Laura Tyler too. Sadly, neither of these Central Florida residents won the show's competition.The Ultimate Horror Weekend always comes complete with a variety of celebrities, big and small. The Walking Dead's Theodore Douglas, or T-Dog, was all smiles just a week before his biggest episode yet aired.Chris Sarandon was on hand for another year, having been the voice of Jack Skellington as well as starring in the original Fright Night (and The Princess Bride).Renowned Hollywood makeup artist Tom Savini was happy to meet his fans.Freddy Krueger himself Robert Englund signed autographs each day, all day with long lines of fans eager to meet him.Spooky Empire's event always features some particularly unusual displays, such as this one featuring an assortment of puppets, evil and otherwise.From Gremlins to Teddy Ruxpin to Caddyshack, these puppets all have their own wild personalities.Returning for 2012 was the Mucklebones display of horror characters, one man's impressive personal collection.New additions to this year's display include classics like the Creature from the Black Lagoon......Psycho......The Shining......A Nightmare on Elm Street......Beetlejuice (Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice)......and Elvira, with two of her closest friends.Many presentations took place throughout the event, including one on young adult scary story writing featuring a panel of authors including R.L. Stine of Goosebumps fame.Parked outside was the annual array of hearses and other creepy cars.This vehicle apparently had a brush with death on the way over.Not every car was vacant.Back on the show floor, one eye-catching booth featured lifelike creatures seemingly ready to pounce.This cool girl was just hanging around the booth.The lifelike figures were in promotion of Halloween Extreme, a new show that will accompany Spooky Empire's May-Hem event in 2013. It will be the first-ever public version of the incredibly popular TransWorld Halloween & Attractions Show, normally reserved for industry professionals only.Planning for Spooky Empire's next event, May-Hem Weekend 2013, is already in the works, and will be bigger than ever, bringing more horror and Halloween fun to all who stop by.
It wouldn’t be an Ultimate Horror Weekend without wild parties and a crazy costume contest, both of which can be seen in the photo galleries below. Despite the fact that Halloween is over for 2012, these twice-a-year events from Spooky Empire keep its spirit alive with the next one just six months away.
Spooky Empire’s Ultimate Horror Weekend 2012 Party (Photos by Michael Gavin)
Spooky Empire’s Ultimate Horror Weekend 2012 Costume Contest (Photos by Michael Gavin)
More photos from Spooky Empire’s Ultimate Horror Weekend 2012: (Photos by Ricky Brigante and Jennyfer Gittleman)
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