If you’re looking for a good scare and can’t wait till Halloween, then mark September 21st-23rd on your calendars. As the season changes from Summer to Fall, this year’s New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival invades the Showboat Hotel on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, bringing horror movies, celebrities, special events, cosplay, and more. The brainchild of filmmaker/producer Ryan Scott Weber and Comic Book Men producer/pop culturist Rob Bruce, NJ Horror Con and Film Festival is moving to their most ambitious location yet and bringing the tri-state area another killer con. Their massive guest list features over 30 celebrities from the worlds of horror, television, and rock and roll all signing autographs, and posing for photo ops. The film festival will showcase over 25 short and feature length horror films.

Over the past several months, Ghost Girl Greetings has built a niche market in pop culture and horror-themed greeting cards. Far from standard throwaway cards you’re used to getting, Ghost Girl Greetings feature original designs, artwork, and hilarious salutations. They sell online at their Etsy shop, as well as doing a variety of conventions and fairs. Earlier this year, they collaborated with Dana DeLorenzo, star of Ash vs Evil Dead, when they created a three-card collector’s set using DeLorenzo’s quote for her Kelly Maxwell character card. Basically if you’re a horror fan and plan on sending some greeting cards, Ghost Girls Greetings is perfect for you!

Now, the Ghost Girls, Laurie Necco and Toni Gabriele, are revving up start-up business as the calendar ticks closer towards Halloween and the holiday season. Here’s some of their upcoming New Jersey convention events…

Back at the New York City Horror Film Festival in the fall of 2016, I saw a super cool poster for an original horror film The Barn. I missed it when it premiered there and it took my nearly a year to finally see a screening at this year’s New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival. At that con, I met and spoke with writer/editor/director Justin M. Seaman. Based on a story he wrote in his childhood, Seaman put his heart and soul into this film, and it was worth it. You can read my review of the film and the screening Q&A here.

With a week to go before Christmas, horror fans looking for the perfect gift can stop searching. The Barn is now on Blu-ray and would make any horror fan happy, particularly fans who grew immersed in the video store culture of the 1980s. Right before Halloween, I got to speak with the creator of The Barn about his inspirations, the challenges of independent filmmaking, and more. See what he had to say along with some thoughts on the Blu-ray release below.

It’s been over 25 years since Wes Craven’s The People Under the Stairs came out in 1991. Despite grossing nearly 4x its budget, the film is rarely mentioned among Craven’s best work. The film is marketed as a pure horror film, the poster featuring an ominous skull over a creepy house, and even the title triggers visions of monsters in the basement. What the film is though, is way ahead of its time. The film is brimming with social commentary that fits much better in 2017’s America than it did perhaps in the early ’90s. This weekend at the New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival in Iselin, NJ, stars of the film reunited to meet fans, sign autographs, and take pictures. On Saturday morning, Sean Whalen (Roach), Yan Birch (Stairmaster), Brandon Adams (Fool) and Kelly Jo Minter (Ruby) took the stage for a Q&A discussion with fans.

More below.

Emanating from the Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel in Iselin, NJ; the New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival welcomed several film reunions. Over the weekend stars from The People Under the Stairs, Rob Zombie’s Halloween, and Night of the Demons (1988) all met up for group panels and Q&As. Perhaps the most eagerly attended panel though was for The Goonies. NJ Horror Con welcomed Mikey and Andy, Sean Astin and Kerri Green and the room was packed upstairs with fans of all ages, many wearing Goonies-themed shirts.

Moderated by Chris Stiles, Astin and Green took the stage to a loud applause. Stiles open by asking about their audition process back in 1984-85, and Astin jokes about being shocked he got the role since he couldn’t remember any of the lines. Kerri Green adds how embarrassed she felt about losing her shoes during her audition, later finding they were taken by director Richard Donner as a joke. It’s fascinating listening to these actors discuss day to day interactions with titans of Hollywood, Steven Spielberg and Richard Donner. Astin described Donner as scary but lovable. The two trade stories, mostly about Astin being a kid and the kids running wild on set, while Kerri and the older kids were much more relaxed. Chris Stiles asked about the competition for box office in those amazing middle 80s years with films like Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Commando, etc coming out and that lead to a panel-long gag between Stiles and Astin over Chris’s obsession with film competition.

More below.