Tag: scarefest

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Jeff Waldridge Answers 3 Irrelevant Questions

Jeff Waldridge, co-author of The Haunting of a Bourbon Town and caretaker at The Anderson Hotel.

Jeff Waldridge has been a Paranormal Researcher for over twenty years. He is a well-respected historian in his hometown of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, where he gives ghost tours highlighting the Ripy Mansion, the Anderson County Courthouse, and one of the most haunted buildings in Kentucky, the Anderson Hotel.

He currently working on The Anderson Hotel Haunted House and promoting his first book The Haunting of a Bourbon Town. He’s also getting ready for Cryptidcon, a fantastic monster-themed convention coming up in November. He was also the co-creator for Scarefest in Lexington KY, and he’s documentary filmmaker whose credits include the gritty deathmatch wrestling film Hardway.

But that’s not important right now.

Jeff Waldridge is the first of my weekly guests I’ve invited to answer three irrelevant questions. Each week, I’ll be inviting another creative talent to answer these same questions, highlighting authors, filmmakers, actors, artists, and more.

So here we go.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure movie, and what defense do you have for it? 

Lost Boys! It’s the ultimate movie that screams “horror movie” of that era. So cheesy but huge stars.

If you had a full day of access to any animal at the zoo, what would it be? 

Gorillas, because they are very smart.

If you were hungry and could fly or drive anywhere right now for the perfect snack or meal, where would you go? 

Let’s see, a lot of options here. I could go to Texas for Whataburger, California for In N Out Burger, Philly for a cheesesteak, or Jersey for a hoagie.

Want to tour a haunted house with Jeff Waldridge? Visit Jeff’s website with all the details.

And don’t forget your signed copy of The Haunting of a Bourbon Town by Jeff Waldridge and John Cosper. Order direct by clicking on the book cover below.

The Haunting of a Bourbon Town by Jeff Waldridge and John Cosper

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First Time at Scarefest

I took off from my day job last Friday so I could meet up with a wrestler named Gregory Iron in Lexington, Kentucky. Greg and I are working on his autobiography, and he was planning to hit Scarefest that night to meet Robert England. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as planned, and Greg couldn’t make the drive. We did a Zoom call so we could still get more audio recorded for his book. After we hung up, I drove to Lexington and went to Scarefest because… well, I had already bought a ticket!

Scarefest is definitely one of the most organized events I’ve ever attended. Admittedly, some events have set that bar really low, but they clearly have a good handle on what they’re doing. The “Staph,” as they call them, do an outstanding job.

I got to see some old friends Friday. The lovely couple that runs Karnivorous Creations had a booth, and it was great catching up with them. I saw the cryptid artist Holly Wholahan too, and I picked up some 5 x 7 pieces of the Grafton Monster and the Kentucky Goblins.

I stopped by the Blood Moon Pictures booth and spoke with P.J. Starks, whom I haven’t seen in forever. P.J. and company are doing some cool things in indie horror, and their latest feature is nearly funded on Indie Go-Go.

While waiting to talk to P.J., I got to meet Rob Mello, who was on a panel about indie horror with P.J. Rob played John Tombs in one of my favorite horror series, Happy Death Day. Of course Rob called me a liar for saying it was one of my favorites, but it’s the truth. I’m a horror-comedy guy. I adore those two movies, and I put them right up there with several other horror-comedy favorites: Ready or Not, Cabin in the Woods, and the Babysitter movies from Netflix.

I got to meet a Facebook friend, Christina Cannon, who was working the sound board on the main stage. Christina and I became acquainted when I cast her in the teaser trailer for Dead Park Plaza, and we’ve become buds over the last year. She’s also become one of my beta readers, which means any fiction of mine you read going forward, she’s read it first. And you’ll see her on the cover of the next Dead Park book as her character from the trailer takes center stage in a brand new story from the halls of that evil office building.

I just happened to find the main stage right at the time when Aidan Fisher was taking the stage. Aidan was the hands ‘stand in’ for Eddie Munson in season four of Stranger Things during that awesome “Master of Puppets” scene. He played the song from the show, and then he followed it up with his rendition of “Eruption.”

I said hello to Roni Jonah and gave her a copy of Zombies of Oz. Roni was part of a creative team that attempted to get a movie of that story off the ground years ago. She was going to be Dorothy, so if you’re wondering why Dorothy is a redhead in the book, wonder no more.

I had a backpack full of books that I brought to network and give away, and I handed a few of those out to some podcasters. Hack from Hack’s Horror Show was one, and the guys from We Watched A Movie were another. Super nice folks all around.

There were some cool cars and photos ops at the show, including the Jeepers Creepers truck and one of the original Christine’s from the movie. I was a bit more drawn to the oddities from a creepy museum in Knoxville, especially the two headed lamb that was once part of P.T. Barnum’s traveling show.

Oh yeah, I also saw Mad Man Pondo walking around. No surprise there. The man is the biggest horror fanatic I’ve ever known. He got some face time with Robert England that night, his co-star in the underrated 2001 Maniacs.

I didn’t get to meet Robert in person, though all accounts I’ve read said that he’s one of the nicest folks you’d ever want to meet. I did experience a cool “Freddy” moment, though. I was walking past the curtains blocking off the professional photo ops area while they were doing group pics with the Nightmare on Elm Street 4 cast. I heard a very familiar face shout out, “SMILE FOR THE BIRDIE, BITCH!” That alone was worth the price of admission.

I picked up some other cool things from vendors before I headed home.  Can’t post some of them here since they are family Christmas presents but… I got a really cool Addams Family pillow for ten bucks.

I’m admittedly late to the party in becoming a horror fan, but I certainly enjoyed Scarefest. I may look into attending as a vendor next year, when I will have at least two more Dead Park books on the table. If you’re within driving distance of Lexington and you like the scary movies, this is an event well worth your time!