Just Do It

Monster-Mania Con

by Aaron Moselle

Fri.-Sun., Aug. 22-24, 10 a.m.-2 a.m., $20-$30 per day, $40-$60 for weekend passes, Crowne Plaza Hotel, 2349 W. Marlton Pike, Cherry Hill, N.J., monstermania.net

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Halloween isn't due up on the calendar for another two months, but that doesn't mean you have to wait to get your zombie fix. Monster-Mania, a semi-annual horror film convention started by Philly native David Hagan, is gearing up for three days of late-summer ghouls and gore.

Similar to previous Monster-Manias, the series' 11th installment will feature autograph signings and Q&A sessions with past and present industry stars. Most notably, Robert Englund, the man beneath the rotting flesh of Freddy Krueger, will be stopping by on Saturday for some Elm Street chats. On the same day, Corey Haim and Corey Feldman will hold their own session on The Lost Boys. Movie screenings will run throughout each day of the convention, with The Rocky Horror Picture Show accompanied by live performances from Philly's own Transylvanian Nipple Productions taking the final spot at midnight.

Additionally, Hagan has invited more than 100 vendors from across the country to service your every horror-movie-memorabilia need, from posters and DVDs to rare collectibles. (Pre-show tickets get you to the bargaining block an hour early.) "It's a never-ending thing," says Hagan of planning the show. "I'll wake up at two in the morning and come up with a guest idea or a different way of doing things or a vendor I want to contact. It's really a 24-7, 365 kind of thing."