H45 Convention - Forty Five Years of Terror
It all started on Halloween night 1978. The day He came home to Haddonfield. People know Michael Myers as the “Boogeyman”. Others know him as “the Shape”. On September 29th, 30th and October 1st 2023, he returned home to Haddonfield aka Pasadena, CA to stalk his next unsuspecting victims at the Pasadena Convention Center. This convention centered around the Halloween franchise and was put on by HorrorHound, Sean Clark and everyone who volunteered to make this event as amazing as it was.
The weather couldn’t have been more perfect when I attended on Saturday. It was cool and rainy. Pasadena is a beautiful place in general, but being in this picturesque city with a bunch of Michael Myers cosplayers roaming around really set the mood. I only bought a one day General Admission ticket, so I got in line a couple hours early. I was determined to meet the original Michael Myers, Nick Castle. I knew he would be popular today, so I wanted to make sure I saw him first. I was surprised by how many people traveled to this event from out of state. I was in line with a family from Ohio. Their son was cosplaying as Michael and I overheard him thanking his parents for coming out there to do this with him. It was really sweet.
Nick Castle
Once inside, I speed walked the halls trying to figure out where Nick Castle’s booth was. Once I found it, I got in line. His line wasn’t that bad because they had just let us in, but by the time I made it to the front, the line reached to the far side of the vendor hall. I heard some people say they waited 3 hours in that line whereas I waited maybe 10-15 minutes. Always have a strategy when you go to conventions. Before this event, I had made special “Halloween” themed friendship bracelets to give to people. I went up to Nick, handed him my poster for him to sign and gave him his bracelet. He loved it and was showing it to people. That made me really happy. His bracelet said “The Shape” on it with orange and black beads. He was so nice. It was a quick interaction because I didn’t want to take up too much of his time. He goes to a lot of horror conventions, so I’m sure I will see him again at the next one.
Nancy Loomis
Next up, I met Nancy Loomis who played “Annie” in the original Halloween. I told myself the only person I will allow to personalize my poster with my name is Nancy because she has a scene where she’s stuck in the window yelling my name “Lindsey” over and over again. I thought it would be funny to have her write that. She was very nice as well. I gave her a bracelet that said “Speed Kills” on it. She wrote on my poster “Hey Lindsey! Speed Kills!” and I proceeded to tell her about the stuck in the window scene and how my dad and I always laugh at that because Lindsey Wallace is just sitting there not helping her at all. She goes, “I was whining and screaming at the same time.” I enjoyed our interaction a lot. It was very surreal to talk to someone who was in a movie you’ve seen 100x about said movie.
PJ Soles
When I met PJ Soles “Lynda” from the original Halloween movie, I gave her a “Totally” bracelet and she was over the moon. Her reaction was so adorable and made me feel so happy. She kept saying how much she loved her bracelet and even offered to sign an 8x10 photo for free. First, I had her sign my poster. She wrote “Totally!” and for the photo she made it out to me and signed it as well. That was really sweet of her to do that. I also got a fun sticker with her face on it that said “Totally!” I have friends who have met her in the past at conventions and they all say she’s the nicest person ever. It’s always nice to see people who live up to those expectations.
Rick Rosenthal
While I was at H45, I really wanted to meet Rick Rosenthal. He was there representing Halloween II and Halloween Resurrection. He directed those films, but he also directed several Smallville episodes which as you may or may not know is one of my favorite shows I grew up with. I came at him with a different topic of discussion though, which was his work on independent films. I said to him, “You have done a lot of work with Matthew Lillard. I’ve seen the movie Match and I loved that movie.” He seemed surprised that I had seen it and went, “Yes, I have. Matthew was really great in that movie.” I then asked him where I could find the film Halfway There. It was sort of a TV movie/potential pilot for a series that premiered at Sundance. I had gone down a Matthew Lillard rabbit hole a few months ago watching all of his work and it was bothering me that I couldn’t find this movie anywhere, so why not go to the source himself who directed it? He told me it is available to stream on Crackle. A few nights later I went on there and sure enough it was there. I was so happy. It was a great movie too. It left me wanting more, so I see how this easily could’ve been a series. It just goes to show that not all GOOD work is recognized like it should be which is the harsh reality of Hollywood. I don’t fangirl over actors as much as I do crew because I studied film in college and admire so many people who work behind the scenes, so meeting Rick was probably the highlight of my day to be honest.
Dee Wallace
I was floating on this cloud after meeting so many people whose work I admired. It only got better once I met Dee Wallace. Dee was in Rob Zombie’s Halloween as well as many other iconic films like The Howling, E.T., and Cujo. Before I met her, I was listening to her on Michael Rosenbaum’s podcast called “Inside of You” where she talked about her life and shared some wisdom about things she has learned over the years and how those things have helped other people better their lives. It was a very therapeutic episode. I went up to her and asked if I could buy her book, “Born”. She has a series of self help books you can purchase on Amazon. She signed it for me. I started telling her about the podcast episode and about myself and the journey I’m currently on in terms of manifesting good things in my life. She gave me a mini therapy session. I felt so lucky I got to have that interaction with her. She is the sweetest human ever. When you talk to her, you have her full attention and she listens. I almost started tearing up. I gave her a bracelet that said “Halloween” on it and she loved it. She came around the table and gave me a hug.
Everyone I met that day exceeded my expectations. I already loved the Halloween franchise, but now knowing how nice everyone is in-person and how much they care about their fans is really satisfying to see. I’ve been to conventions where it’s not always like that. Everyone who was there looked like they wanted to be there and that’s the best part. I also want to shout out Sean Clark again because there’s a noticeable difference at cons when the person pulling the strings only cares about money and not about the fans or the talent, but he cares about both of those things and it shows.
My day at H45 also consisted of roaming the vendor floors and checking out some of the cool merchandise that was being sold. There was Halloween art, movies, posters, apparel, toys and collectibles, vinyl records signed by John Carpenter, and so much more. I ended up going home with John Carpenter’s Anthology Series vinyl. They were selling Part II which was autographed, but I didn’t have Part I, so I got that one instead. There were 2 display cases that had movie props and wardrobe from some of the Halloween films. I really wanted the screen used Smith’s Grove Sanitarium hat. They should sell those because I would buy one. There was a photo op area with building facades from some famous horror films like Halloween, Halloween III, and Terrifier. The convention was selling H45 exclusive merchandise and the line for that was probably the longest line of them all. They were selling limited edition collectible figures from different Halloween movies, shirts, posters, and bobble heads. They also had various panels going on throughout the day. I happened to catch the first 20 minutes of the Halloween (1978) panel. It was fun to see the cast all together talking about how they got cast and how they didn’t know this “little” movie would turn into such a beloved cult classic. They had a similar panel on Sunday where John Carpenter made an appearance. I was very envious of those lucky fans who got to see him there. There was an After Party Saturday night as well which had live music and some giveaways. I heard some of the Halloween cast members were in attendance mingling with people.
When they have the 50th I will try to get a weekend pass so I can take full advantage of everything this convention has to offer. I’m happy for those diehard fans who spent all 3 days up there partying it up with people and having a great time. I had a great time myself, so thank you HorrorHound and everyone involved for putting this event on and I look forward to attending H50!
