HORROR WRITERS TAKE OVER COMIC BOOK STORE FOR SPRINGTIME MERRIMENT

Shannon attends the NECON Spring Has Sprung Party at Comicazi and is reminded of the community to be had with finding your people.

I loiter by the door for close to ten minutes, feeling awkward, trying to decide whom to talk to first.

It’s a roomful of people, most of them familiar, with maybe one or two people I don’t completely recognize, but that could just be my “roomful of people” anxiety kicking in. I have to remind myself getting over the initial overwhelm is the hardest step. Sometimes it takes a few minutes to sink in that I’m amongst kindred spirits.

This is how I felt when I walked through the door for the NECON Spring Has Spring Party, held on April 18^th at Comicazi, a comic book, toy, and game store in Somerville, Massachusetts. The store is co-founded by NECONer Michael Burke, who graciously let a gang of horror writers and readers use the back room of the store for a party/reunion/escape from real life for a few hours. Comicazi is a paradise for nerds, full of comics, games, and all kinds of amazing collectables for every fandom imaginable. The party was held in a back room that could have been my attic full of nostalgia, from the Care Bears to the My Little Ponies I miss, to Star Trek: The Next Generation action figures, all the way up to a set of Halloween III figures I would have bought if I hadn’t already bought a house this month.

For those not in the know, Camp NECON is a convention held every year on a college campus (currently that campus is St. Anslem College in Manchester, New Hampshire). The best way to describe Camp NECON is a “summer camp for horror writers.” It’s four days of panels, readings, events, eating cafeteria food, staying up WAY too late, and connecting to a community which holds some of the warmest and fuzziest hearts you’ll ever meet. Think small, friendly, less convention atmosphere and more college reunion. It’s the Brigadoon of horror lit in the way it comes once a year to bring its own magic energy, and then off it goes until we congregate again.

The NECON springtime party was held to capture that magic in a shorter, more contained form, a small reunion to tide many of us over until the next NECON in July. In December there was a NECON holiday party held at Copper Dog books in Beverly, Massachusetts, where there were not one but TWO Krampusse running about (my eternal friend/fellow cryptid Danny B. and I coordinated to dress as twin Krampusse for dark holiday shenanigans, a feat that was most appreciated by our crew of writers of the dark and macabre).

As I moved through different conversations and circles in the room, I was reminded that these are my friends, my people, even though for a few minutes I felt like an awkward cryptid by the door, looking for a good way to interact. It’s also not every day I can enter a space and have people wonder what’s wrong with me if I’m NOT wearing costume horns of some kind.

I’ve been a part of different horror communities before, but NECON is by far the most welcoming one I’ve been involved in. This warm bunch of horror writers keeps me coming back for acceptance, support, and hugs. The conversations at the party were lively and vivid, ranging from what projects people are working on at the moment, to discussing which pins they chose from the free pin box (the idea was to pick a horror movie pin you feel most describes you – I picked a Wolf Man because I have a soft spot for creatures with underbites).

At the close of the night, we gave our hugs and said our goodbyes, telling each other we’ll meet again on a summer night on St. Anslem’s campus in July. At events like this I feel pressed for time to having every interaction to be meaningful, for it will be a while before we all meet each other again. The next time I’m amongst friends like these, I remind tell myself it’s ok to leave my anxiety at the door and connect because that’s what I’m here for. That’s what we’re ALL here for.

Shannon Grant is a writer, performer, adventurer, and horned cryptid living in the wilds of upstate New York. Her work can be found in many small press anthologies such as A Guide to Useless Sidekicks, Catskill Chaos, and The Lizzie Borden House Anthology. She is currently at work on a vampire novella. When not writing, she can be found haunting drive-in movie theaters, karaoke bars, and looking for ghosts in the woods.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.