Horror fans living on the coasts have it easy, not only do they get to see all of the latest limited-release fright flicks in a proper theater setting while us Midwesterners are forced to twiddle our thumbs and wait (and wait and wait) for the eventual DVD release, but between the Fangoria Festival of Fear and Chiller Theater expos, they frequently get to schmooze with some of the highest-profile figures that our scrappy little genre has to offer. It’s been nearly two decades since the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors rolled through Detroit and Linnea Quigley showed an enthusiastic Motor City crowd how to aerobicise with the creatures of the night, leaving some Hockey Town horror fiends to wonder if our genre heroes had finally forsaken us to suffer in a city that increasingly resembles the set of some B-grade, post-apocalyptic shocker while they party it up in Los Angeles and New Jersey.

Sure, we can always drive to Cleveland for Cinema Wasteland or hop over to Chicago for the scaled-down Fangoria Weekend of Horrors, but after getting gouged for gas, springing for two nights in a hotel, and snatching up that three-day pass, who’s got any cash left to spend in those ultra-swank dealer rooms?

Thankfully, Detroit-area horror fans have some good friends in the form of The Skeleton Factory and Atomic Devil Entertainment – two groups that are determined to keep our crumbling city screaming. Having recently completed their ninth film, Born of Earth, The Skeleton Factory has taken the initiative needed to pick up the torch dropped by Fangoria so many years ago. The result was a horror convention that, while admittedly small in stature, was truly towering in its devotion to the fans. Not only did the modest-sized dealer room sport some truly classy collectibles, but it also gave local filmmakers like the folks at Evil Genuis Entertainment an opportunity to promote and screen their films in addition to providing fans with a rare opportunity to shake hands with such genre legends as Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper, four-time Jason Vorhees Kane Hodder, Candyman star Tony Todd, and Detroit horror-con vet Quigley as well.

For anyone who may have found their optimism dwindling when headlining guest of honor George A. Romero had to cancel his appearance just a week before the convention, The Skeleton Factory and Atomic Devil Entertainment should be commended for pulling off a truly phenomenal 11th-hour save. By securing both Hooper and Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 star Caroline Williams as last-minute guests, they not only highlighted their devotion to the fans, but proved without a shadow of a doubt that Detroit’s fighting spirit is still alive and well.