Texas Haunters Convention 2019

?>

Halloween came early in the TX, this year, by way of Texas Haunter's Convention.

The final weekend of July, I took a road trip up to Dallas to attend the inaugural event…and it didn’t disappoint. From a ton of amazing vendors and classes to Halloween activities and performances throughout the day, it was the perfect dose of spooky stuff in the heart of summer.

I also enjoyed getting to meet two of my Halloween friends, Callie Jo from Halloween Head and Keely from Darling Ghoul Studio! (Halloween friends are the BEST.)

Here’s a peek inside my weekend:

 

Texas Haunters Convention 2019

 

 

Howdy, Texas Haunters Convention!

 

 

One of the things I loved right off the bat is how this event embraced its Texas roots. This is how you do Halloween in the TX, y’all!

 

 

 

I mean, seriously – how great is that vignette?

 

 

They even had a photo op as you walked in with this guy! You know me, always flirting with Death…

(And because I know you’ll ask, the dress is from Amazon – you can select the dress pattern and size – and my candy corn necklace is from the beautiful Verona Black.)

 

 

A peek inside the floor! There were tons of vendors full of booths with amazing Halloween and haunter goodies. We also got to check out some make-and-take style classses, a kid’s costume contest and I even did a virtual reality haunted house. (OHMYGOD, that was crazy!)

 

 

Oh yeah, and I got to hang with this ghoul all day! It was a pleasure meeting Callie Jo from Halloween Head, finally. She’s from Tulsa, where I lived for five years, so she feels like a kindred Halloween spirit.

 

 

Hi friends! 👋

 

 

 

I love the neon designs from Metalhead Threads. That Frankenstein on the right totally caught my eye and drew me in.

 

 

What I picture my skull actually looks like…

 

 

Missing Finger Productions was one of my favorite booths I saw. These skulls, in particular, were stunning. And just in case you were wondering, the owner is actually missing a finger which he lost while working on haunt props. Love that dedication to making lemonade out of lemons with a tongue-in-cheek business name!

 

 

 

I died over these headpieces from Stacy Hawkins. Wouldn’t this be perfect for a Halloween wedding?

 

 

Markee Shadows was my absolute FAVORITE discovery of the weekend. While Mark wasn’t at his booth when I stopped by, I was thrilled to grab a Harry Potter-fied print of the Universal Monsters for my Halloween office, as well as some stickers and a postcard size print.

 

 

The Laughing Skull had some seriously gorgeous – and subtly spooky – jewelry at their booth.

 

 

I’m not a zombie fan, but man did I fall in love with the work of In Search of Brains. Their booth was FULL of clothing that has been distressed and treated to look like you’ve survived the zombie apocalypse. This dress was jaw-droppingly gorgeous in person.

 

 

More from In Search of Brains. I encourage you to follow them on Facebook and Instagram for some amazing work!

 

 

Haunt Shirts was another fave – so many on-brand messages on their tees for this ghoul who does Halloween all year long! And I was tickled they commented on my Halloween Happy pin.

 

 

 

We happened to be sitting in the area during the kid’s costume contest, so we cheered them on as they showed off their killer costumes. They were all SO committed to their characters!

 

 

Predator took home top honors. That costume was seriously impressive in person.

 

 

More fun we saw happening on the floor: make-and-take haunt prop classes with Frightnight Studios. Shrunken heads and eyeballs were just two of the props we saw in process!

 

 

 

 

Y’all. I DID A VR HAUNTED HOUSE!!! I know! I’m pretty proud of me too.

(You need to read this if you don’t get why that’s an accomplishment.)

 

 

Proof! The haunted house was a maze of dark hallways. Being me, I went SO slowly because I didn’t want anything to jump out at me. The crazy thing was as I started, I told myself that this was literally NOTHING but video – there wasn’t anything about to jump out at me in real life…but I still got totally sucked into the experience.

At one point the hallways got smaller, and I could feel myself shrinking to try to fit…even though I was in a huge 10-foot by 10-foot square in the middle of the convention floor.

I’m not a typical fan of haunted houses, but if you have a chance to do a VR one this Halloween season I absolutely recommend it!

 

 

Another thing I enjoyed at Texas Haunters Convention? All the photo ops! Throughout the convention floor, there were setups like this guy where you could snap a selfie.

 

 

Me and Amanda (aka my childhood bestie and photographer) hanging out with our new friend!

 

 

While I was hoping for a FEW more costumes from attendees, there were some seriously killer ones. Dude the Clown was awesome – love that suit!

 

 

 

My new scarecrow friend. He (well, I’m assuming it was a he) matched my dress!

 

 

How killer are these two ghoulies?

 

 

Yessssss! 🙌

 

 

Until next year, Texas Haunters Convention!

 

My Review

I loved this event. I can appreciate how hard it is to pull something off for the first time, and I think the Halloween and haunt lovers behind Texas Haunters Convention did so beautifully. I’m looking forward to next year and watching this Halloween-in-summer event grow.

If you’re thinking about going or wondering if it’s worth it…I absolutely recommend checking it out!

 

 

 

Missed Texas Haunters Convention this year?

Be sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram and bookmark their website for updates about a return in 2020. This is the perfect dose of Halloween in the summer, and I am thrilled we have an event like this in Texas! You can also check out more from the event over at Halloween Head.

 

Looking for a Halloween convention near you? I’ve got a blog post for that!

 

Happy haunting,

 

 

Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

Miranda is the Houston-based writer, blogger, and Halloween lover behind Spooky Little Halloween, the blog celebrating October 31st all year long. Her favorite Halloween things include pumpkin guts, chocolate bars in her trick-or-treat pail, real haunted houses (including the one she lives in!), and historic cemeteries.

7 Comments

  1. Reply

    Blossom Smith

    August 5, 2019

    thanks for the blog that is great

  2. Reply

    Megan

    August 5, 2019

    Um, I’d SO be down to go with you next year! Thanks for all the great photos and commentary!

  3. Reply

    Rain San Martin

    August 21, 2019

    I love your Halloween dress. They have so many spooky patterns too I see. Your festive outfits are so much fun!

LEAVE A COMMENT

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS