Behind the Scenes of StokerCon's 10th Anniversary

Welcome back to Scare Me! a weekly horror newsletter. Today, we’re speaking with three co-chairs of StokerCon’s governing committee: James Chambers, Brian Matthews, and Ben Rubin.

Every summer, the horror fiction community is abuzz with anticipation. Authors from around the world board flights to a US city; publishers pack boxes of ARCs and free bookmarks; agents wonder if their next client is a handshake away.

The event that draws horror readers and writers together is StokerCon—and this year, I’ll be there, too, celebrating StokerCon’s tenth annual gathering.

From what I can tell, the vibe at StokerCon is different from a typical comic con or anime expo. While other cons tend to be geared toward fandom, StokerCon is a professional con where publishers, authors, and academics mingle.

At the event, panels pair established and emerging voices in horror. Horror University workshops help writers hone their craft. And if travel’s not easy or possible for you, there’s even a virtual option.

Everything culminates in the Bram Stoker Awards, which bestow unwieldy haunted house-shaped trophies upon beloved writers, recognizing achievements in a richly diverse genre.

I wanted to know more about StokerCon’s history and its arrival at a major anniversary—and to my surprise and delight, three co-chairs of its governing committee hopped on a video call with me.

This was one of the loveliest and most uplifting interviews I’ve done. I hope you enjoy the conversation—and maybe I’ll see you in Pittsburgh this summer?

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Meet Our Guests

James Chambers: I'm a trustee in the Horror Writers Association and co-chair of the StokerCon governing committee. I've been involved with StokerCon since 2018, and I also coordinate our Horror University workshop series.

Brian Matthews: I'm a trustee of the Horror Writers Association. I am currently co-chair of the StokerCon governing committee, and I have been involved with StokerCon for more years than I want to count.

Ben Rubin: I'm a librarian at University of Pittsburgh, and I'm one of the co-chairs for the StokerCon governing committee.

Michelle Delgado: How did you first get into horror, and what was the turning point when it became a major part of your life?

Ben Rubin: I don't remember a time I wasn't reading horror. A turning point was probably when I was around eleven—getting a couple of books from the stereotypical uncle who would give you all the good reading material. That pushed me past Stephen King into the world of Clive Barker and splatterpunks. After that, that's all I was reading.

It really became a big part of my life when my job as a librarian changed to specifically curating materials directly related to the genre.

Do you have any favorite pieces in University of Pittsburg’s special collections?

Ben: I specifically work in Special Collections and Archives, and I’m the Horror Studies Collection coordinator.

[The Horror Studies Collection was] really kicked off by getting the archives of George Romero. We have the literary papers of Linda Addison, Daniel Kraus, Gwendolyn Kiste, Clay McLeod Chapman—maybe fifteen or sixteen archives at this point. We have the archives for The Blair Witch Project. And then a whole slew of old, rare books—first editions of Dracula, Frankenstein, and things like that. I’m always surrounded by lots of cool stuff.

One of the really cool things about getting someone's archives is that you get to know them in a really strange way. You see all the drafts, all the correspondence, and all the things that go into the final work. You see the stories people were going to tell, but they didn't—all that is there to be discovered.

At Pitt, we do a lot of instruction with our primary sources to get students to actually handle these things, and to understand them and to learn with them. That’s always really edifying—not to have it locked away in a vault where it's safe and we can keep care of it, but then to actually use it for education. For an aspiring writer in the English composition program, we can say, “Here's someone's entire archive: Their first handwritten draft until we get to the final galleys. This is literally, the process. And look at all the red ink and the rejection letters of someone who's won multiple Bram Stoker awards.” I think that's really fulfilling to see.

My favorite pieces change all of the time. But something I was really excited about was getting paperback Bachmann books, Rage and Running Man, in the original run before Stephen King’s name was exposed. To actually hold that book, knowing there are only a couple hundred ever printed…that's really neat. We have a package of Peeps that were painted to look like the Cenobites from Hellraiser that belonged to Ashley Laurence and came with her copy of the script. Those are amazing, along with her notes on her own script.

James, what’s your history as a horror writer and fan?

James Chambers: I would say it's my mom's fault. She made the questionable decision when I was about four or five to give me a couple of Tomb of Dracula and Werewolf by Night comics. I was hooked on horror very early.

But it was reading Night Shift by Stephen King that got me really interested in reading horror, and it was Books of Blood by Clive Barker that got me really interested in writing horror.

You’ve actually won a Bram Stoker award, too! What did that moment feel like for you?

James: It was wonderful to get the recognition. There's two things about the Stoker awards I like to keep in mind. One is the language of the awards. You don't win a Stoker award—you receive a Stoker award. And they're not for “best” anything, they're for “superior achievement.”

They're worded that way to recognize that it's very difficult to say what is the best in a creative field. Tim Waggoner has a great take on it. He's received a couple of Stoker awards, and he just says, “This is your peers patting you on the back and saying great job.” In that sense, it's very nice to get some recognition—even to make the final ballot and have something nominated is validating in a way. The community is looking at what you're doing and saying, “Yeah, this is great. Keep it up.” I enjoyed that—I don’t know who wouldn’t!

The award is fantastic itself. It's a resin sculpture, very heavy, and it has a bronze or brass door and plate. I had the most fun trying to get that through the security gate at LAX. It shows up on a scanner as a solid block of something. I'm pretty sure they immediately think, “Huh, is this explosives?” They made me take it out, and the TSA official got a kick out of it. I explained it to him, and he was like “This is awesome. They give awards for that?!”

Brian, how did your relationship to horror develop?

Brian Matthews: Not unlike my two friends, I read horror from an early age. Actually, I started out with fantasy—Tolkien and Stephen Donaldson—but then I read ‘Salem's Lot by Stephen King. I thought, “Well, this is kind of cool.” And I went on from there with Robert McCann and Clive Barker.

I just loved the genre. I loved a lot of what it inspired, with the heroes battling the evil that's metaphorically around us in real life. Then it turned to writing.

I noticed that you've also worked as a therapist. Do you see any connection between your interest in the mind and helping people heal, and also your passion for horror?

Brian: Absolutely, one hundred percent. I’m not currently, but I spent twenty years as a child and adolescent psychologist. Working in the field, both inpatient and outpatient, I have seen some pretty horrific things that have happened, and how these innocent children and adolescents try to process and cope—sometimes successfully, and unfortunately, sometimes not.

And then you look at the field of horror, with all the bad things that could happen. That's the gig—you're supposed to expose the world to the bad things that happen, and then you show them what perseverance and courage and empathy and love and commitment can do to beat that horror, that bad thing.

And yes, [horror] is therapy. For me, it's cathartic to to be able to write horror. I go back into the past, and I'll pull things out. Obviously, I’ll change it around, because I've got to do that. But it comes out on the page, and I know exactly what I'm talking about. There is a strong correlation between being able to talk to people, understand what they're going through, and the horror genre.

The one time the hairs ever stood up on the back of my neck in a session is when I realized I was talking to somebody with dissociative identity disorder, which is commonly known as multiple personality disorder. Once I finally figured that out, it was like, eight weeks into [seeing the patient]. The trauma that this person had gone through was absolutely horrific, the most ghastly thing I've ever actually talked to somebody about. But then that feeling can be conveyed on the page, if you do it the right way.  

StokerCon’s tenth anniversary is a huge milestone. How has the event changed (or remained constant) over time?

James: It actually started pretty big. The first StokerCon was in 2016 in Las Vegas, and we had a fantastic roster of guests of honor. We typically now have about six guests of honor, but I think that StokerCon had eight or ten. It was huge.

It grew out of the Bram Stoker Awards weekend, which was a smaller scale event that the Horror Writers Association used to have once a year. Somewhere between 2008 and 2010, there was a real downturn in the economy, so the HWA teamed up with the World Horror Con and started to combine Bram Stoker Awards with World Horror Con on alternate years.

Eventually, the HWA leadership at that time—I think the president was Rocky Wood and the vice president was Lisa Morton—decided that they wanted the convention to go in a different direction. They wanted to launch an event that was purely [by] the Horror Writers Association, and that was StokerCon.

I've been to all of them. I was a volunteer at the first one, just helping out here and there. Since we came back from the pandemic in 2022, the convention had grown probably about 20-30% each year in terms of attendance. It looks like it's getting even bigger this coming year.

Ben: I think the the idea was to expand it from just a celebratory weekend to confer the awards to this larger professional conference with a lot more aspects to it, such as expanded panels and discussions, a librarians’ day, Horror University workshops, and an academic section. It’s a a much larger professional con.

Brian: We've even added a short horror film competition—I think this is the eleventh year. Also, pitch sessions—I've been running them each year for StokerCon.

StokerCon gathers so many people from across the horror industry into once place. Has that ever led to unexpected collaborations?

James: There's a good story from our last event this past June. We were at a Hilton hotel in Stamford, Connecticut. It was such an odd hotel. People found all these weird spaces, like a room full of lamps and some kind of like auditorium area that was closed off partly. All sorts of odd things and stains.

It inspired a publisher to do an anthology of hotel horror. I don't think the publisher was at the con, but she saw so many posts about these oddball things, she said, “This would be great. Let's get everyone who was there and do a hotel horror anthology!” 

I actually think I did see the weird lamp room. I think Nat Cassidy may have posted something about it.

Brian: I think he did, actually!

Do you have a personal highlight that you look forward to at StokerCon?

Brian: For me, it's basically seeing my friends again. In terms of being an organizer, it's creating an environment where people can thrive—where they can meet agents, where they can meet publishers, where they can have these interpersonal connections that may be totally random, but end up with, “Well, why don't you send me the first chapter of your manuscript?”

We've had people come up and thank us—they're absolutely gobsmacked that this happened. And we feel good, because we produced an environment where that could happen.

James: I would second that. One of the things that we've heard consistently for the last several years is that people really, really like the programming. They enjoy how we're putting together panels and bringing in a lot of different voices from the horror community. There’s just the sense that everybody feels welcome and comfortable, and that you can really come out and just be part of the horror community for the duration. That's very rewarding.

On a more fan-ish level, I'm a Final Frame film competition groupie. I'd never miss Final Frame. It's the highlight of the programming for me. I love to sit back with 200 fellow horror fans and writers and just watch the craziest short horror movies. 

Are there any films that stand out in particular?

Brian: There's so many. For me, it was a film called “Salt,” which was two minutes and scary as heck. I believe that's by Rob Savage, who went on to do Host.

James: Several final frame contributors over the years have gone on to do pretty big films. Rob Savage went on to do The Boogeyman, and now I think he's adapting Josh Malerman's book, Incidents Around the House.

Ben: I would also echo Brian and Jim's sentiments. For me, I’m coming into it feeling a little bit like an outsider. I'm a librarian—I didn't realize I could even join the HWA for a long time. Finding out how inclusive and welcoming the entire community is [has been great].

This past year, I was putting a panel together, and someone who was asked to join was like, “I don't know that I should be on this panel with all these other big name people.” I said, “You should definitely be on it. Just join and try and have fun.” And they did fantastic. It was great.

There's always that fear: Don't meet your heroes, it'll be terrible. I can't say that there was anybody at StokerCon [I wish I hadn’t met]. These writers that I really loved and have read for so long—everybody is so welcoming and nice.

It's nice to see that community of the artists that influence you, and then you meet them, and they are great, and they're welcoming, and they want everybody to be there. There's not the ladder-pulling kind of sensibility here.

James, your work has spanned sci fi and horror. Do you feel like genre spaces in general are similar, or is the horror community’s culture unique?

James: I think it is unique to horror, but there are elements of that in other writing communities, too. I think one of the reasons it's so pronounced in horror is that we are really a relatively small genre compared to science fiction and especially mystery.

I've participated in Mystery Writers of America events, and I think part of it is the scale. At some of these events, the biggest names are really big. It creates a different atmosphere, a different dynamic.

And, the genres work differently. I think in horror, we're all aware, perhaps, of the fact that we are the black sheep of a literary family. We all know that, and we accept it, and so we're like, you know what? You're here with us. Let's just all do this together. I think that's a big part of it.

Also—and this may sound a little bit corny—but I think horror writers spend so much time thinking about everything bad in the world, the dark side of life and what can happen to people, that we don't want to contribute to that. We want to have a good time. We want to see people succeed and live their writing dreams and be successful and share what we love about the genre. I think that part of it is unique to horror. I don't think that really is an element in other writing communities.

Ben: The joke is that the horror writers are the happy, nice people. When you meet them, it's the same with metalheads. You go to a metal show, and everyone's super nice. We get it all out elsewhere, and then it's fine.

Brian: That was a lot like Jack Ketchum. He wrote some of the most graphic novels, with The Girl Next Door and Red and all that. In person, he was the sweetest man. I mean, the kindest, most soft spoken, loved animals. But when people read your work, they think that's you.

They forget that to be able to write good horror, you have to care a lot. There has to be empathy. There has to be something to oppose the horror, to make the horror more horrific, and we have to focus on that too. I think we understand a lot of the human condition, maybe a little more. Or maybe not—that's probably unfair. But we do spend a lot of time on that.

There’s something deeply empathetic about being able to imagine what might scare someone else.

Brian: I think it was Grady Hendrix who told me this story: He was trying to come up with a way to describe a fear of being in the dark alone. He was living in an apartment complex, I think it was in New York, so he went down to the basement where nobody goes, in the dark, and stood there all by himself just to internalize what that would feel like, so he could better communicate it in his writing. And obviously he does. He's a brilliant writer.

StokerCon brings together horror readers and writers from the full spectrum of subgenres. Is that something you’re thinking about when putting together panels?

Ben: A lot of the programming is initiated by the attendees. We send out a programming survey in which the attendees propose the programs that they want to see and participate in. The diversity of genre representation at the con is represented by the membership. Because so many people are attending, every niche is being represented.

I am a fan of extreme horror and splatterpunks. I know it's not for everybody, but there's always a panel on that, and people want to be there. It doesn't get sidelined. You [also] see the different waves of what's really popular within a given time period—if vampires are having a resurgence, that is there.

As we're doing the programming, we are trying to ensure that we're not just covering the same topics. So, if it is another panel on traditional monsters, what is the angle that's different from what we did before? There's still going to be these evergreen topics that come up.

But we're not enforcing the programming on the con—it's coming from the people that are going to attend it.

James: For me, one of the most fun aspects of doing programming is the power to pick a topic that you've always wanted to hear these five horror writers talk about—and then put them on the panel and make them talk!

One aspect of horror that makes this all work is that all those subgenres overlap. You can do a vampire story, but it can also be a cosmic horror story, or a body horror story or a psychological horror story, and [it can] be a very different take on a classic horror convention or trope. I think that's where a lot of the energy comes out of these discussions. It’s just, “Hey, I found this completely different approach or a different perspective on this thing we all have seen before.” That, I think, is really cool.

Brian: The evidence that we have done a good job with programming is when [attendees] come up and say, “I didn't have lunch because everything was so good that I didn't want to miss any of it. What are you going to do next year so I can eat lunch?” This is our job—we're supposed to make everything as interesting as possible.

What tends to surprise people the most about StokerCon?

Brian: For me, it's how welcoming the environment is. [Newcomers are] a little intimidated. They're like, “Oh my goodness, George R.R. Martin's over there! What do I do?” Go up and talk! Go say hi! Yes, you can do that! They're just amazed that everybody is so friendly, so welcoming.

[If people are gathered at the hotel] bar, they’ll say, “Come on, have a seat! We'd like to know more about you.” They find that quite surprising, and they're very happy about that.

James: An interesting take on that is that we've had guests of honor who came to StokerCon, and they had such a great time they've kept coming back just as attendees. I think they were surprised. They didn't know what to expect, and they just felt so connected to everybody.

We are fortunate in the horror community that a lot of the established and experienced writers want to talk to new writers. They really enjoy it, I think.

Ben: The first time that I went, and I’ve certainly heard this from other folks, [I was also surprised by] the scale of it and what all is on offer. It is such a big con. There is so much going on, there's so much programming that's being offered. People are missing lunch because of the sheer scale of it.

And the fact that it is a professional con. There's a lot of fan horror cons, of course, and that this is a very different thing. Everybody there is a fan, but it does operate very differently.

I think it helps the idea that the genre is serious, and that everybody who's working it is really serious about this craft.

James: One thing I've seen a few times—and it always blows people away—is when they're a newer writer, and they get to meet one of their idols, and their idol has actually read one of their books or stories. They just sort of start to levitate.

You hear the stories later: “Yeah, I wanted to say hello to so-and-so and he actually knew my story. I couldn't believe he's read my story!” Even the big name horror readers are fans, too. Horror writers are fans and readers.

My final question is a selfish one: Do you have any advice for first-time attendees?

Brian: Don't be nervous to go up and talk to somebody. Interact, participate. Go to the panels, go to the Final Frame film competition. If you see somebody that you're a fan of, go and say hi. Take advantage of the opportunity. Everybody is there for the same reason, and it is more fulfilling for the attendees and for the guests and for the people organizing it when we see people just being themselves and enjoying the environment, enjoying the programming, enjoying the people.

James: I would add, feel free to tell people it's your first StokerCon. I have seen this happen many times, too: “Oh, this is your first StokerCon? All right, I'm so-and-so. Come on, I'm gonna introduce you to some people.”

It's such a welcoming group that I don't think it's hard to find people that share your interests and that are willing to give you advice on what's happening at StokerCon, or just chat with you.

Ben: Both of those are great points. You know, I've [been there,] wanting to go say hi to somebody, and feeling nervous. And then it's like, “Well, I know James. James can introduce me. It'll be fine.” And everybody's willing to do that, and it's great.

[My advice is] just really letting yourself go to as many of the panels as you can, but also take advantage the gathering spaces outside of it, in the coffee line or the hotel bar or the dealer's room. All of those are also just great spaces to meet people and hang out and get connections. You never know what it'll do for you later.

Next Up: A Collection of Fun Horror Gift Ideas

The holidays are fast approaching, and with it comes the pressure of gift-giving. I always love Havana Moon’s annual horror gift guides (@bluegh0sts) and wanted to offer up my own! And if you’re not in the market for anything currently, hopefully it’ll be some fun eye candy to browse.

After that: We’re back in interview land for a conversation with Bee Delores. Since 2018, Bee has been a prolific horror journalist with bylines in Fangoria, Bloody Disgusting, Collider, Dread Central, SlashFilm, and many, many other places. Last year, they launched a newsletter called The Horrorverse—and through the magic of beehiiv referrals, it’s led many of you to Scare Me! We’ll learn more about their newsletter, horror journalism, and more.

Finally: I’m in the midst of reading House of Leaves for the first time! I’ve been posting weekly vlogs over on TikTok documenting my progress. So far, I’ve received some lovely comments and insights from fellow readers. I’d feel silly posting if I wasn’t having so much fun!

Scare Me! is a free weekly horror newsletter published every Thursday morning. It’s written by Michelle Delgado, featuring original illustrations by Sam Pugh. You can find the archive of past issues here. If you were sent this by a friend, subscribe to receive more spooky interviews, essays—and maybe even a ghost story or two.