Enter our annual Halloween Costume Contest for a chance to win our $300 grand prize!
2) Email your pic to: halloween@vampirefreaks.com OR post it on Insta with #vampirefreakshalloween (also tag @vampirefreaks)! Â
November 1st
Let's get spooky!! đ» đ
]]>Enter our annual Halloween Costume Contest to win some ca$h prizes from VampireFreaks!!
2) Email your pic to store@vampirefreaks.com OR post it on Insta with #vampirefreakshalloween (also tag @vampirefreaks)! Â
November 1
Let's get spooky!! đ» đ
]]>Enter our annual Pumpkin Carving Contest to win some ca$h prizes from VampireFreaks!!
Prizes:
- 3rd Place: $25 Gift Certificate to the VF store!    Â
How to Enter:
1) Pose your pumpkin with a sign that says "VampireFreaks 2020".
2) Email your pumpkin pic to store@vampirefreaks.com OR post it on Insta with #vampirefreakshalloween (also tag @vampirefreaks) ! Â
Contest Deadline: October 26th
Happy carving! đȘÂ đ
]]>Youâre always ready for whatever chaos comes your way. You. Are. Apocalypse.
War runs through your veins. Born nâ bred on battle, theyâll never find you unprepared for combat. After all, only the fortified survive. Punk Rave and Devil Fashion are spearheading the apocalyptic fashion movement, and weâre getting ready for the end of the world. So put on your gas mask and get on your motorbikeâitâs time to get dressed for the apocalypse.5. Leather Top: Times are tough at the end of days. Every sunrise is a struggle; every moonrise a holocaust. You protect yourself from the elements in your dark + dangerous long sleeve shirt. With black bondage straps, mesh mantling, and accent hardware, you gamble for yer bread and wrestle for weapons. D-ring details and metal rivets keep you camouflaged in the chaos. You breathe in⊠the smell of battle burns in the air.  Â
6. Apocalyptic Arm Warmers: The battle is about to begin. Your arms clad in armor, you lead your brothers and sisters into battle. Constructed of high-quality faux leather, knuckle guards and wrist plating protect you from the journey ahead. In your goth arm warmers, not a bone in your body goes unguarded. Â
7. Steampunk Trench Coat: The bombs and bloodshed go on and on. Youâre a leader in the trenches in a faux leather trench coatâconstructed to clash, and devised to survive. With scorn on your sleeves and evil on the edges, youâre a dark force to be reckoned in the cracked details and militant design. Youâve won the war of the day, but another battle brews just beyond the mountains.8. Distressed Jacket: The war won, you are the victor, but still you canât forgive the forces that slaughtered your kin. You take no prisoners and keep your eye on the hangmanâs horizon. Vengeance runs through your veinsâits arid anger keeps you warm during those cold desert nights. Wherever your scorn takes you, mystery surrounds you in an asymmetrical coat complete with a dramatic hem and bondage straps. In your jet-black jacket, you harness unhinged revenge. Â
9. Dark Jeans: You ride with phantomsâyou are the ghost rider. Now that youâve had your revenge, nothing remains but to endure. You race the dark desert streets in distressed jeans, constructed of high-quality cotton denim for killer comfort. On black body fabric, your pitch-black pants feature scratched patches, shreds, and zipper hardware for mad motorbike vibez.
10. Victorian Jacket: Youâve lived longer than most, but existence is ever endangered in the wastelands. Winter is coming, and so are you. Youâre ready for snow storms in this villainous Victorian coat, loaded with corset lacing, zippered cuffs, and a raised collar to match. Buckled-up in buckle straps and metal buttons, youâve adapted to afterlife in Armageddon. You are all that remains. You. Are. Apocalypse. Â
The Sandman was a DC Comics series running from 1989 to 1996 that chronicled the story of Dream (also known as Morpheus or the Sandman), one of seven deities that personify particular concepts. Dream's older sister, Death, first appeared in Volume 2, number 8 (August 1989). Apart from being the embodiment of the concept of death, this character also acts as a psychopomp, escorting the newly deceased into the afterlife. When we first meet her in Volume 2, Death is accompanied by Dream as she travels around the world, visiting people in their final hour. Her perky attitude contrasts with this dreary job, and her zen outlook on life and death helps many characters to find peace. She often serves as a confidant and nurturing figure for her brother Dream.
The character of Death was co-created by author Neil Gaiman and artist Mike Dringenberg. In fact, Dringenberg exerted more creative control over Death's design than he did most the other Sandman characters. He based her appearance on a friend of hisâa real-life young goth woman named Cinamon Hadley. Death tends to dress in all-black modern clothing, like jeans and a tank top. She has dark hair, teased into the voluminous Siouxsie Sioux-esque style that defined '80s goth fashion. She always wears a large ankh necklace and sports an Eye of Horus design around her right eyeâboth Egyptian symbols associated with death and the afterlife.
Death's style is easy to imitate, since her iconic look is made up of only a few simple elements. She's probably one of the easiest closet cosplay options for any goth who finds themself at a comic convention. But even more than her style, it is Death's outlook on life that is worth emulating. Death defies the stereotype that goths are always gloomy and morose. Instead, Death makes a point to enjoy life, reveling in simple joys and making an effort to be compassionate to those around herâboth the humans in her care and her fellow Endless. Perhaps for these reasons, Death continues to be one of the most beloved comic book characters, decades after The Sandman was first published.
]]>Cartoonist Charles Addams initially created the Addams Family in 1938 for a series of humorous one-panel gags that appeared regularly in The New Yorker. Though unnamed and somewhat undeveloped in the early comics, Wednesday Addams can be seen sporting her signature pigtail braids and Peter Pan collar. The popularity of Addams' cartoons led to the development of the Addams Family television series in the 1960s, where Wednesday was portrayed by Lisa Loring. In this adaptation, the young Wednesday Addams is at her perkiest, a sweet contrast to her parents and brother. Wednesday first appeared in animated form in a 1972 episode of Scooby-Doo, which then spawned an animated Addams Family spin-off show. While the previous iterations had been in black-and-white, Wednesday is depicted as wearing a pink dress in the full-color animated seriesâa color palette that would be dropped in subsequent adaptations.
Since then, there have been many incarnations of the Addams Family, both animated and live-action, but the version of Wednesday Addams that may be forefront in the minds of modern audiences is the character portrayed by Christina Ricci in the feature films of the 1990s: The Addams Family and Addams Family Values. Ricci's Wednesday won over our hearts with her deadpan demeaner, morbid precociousness, and sadistic tendencies. The films also solidified Wednesday's signature look of a knee-length black dress with a wide Peter Pan collar and two pigtail braids hanging in front of her shoulders.
Taking fashion inspiration from Wednesday Addams is a great way to add a bit of playfulness and childlike fun to your style, while still maintaining an overall gothic somberness. Any black dress with a white Peter Pan collar (like either the Heartless Wednesday Lace Dress or the Heartless Wednesday Night Witch Dress from Poizen Industries) is enough to put anyone in mind of this character. And, of course, you can always just wear your hair in her iconic pigtail braids. But there's a lot more that we can learn from Wednesday Addams than just borrowing from her fashion sense! The Addams clan can teach us about what it means to build loving relationships, and Wednesday in particular shows us how to follow our passionsâhowever unusual they might beâand to be unapologetically ourselves.
Check out Wednesday Addams style dresses and themed merchandise in the VampireFreaks Store.
]]>Jaws
Gotta start with a good old classic. This 1975 film directed by Steven Spielberg was based on a novel of the same name by Peter Benchley. In the film, the quaint beaches of Amity Island are bathed in blood as a great white shark starts gobbling down the tourists and the locals. A scientist, a shark hunter, and the townâs police chief team up to take down the shark, but it wonât be an easy fight. Just donât watch this one right before a trip to the beachâit might make you a little reluctant to splash around in the waves.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
This 1997 slasher film was also originally based on a novel, this time one by renowned thriller writer Lois Duncan. The film starts on the 4th of July, when four friends accidentally kill a pedestrian while driving to the beach. A year later, they begin receiving threatening messages referring to the incident. A mysterious man with a hook starts killing the friends and anyone else in the way, using the chaos of the Independence Day parade for cover. Two of the friends make it out alive, but by the end of the film, theyâre still being haunted by someone who knows what theyâve done. The story continues in two sequels: I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and Iâll Always Know What You Did Last Summer.
The Lost Boys
Itâs got everything a good summertime teen movie needs: beaches, bonfires, wild outdoor concerts, andâoh yeah, vampires. This 1987 horror comedy follows a teen boy named Michael after he moves with his mother and younger brother to the California beach town of Santa Carla. Michael falls for a girl named Star and struggles to fit in with the crowd of motorcycle-riding bad boys she hangs out with. But it turns out that these boys arenât just your average adrenaline-chasing youthsâtheyâre vampires, and they want Michael to join their ranks. This film is a classic for a reason, and no horror movie marathon would be complete without a good vampire flick.
Friday the 13th
For many of us, summertime brings back childhood memories of going off to camp, where we stayed up for late nights with friends and spent time in nature. But summer camp gets deadly in this 1980 start to the Friday the 13th horror franchise. Friday the 13th takes place at Camp Crystal Lake, where horny teenage camp counselors are being picked off one by one by an unseen killer. This film essentially established the rule: never have sex in a horror movie. Youâll definitely think twice about sending your own kids to camp after watching this one.
Midsommar
The rest of this marathon has all been horror classics, mainly from the slasher heyday. But weâve been getting some really good horror films in recent years, too. One of the best of these is the 2019 film Midsommar. Set in Halsingland, Sweden, where the sun never sets at the height of summer, Midsommar shows that you can still create a terrifying horror movie with a bright and summery color palette. There are no dark shadows or mysteriously shrouded figures hereâall of the horror happens out in broad daylight, amongst crowds of people clothed in flowing white garments and colorful flowers. Dani and Christian travel to an isolated Swedish commune with their college friends to learn about a new culture and try to get away from a recent tragedy. Their already strained relationship crumbles further as they find themselves in the middle of a pagan ritual sacrifice. This film really gets me in the mood to put flowers in my hair and dance around a May pole, though it does make me a bit more wary of bonfires ⊠and mushrooms.
Break out the popcorn and settle in for several nights of the best summertime horror the film world has to offer. I hope you enjoy these suggestions!
]]>But everything changed for Hawkins when he recorded his 1956 song "I Put a Spell on You." The track was wild and passionate, with guttural screams and groans that shocked the sensibilities of 1950s America. The song was widely criticized and banned from many radio stations. But this sense of taboo only increased its popularity. Hawkins soon developed a dramatic stage persona to match the sensational reputation of the song. Performances often involved Hawkins rising out of a coffin, wearing an elaborate costume with a flowing cape, and dancing around with macabre props, including his infamous skull on a stick. (The skull's name was Henry, and he was often seen smoking a cigarette.) The performances also played into stereotypes around voodoo and African spiritual traditions, blurring the line between subversive and exploitative.
Though these performances catapulted Hawkins to fame, he often resented only being known for his "screamin'" and stage antics, instead of being respected as a serious music artist. Hawkins went on to record many more songs, some solemn blues ballads and some more humorous tunes like "Constipation Blues," though nothing else surpassed the popularity of his first breakout number. Hawkins continued to sing and perform for nearly half a century more, traveling around the world and even touring with Nick Cave in the 1990s. He died in France in the year 2000. "I Put a Spell On You" has been recognized by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll, and it has been covered by artists ranging from Nick Cave and Marilyn Manson to Bette Midler in the popular Halloween film Hocus Pocus.
Screamin' Jay Hawkins represents the theatrical side of gothâwhere the costumes, the props, and the dĂ©cor are nearly inseparable from the music. His legacy also shows that goth borrows from more than one musical tradition, and that its aesthetic has been influenced by multiple different cultures. The stereotypical image of a goth as white and pale-skinned has given rise to the misconception both within and outside of the goth scene that Black people cannot be goth. In reality Black artists were foundational to the subculture's music and aesthetic, and Black goths continue to be a valued part of our community.
]]>Devolution by Max Brooks (coming out June 16)
A scary sasquatch book? If anyone can pull it off, it's Max Brooks, author of the seminal zombie novel World War Z. In Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre, Brooks presents the annotated journal entries of Kate Holland, a Washington State resident who witnesses the bloody wreckage caused by creatures that blur the boundary between man and beast. It's part bloodbath, part scientific exploration, and it might just make you into a Bigfoot believer.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (coming out June 30)
You can't go wrong with some classic Gothic suspense. Set in the Mexican countryside in the 1950s, Mexican Gothic follows glamorous debutant NoemĂ Taboada as she embarks on a rescue mission after receiving a cryptic letter from her newly married cousin. An isolated mansion called High Place serves as this story's traditional Gothic setting, full of dark family secrets and a violent past. Its sense of creeping horror set in the heat of Mexico makes this the perfect summer read.
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones (coming out July 14)
Want your horror a little more literary? Stephen Graham Jones' upcoming release has all the critics talking. The Only Good Indians features four American Indian men who participated in an ill-fated elk hunt in their youth. Now a vengeful spirit has come back to turn the tables and make the hunters into the hunted. Amidst all the horror and bloodshed, the novel also explores identity and addresses issues of contemporary American Indian life. Check this one out if you want a book that will make you think, as much as it makes you scream.
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson (coming out July 21)
This feminist horror-fantasy novel takes its inspiration from the Salem Witch Trials, but puts the power back in the hands of the witches. Immanuelle lives in a dystopian Puritanical society ruled by a horribly corrupt Prophet, where she is regarded as an outcast due to her mother's sins. But when she enters the forbidden Darkwood, Immanuelle encounters the spirits of four witches who show her that the world might be as she was raised to believe. She learns that her town's corruption will soon be its own destruction, unless Immanuelle can find a way to save them. But sometimes to fix something, you've got to start by tearing it all down. Who knew horror could be so empowering?
The Living Dead by George A. Romero and Daniel Kraus (coming out August 4)
Last but certainly not least is this new tome of a book by horror legend George Romero. Yes, that George Romero, writer and director of the early zombie film Night of the Living Dead. Romero had been working on a zombie novel for decades before his death, though he never quite finished it. That's where renowned horror writer and hardcore fan Daniel Kraus came inâhe filled in the blanks, tied up the plot, and turned an unfinished draft into a full-fledged 600-page novel. The Living Dead takes a zoomed-out view of the zombie apocalypse that we only see a small glimpse of in Romero's first film. Starting with one body that won't stay dead, the zombie plague quickly spreads across the country, affecting people from all walks of life. If you're a zombie fan, you do not want to miss this definitive take on the world that Romero created!
Our other summer plans may not quite pan out as we had hoped, but books will always be there for us. Happy reading!
]]>1. Wear a hat.
It's the age-old solution to a bat hair day, but hats are often neglected for their essential role in fashion these days. As the weather gets warmer, wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat on your outdoor excursions serves the double purpose of hiding your hair and protecting your skin from the sun. Plus, it really adds to the witchy goth aesthetic. Or you can always go for comfort with a classic beanie or baseball cap. Get a couple of new hats to mix and match with your outfits, and now you've got a fun new accessory to play with in addition to solving your hair problem.
2. Experiment with wigs or cyber falls.
Who says the hair on your head needs to be your own? Sometimes you just want a really wild color or completely different length for a night, without all the upkeep of maintaining that look full time. With a couple of well-made wigs on hand, you can have instant perfect hair for your next virtual goth night, no matter what state your real hair is in. Or maybe you've always admired the cybergoths you see in the club with their neon synthetic locks. Quarantine is a great time to channel your creative side and finally make your own. There are plenty of tutorials online for how to make them out of a variety of materials. If you're not confident in your own crafting abilities, there are always a few folks selling them on Etsy.
3. Just dye it a fun color.
DIY dye jobs might be a bit challenging, especially if you're new to bleaching your own hair. But if you've got that part down, then now is your chance to go all out with a crazy color and not worry about getting odd looks at the office. Plus, everyone will be too distracted by the novelty of the color to comment on your hair's awkward length or shagginess. For some great color choices, check out the Lunatik brand hair dye in the VampireFreaks store, which comes in Bloodlust red, Monster Blue, or VF Purple.
Whatever you do with your hair, just have fun with it. Remember, everybody else is in the same boat!
]]>In the world of the Vampire Chronicles, Akasha is known as the first vampire, mother of the entire race of bloodsucking immortals. She had been an ancient Egyptian queen who ruled beside her fellow vampire king, Enkil. The two slept for thousands of years, but Lestat awakens Akasha with the sound of his music. Inspired by Lestat's boldness, Akasha decides that she wants to live openly as a vampire in the world and will kill any humans or other vampires that get in her way. As the oldest and strongest of the vampires, with godlike powers such as the ability to fly and to ignite fires with her mind, Akasha is a force to be reckoned with.
In the film, Akasha is portrayed by the R&B artist Aaliyah, in her final role before her tragic death in a plane crash in 2001. Aaliyah brought a powerful elegance and sensuality to the role, exemplified by the dance scene in the Admiral's Arms, in which she undulates to the song "System," sung by Chester Bennington, before massacring the dozen other vampires in the bar.
One of the most important things about Akasha is that she contradicts the myth of the exclusively white, pale-skinned vampire. In Queen of the Damned, not only do vampires come in all skin tones, but the most powerful of them all is portrayed by a black woman. Though a villain in the film, Akasha is nonetheless its most iconic character, and her alluring looks have won over the hearts of many fans.
Akasha's style is inspired by her backstory of Egyptian origins. Her makeup is done in the fashion associated with Cleopatra, with trailing eyeliner that extends in a parallel line with the end of her brow. Her outfits are skimpy but bedecked in jewels that signal her status as queen. For her most iconic scenes, Akasha wears an elaborate metal headdress with a matching collar necklace and a reality-defying metal bra. The rest of her outfit is like a goth-ified Cleopatra costume, with a belted skirt and flowing sleeves attached to metal arm bands, all in black. In fact, her wardrobe throughout the film seems to consist of the colors black, red, white, and various metals. And of course, we can't forget the fangs.
The character of Akasha strengthened an already pre-existing link between goth fashion and Egyptian imagery. This connection has a complicated and at times messy history, going back to the Egyptomania of the Victorians and the haphazard absorption of other cultures and their symbols by early occult groups. Given that most of what we known about the ancient Egyptians comes from their heavy focus on death and the afterlife, it's no wonder that this civilization would appeal to both goths and the authors of vampire stories. And in the end, Cleopatra's eye makeup is just undeniably a great look.
 Akasha is a particularly important gothic icon for women of color to see themselves represented in the goth style. Anyone can be a vampire! And anyone can be a goth! Just lay on that eyeliner, pop in those fangs, and channel your inner royalty.
]]>It wasn't a pandemic that kept Mary Shelley indoors, but it was a sudden and rather unprecedented global phenomenon. You see, the most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded human history occurred in April 1815 on an island in present-day Indonesia. Mount Tambora burst open, releasing an enormous cloud of ash into the atmosphere that spread around the world. This ash blocked out solar radiation, causing lowered global temperatures and unusual weather over the next year. In fact, 1816 was known as the "Year without a Summer," and all of Europe experienced low temperatures and heavy rains. Unfortunately, that was also year that Mary Shelley embarked on what should have been an exciting summer vacation in Switzerland.
At this point, 18-year-old Mary was unmarried and still known as Mary Godwin, but she'd already spent two years gallivanting around Continental Europe with her lover Percy Shelley (who was currently married to another woman). She had also already had two children by Percy, though one of them did not survive beyond a few weeks. With their young infant, and also with Mary's pregnant step-sister Claire Clairmont in tow, Mary and Percy arrived at the scenic Lake Geneva in May 1816. There, they met up with the poet Lord Byron, who was staying with his physician, John Polidori, at an estate called Villa Diodati.
No doubt, the group had expected to spend most of the summer boating on the lake and picnicking outside, but thanks to Mount Tambora it was constantly wet and rainy, and they found themselves stuck in the house for days at a time. They initially amused themselves by reading out loud from a collection of German ghost stories, which gave Lord Byron an idea. He proposed a contest to see who could write the best ghost story. Being a celebrated writer himself, Byron probably expected to win this little contest handily. Or perhaps it would be Percy Shelley, another fairly established poet. But neither of those two turned out much of value. Byron wrote a fragment of what would have been a vampire story, but never got around to actually writing any of the scary vampire bits, and Percy doesn't seem to have written anything for the contest at all.
Surprisingly, it was the teenage Mary who wrote the horror story that would put them all to shame. After several days of coming up with nothing to write, Mary had a nightmare about a young scientist kneeling beside the creature he had just fashioned and brought to life. This nightmare formed the basis of the tale of terror that she wove for her friends during that dreary summer. And within a few years, she had expanded it into her first novel, Frankenstein.
Perhaps we should take a page from the book of the Villa Diodati crew and spend this time reading spooky horror stories. If you've never read Frankenstein before (or not since high school), traipsing around the gloomy scenery with a misunderstood monster may be just what you need to alleviate your boredom. If you decide to explore Mary Shelley's other works though, maybe skip The Last Man. Its post-apocalyptic setting where the entire population is being wiped out by a pandemic might hit a little too close to home right now.âŠ
]]>Actress Cassandra Peterson created the character of Elvira for a 1980s television show called Elvira's Movie Macabre, which aired B-grade horror movies each week. Elvira would introduce the films and provide comedic commentary, often featuring risqué jokes and double entendre.
The character's popularity soon expanded beyond the TV show. Cassandra Peterson co-wrote and starred in a 1988 feature film called Elvira: Mistress of the Dark. A second film, Elvira's Haunted Hills, was released direct-to-video in 2002. Elvira soon became a cult icon appearing in comic books, video games, and even pinball machines. And of course, she spawned a whole slew of merchandise.
Elvira's style is recognizable by her big hair and her tight-fitting black gown with a plunging neckline that reveals her significant cleavage. Elvira's iconic cleavageâwhich she often made references to in her own jokesâhas become the focus for novelty items from mouse pads to salt-and-pepper shakers (both of which you can find in the VampireFreaks shop)!
You can channel Elvira in your own fashion any time you vamp it up and balance sexiness with silliness. One of the most important things about being a goth is to not take yourself to seriously. Another important thing is to not be afraid of extremes. Trying to decide between big hair, bold makeup, or showing some skin? Elvira says, why pick one? Goth is all about going all out and over the top. Experiment, see what you like, and most importantly have fun!
]]>You may not be going to concerts by your old favorites, but you can take this time to sit down and search for something new. Scroll through Youtube or Spotify to see what suggestions pop up. See if any of your favorite DJs have Spotify playlists you can follow. Ask your friends for recommendations. Take the time to look up the lyrics and really listen to those songs you always half pay attention to at the club. And when you find something new that you like, share it with your friends!
Have you always wanted to go bolder with your makeup, but you end up chickening out and just reverting to your same old look? Well, now is the time to experiment where not one will see if it turns out wrong. Look up some Youtube tutorials, or just lay out all your makeup and see what inspiration strikes. And feel free to share your successful looks on social media so that your friends can see.
You don't need to be at the club to dance your heart out. Just turn the music up, turn the lights down and rock out in your own home. Dancing is a great way to get up and moving when you've been sitting at home all day. And now you can really dance like no one is watching!
Watching horror movies is a longstanding goth tradition that can always be done from the comfort of home. Catch up on some recent releases like Midsommar or Jordan Peele's Us. Or you can lean into the end-of-the-world vibe and watch some classic zombie apocalypse horror. You can even have a long-distance watch party with your friends and keep up a running stream of commentary or debrief afterward.
Get to the root of goth by checking out some of the literature that started it all. What better time to really sit down an ease your way through some of the hefty tomes you may have avoided in high school? If you've never read Dracula or Frankenstein, now's your chance! Or for some lighter reading, brush up on your Poe and Lovecraft. If you need some motivation, get a virtual book club going with your friends. Maybe even start a book blog, or just post about your readings on social media. If you need some recommendations, you can always head over to TheGothicLibrary.com.
Hope you all are holding up and staying safe out there!
]]>1. Take a Look at the Schedule
The full schedule is currently available online! Just go to the Dark Side of the Con website and look under the Schedule tab, or click here. You don't need to plan out your whole weekend in advance, but definitely make note of any particular panels or performances you don't want to miss. And check to see what's happening on Friday so that you know what time you need to arrive at the convention by.
2. Plan Your Outfits
You've got to have an idea of what you want to wear over the weekend so that you know what to pack, You'll find a great range of styles at Dark Side of the Con--some folks spend the whole weekend in their usual pants and T-shirt, while others go all out in their gothic finery. Check the schedule or the list of events on the website to see if there's anything specific you need to dress for. Are you participating in the Cosplay Contest on Saturday? Got your clubbing clothes for the dance parties? Be sure to bring something comfortable if you plan on joining in on "Dark Side Awakens: Yoga" on Sunday morning.
3. Plan Your Transportation
Figure out how and when you're getting to the convention. Are you driving yourself? That option is pretty straightforward, but get there early if you want to find a good parking spot. Are you taking public transit? The Morristown train station is probably your best bet, you'll want to get a cab to travel the 10 minutes from there to the hotel. If you find a group to travel with, you can save money by sharing an Uber! Are you flying in? Newark Airport is closest. And if you're coming from New York City, we just announced an official Dark Side of the Con shuttle that goes directly from Gothic Renaissance in Manhattan to the hotel. Look for the "NYC Goth Bus Round Trip Ticket" under the Tickets tab on the Dark Side website to reserve your seat!
4. Pack Some Snacks
There's so much going on at Dark Side of the Con this yearâbut don't forget to eat! There's nothing worse than running around a convention all day and realizing that you're suddenly hangry. There is a restaurant in the hotel and several other food options available, but it's always a good idea to bring some of your own snacks along, as well. Plus sharing your snacks is a great way to make friends!
5. Listen to the Official Spotify Playlist
Dark Side of the Con has an official Spotify playlist featuring songs from all of the bands in our lineup. Listening to the playlist is the perfect way to get hype for weekend, and also to familiarize yourself with any of the bands you might not yet know.
And if you haven't already .... BUY YOUR TICKETS!!!
If you haven't bought your tickets to Dark Side of the Con, yet--what on earth are you waiting for? You do no want to miss the biggest goth event of the year! There will be tickets available at the door, but it's always cheaper to buy them online in advance. You can buy your Dark Side tickets here.
We hope to see you at Dark Side of the Con!
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