The Electric City gets a jolt of horror with Creature Feature Weekend

 

by Tara Adams

Writer, Haunt Hunters App

SCRANTON, Pa. – Creature Feature Weekend is creeping into the Electric City this weekend, inviting monsters, movie buffs, and horror fans of all ages to attend. 

The convention debuts in downtown Scranton on Friday, Nov. 7 through Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025, at the Hilton Scranton & Conference Center.

Creature Feature Weekend, which has operated in Gettysburg, Pa., since 2019, branched out to Scranton after event founders Craig and Sandy Yastrzemski realized that northeastern Pennsylvania lacked a horror convention.

The warm welcome they received from area residents upon visiting helped solidify the decision to expand to Scranton. 

“It's just such a friendly town,” Sandy Yastrzemski said. “Everything felt right.”

The three-day event will include celebrities from horror movies and television, trick or treating for children, a costume contest, panels with celebrities, horror trivia, movies with commentary at Scranton Art Haus, vendors, and karaoke. 

“There’s always something to do,” Yastrzemski said. “You could be at the movies with live commentary at the Scranton Art House or enjoying horror trivia at 8 p.m. with karaoke to follow at the (Hilton Scranton) hotel bar.”

Guests will be able to meet and take photos with a number of horror actors, including Bill Moseley, whose roles include Chop Top in “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2” and Otis B. Driftwood in Rob Zombie's “House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects;” Lee Waddell, stuntman and original Ghostface in “Scream” and “Scream 2;” and Clint Howard, whose many roles include Gregory Tudor in “Ice Cream Man.”

The full list of celebrities, ticket information, schedules, and vendors can be found at the Creature Feature Weekend website, Instagram page, or Facebook page.

Several celebrities will be in costume for photo ops, including Moseley, Waddell, and Howard.

“You think Halloween's over?” Moseley posted on his Instagram page. “See you Saturday in Scranton, PA at @creature.feature.weekend for my in-costume, in-MAKEUP Choptop photo opp with [Edwin Neal].”

Neal played the hitchhiker in “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and was referred to as Nubbins Sawyer in “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2,” twin brother of Chop Top.

Photo courtesy of Creature Feature Weekend 

Yastrzemski said Creature Feature Weekend tries to make photo ops special experiences for fans, which is why several of the guests will be in-costume for pictures.

“That's something that Craig really asks (celebrities) about - ‘would you be willing?’” Yastrzemski said. 

Many of the celebrities are willing to dress up and include props in the pictures. Howard's in-costume photo op, for example, will include the ice cream cone prop from the “Ice Cream Man” movie, she said.

The convention aims to blend old-school chills with a bit of modern pop culture so that families, regardless of age, can take an interest in some aspect of the event.

“We try to curate every show so that it appeals to everybody in the family,” Yastrzemski said.

While some businesses will be traveling from out of the area to set up shop at the event, others won't have far to drive. 

Haunt Coffee in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pa., will be giving presentations on Saturday and Sunday on Local Legends and Ghosts of Lackawanna County, Yastrzemski said. 

A local toy store also will be among the vendors at the event.

“Monstarz does shows all across America,” Paul of Monstarz Toys in Scranton, said. “It's fantastic to finally have an event like Creature Feature in our backyard.”

Paul, who preferred that only his first name be used in the story, said Monstarz specializes in hard-to-find horror toys, such as action figures and collectibles from classic horror films including “Day of the Dead,” “Creepshow,” and “Humanoids from the Deep.” 

“Also, we carry a tremendous selection of all the classics like Universal Monsters, Freddy, Jason, ‘Halloween,’ ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,’ ‘Scream,’ ‘Terrifier,’ and more,” he said. 

In business for more than 30 years, horror fans can check out the selection at amoktime.com or visit the store at 729 Scranton Carbondale Highway, Scranton. 

About 60 vendors were scheduled for Creature Feature Weekend as of Tuesday, according to the event’s website. 

Full details about Creature Feature Weekend are online at https://creaturefeatureweekend.com/.

Immersive Horror Experience at Hell House

 

Lehighton, PA - The Waldorf Estate of Fear in Lehighton will be hosting an immersive horror movie experience at the Waldorf Estate of Fear on Saturday, May 4, 2024. Get a glimpse behind the scenes of the iconic Abaddon Hotel featured in the horror movie series Hell House LLC.  Director Stephen Cognetti will be on hand for questions and answers about the movie or anything horror as the calendar indicates it is halfway to Halloween 2024. The immersive escape Hell House experience is included in a night that has something for everyone.

For More Information: HELL House 

 

Pennsylvania artist gives spooky twist to old dolls

Twisted Dolls owner turns unwanted dolls into handcrafted horror creations 

Photo: Haunt Hunters App 

It often starts with an idea, and then the search for a good face and body begins. Once a match is found, the eyes are removed, the hair is plucked off, and the clothes and makeup are stripped away.

By then, the transition into a spooky doll is well underway. 

Mary Jo Chudley, founder and owner of Twisted Dolls and Penn Paranormal, started making her horror creations about two years ago. She developed an interest in painting, crafts, and photography as a young child, an artistic side she continued to develop into adulthood.

“I wanted to do something different,” said Chudley, who also is a paranormal investigator. “People don’t collect dolls like they used to. You see them at flea markets, thrift stores, etc. So, I had an idea two years ago to take a few dolls I found at the thrift store and turn them into horror dolls.”

Her first creation was a Lizzie Borden doll she made from a tall, Irish doll. She also made a baby “Annabelle” doll from an old Shirley Temple doll. She created the baby “Annabelle” doll to accompany her larger “Annabelle” movie doll. 

Photo courtesy of Twisted Dolls 

Chudley also collects haunted dolls and objects, which she keeps in her Pennsylvania home. The dolls she makes are not haunted, she said. 

Once her dolls are ready for their transformations, Chudley said she paints them and then inserts custom eyes, prepares the wigs, searches for outfits, and usually looks for objects the dolls can hold.

One of Chudley’s largest creations was an approximately 5-foot-tall and lifelike doll depicting Regan from the movie, “The Exorcist.” 

She got the idea to make the Regan doll after visiting a Halloween store last year with the intention of buying one, but, ultimately, leaving without it.

“She was expensive and didn’t look real,” Chudley said of the store doll. So, I thought, ‘Let me try to make one for this Halloween. Then everyone loved her.’”

Photo: Haunt Hunters App 

Chudley bought a high quality and sturdy kids’ size mannequin with a stand and used a plain mask to build Regan’s face. She used plaster and paint to create her menacing expression and replicate the wounds Regan had on her face and arms in the movie. She added green to her eyes to resemble the demon-plagued girl’s malevolent glare and affixed a real human hair wig to the mannequin’s head.

“Then comes the fun with the throw up,” Chudley said of the textured mixture that looks like pea soup-colored vomit, which she splattered on the front of a green-flowered night gown. 

Chudley makes a variety of spooky dolls, from demented clowns to sinister baby vampires.

“I do custom dolls for people and haunted houses,” she said. “I have made dolls for the Enfield Demon House, Haunted SK Mansion; [I’m] working on one for The Warren’s Paracon and made a bunch of paranormal mascot dolls and more.” 

Photo courtesy of Twisted Dolls 

Chudley said her dolls have been featured in events at movie theaters, including “Date Night with Annabelle,” and “Date Night with Regan,” in which people watch the movies and have their photos taken with the dolls.

She said she loves making dolls that people will enjoy.

“I give old, unwanted dolls a new beginning with something different that everyone can enjoy all year round,” she said.

Photo courtesy of Twisted Dolls 

Photo courtesy of Twisted Dolls 

Photo courtesy of Twisted Dolls 

Photo courtesy of Twisted Dolls 

Kim's Krypt Haunt 2020

 

Kim's Krypt

Spring Valley, PA - Kim's Krypt Haunt 2020 offers 3 solid Haunted Attractions that will bring Halloween happiness to any Haunted House Fan. Most of the Haunted Houses in the state are usually competing to provide customers with the most amount of Attractions offered at a site. Covid has changed the rules of the game and now if you are a Haunt Owner, you are forced to cut back on everything and to do more with less. "We have had to cut down from 6 Haunted Attractions to 3 Attractions this season" say's Kim's Krypt Haunted Mill owner Kimberly Yates, "who knows maybe we will be able to do it at a higher level this year". 

This brings up an interesting point, can you do more with less in the world of Haunted Attractions? After experiencing Kim's Krypt, the is a possibility that need to be explored. 3 Haunted Attractions are offered at Kim's Krypt, the Haunted Mill, House of Eyes and Terror Trail. Each Attraction offered a high amount of scares, but above all offered sensory overload. So much is thrown at you with the actors and sets, the question remains, can or do you need more?  Kim's Krypt has a solid formula for the 2020 Haunt Season with 3 Haunted Attractions that will bring all of the scares you will need for the 2020 Halloween season. 

Broadcasting live on the Haunt Hunters App powered with Speed by Chuck Mound.

KimsKrypt.com