Zombies, Killers and Freaks, Oh My!

Flesh-eating zombies. Notorious mass murderers. The spawn of Satan. You might imagine that horror fans obsessed with such unsavory topics would be offbeat and creepy. And you’d be right. But a visit to Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors at the Hilton Burbank Airport & Convention Center last month--featuring slasher previews, macabre memorabilia, costume contests and appearances by fright icons Wes Craven, Rob Zombie and Bruce Campbell--proved that gore-a-philes come in all shapes and sizes. We spoke with some die-hards.

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Twana and Mike Ferguson

with their kids

Tattooists and body piercers

Wildomar, Calif.

How did you get into horror?

Twana: My husband brought me to the dark side.

Murder, dismemberment, Satan: Why is this stuff so alluring?

Mike: It’s like Halloween. It’s that carnival aspect.

How many dead bodies constitute a slasher flick?

Mike: It can be implied. That’s more creepy than the old ‘70s and ‘80s genre films with gore and

blood spatter.

The typical horror fan: What’s he like?

Mike: I’m a big, fat dork.

What’s your favorite horror film scene?

Twana: Watching Paris Hilton get impaled in “House of Wax.” I can’t wait until her 15 minutes are up.

If you were a zombie cannibal, who would you eat?

Twana: My husband. Till death do us part, right?

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Devon Malone

Movie theater manager

Bend, Ore.

What got you into horror?

Stephen King’s book “It.” I was too young to be reading books that scary, and it changed my life.

Murder, dismemberment, Satan: What’s the allure?

Why do people do anything to destroy themselves? Why do people drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, take drugs? It’s going beyond the boundaries.

Do you believe in ghosts, monsters or aliens?

I believe in anything that hasn’t been disproved. There are human monsters out there, like [murderer/grave robber] Ed Gein.

What would be hell on earth?

Working in the fast-food industry.

I’m assuming you don’t do that?

Actually, I manage a theater. And it’s still hell on earth.

If you were a zombie cannibal, who would you want to eat?

George W. Bush. I just don’t like him.

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Emily Kravitz

Makeup artist

Hollywood

What got you into horror?

Anything subversive and wrong has always been kind of attractive to me.

Would a typical fan be a Goth fetish chick?

Do I look like a Goth fetish chick? You may look upon me as a Goth fetish chick, but I am an artist.

What’s your favorite horror film scene?

In Dario Argento’s “Suspiria,” there’s a sequence where the girl

gets attacked and falls through the glass ceiling.

Which horror character would you least like to meet in a dark alley: Leatherface, Jason or Chucky?

I like Chucky. He’s kind of cute.

Scariest thing about being here today?

I didn’t pay to get in, and I’m afraid they’re going to kick me out.

If you were a zombie cannibal, who would you eat?

Paris Hilton. It’s a love/hate thing. She’s just got to go.

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Chris Smith

Musician and actor

Orange

What got you into horror?

When I was 5, I was at my grandparents’ house. I was supposed to go to bed, but I snuck in and they were watching a copycat-killer movie. This guy reaches around, he’s got a wire or a razor, and puts it around the guy’s neck. And I thought, “Oh, wow, this is cool.”

Is there a typical horror fan?

No, it’s everybody. Look around here, you have all sorts of people: businessmen, punk rockers, geeks. They can network if they want.

Do you have any phobias?

“Pet Sematary” brought a phobia to mind that I’ve had a long time: getting in bed and having someone cut my Achilles tendon. From underneath my bed.

If you were a zombie cannibal, who would you eat?

Everybody.