Sinister Creature Con: Horror Authors and Other Related Things

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Sinister Creature Con is a biannual horror convention in Sacramento, California that caters to movie make-up artists. However, as with the show that occurred during the weekend of June 15th at the Scottish Rite Center, horror authors do show up as venders to present their work. Other items related to horror fiction are also featured, such as board games based on H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.

The Horror Authors

The horror fiction authors at June’s Sinister Creature Con included Nicholas Grabowsky, Derek Muk and Nicolas Walls. There may have been others, but I only had time to talk with those three. Grabowsky’s table consisted of both his own and other horror fiction writers’ works, many of which he has published through his Black Bed Sheet Books publishing house which is headquartered in nearby Antelope. One of his books is his 1989 novel, The Rag Man, which he said he is doing a re-write of for a new edition that he’s collaborating on with another author.

Black Bed Sheet is also the publisher of a novel, Demon Seeds, by the other guest author I met, Derek Muk. Copies of Demon Seeds, which is about monster hunters in Los Angeles, was on display and for sale at Muk’s table. He also had copies of his series of novels, The Occult Files of Albert Taylor. When I told him I was a self-published author, he asked if I thought self-publishing is still looked down on by many. I told him that it is but that it’s gotten more recognition than it did several years ago, especially since well-known genre writers’ organisations, such as the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, are accepting into membership authors who have mostly been self-published. I talk more about this in my latest IWSG post.

The other author presenting his work at the con was Nicolas Walls. One of his latest horror novels is The Butcher’s Tale which he says has elements of slasher and cyberpunk and so is a science fiction-horror story. He was very friendly. We had a good talk about self-publishing, particularly about the naming of businesses in the industry. I picked up the free swag he had there at his table. Or at least I thought all of it was free.

One of the items I picked up at Wall’s table was a sticker promoting his other novel, Primal Real Estate, a kind of political horror tale. I had been holding it for several minutes while we were talking when he finally pointed at it saying there was a small charge for it. I felt terrible over assuming that it was one of the free promo items and so, even though I didn’t plan on buying a copy of the novel at the time, I went ahead and purchased the sticker anyway. I thought the least I could do to make up for my mistake was support a fellow self-published author.

Horror Gaming

The Sinister Gaming Corner, which wasn’t so much in a corner as it was in the middle of the complex and so the courtyard, consisted of free horror game play. It featured a table of board games that were based on the Cthulhu Mythos from H. P. Lovecraft’s stories. One of those games was Eldritch Horror which I asked the game play attendant if it was an extended version of Arkham Horror, since the box looked very similar to it. He said it was made to balance out the simplicity of Arkham Horror and the complexity of a more advanced Mythos game (I don’t remember which one). That’s one board game I’d like to purchase and try out sometime. That is, sometime when I’ve mastered Arkham Horror the card game that I got two Christmases ago and only played twice since then, as fascinating as it is.

The Other Events and Activities

Other events and activities at Sinister Creature: a cosplay competition; a make-up challenge; screenings of 16 millimeter horror, sci fi and vintage films; celebrity panels by stars such as Sherilyn Fenn of Twin Peaks and Doug Bradley of Hellraiser; and panels by TV horror movie hosts. This last one consisted of two panels which I attended. One was by Joe Bob Briggs who’s most current show is The Last Drive-In (on Shudder), and another by Mr. Lobo (Cinema Insomnia) and Lord Blood Rah (Nerve Wrackin’ Theatre). Horror movie hosts and horror fiction authors are a lot alike in that they, to some extent at least, guide you through the story whether they tell it or comment on it. Look out for an upcoming full post about this comparison.


When Sinister Creature Con debuted several years ago, it seemed to be a place where horror fiction authors would be so easily overlooked by attendees. However, with as many as three horror fiction writers who showed at the last one, plus items of pop culture influenced by classic horror authors such as H.P. Lovecraft, it may be the perfect venue for a writer of dark fiction to present his or her work. Look for a table with me and my books at the next one in October!

Have you been or are you planning on going to any interesting sci fi or fantasy conventions this summer?

Until next time . . .