Posts Tagged ‘horror festival’

Colorado Festival of Horror 2025

Posted: September 18, 2025 in film festivals
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Here comes spooky season! 👻 And it may be the only life raft I have from debilitating depression right now.

Summer sprinted to an end, landing us in September. For me, spooky season starts with Colorado Festival of Horror (CoFoH). Horror may be year-round for me, but the CoFoH weekend of horror movies, celebrities, and art sets the tone for the impending October and Halloween surge.

This year’s festival was BUSY for me. My schedule was stacked. I volunteered all three days, was on four panels, and had a signing block in the dealer’s room. But I still managed to find time for the costume contest, karaoke, a screening, and a couple of other panels.

This year’s theme was monsters, and the big draw was the colonial marines from Aliens. When I was volunteering, I worked at Michael Beihn’s table. Though, honestly, my husband did all the work, and I made appearances briefly to snap pictures for the fans.

Running around to panels kept me pretty engaged.

Enter the HeTerrorTopia (part I and II): What is a heterotopia? you ask. I asked the same thing preparing for these panels! In part one, we explained the concept of a heterotopia (in very short: a world within a world) and provided examples in the horror genre. I chose Stephen King because he may very well be the king of heterotopias. Then, in part two, we used the concept to create our own heterotopia as an interactive group. We ended up selecting a quarantine wing of a hospital during pandemic. The session ended up drifting into group therapy and trauma dumping about COVID, but clearly, we all needed it. I was thrilled that people got the concept (faster than I did) and to see so much participation in the workshop.

Feminism in Horror: From femme fatales to final girls, this panel covered the good, the bad, and the future of feminism in horror. We discussed how feminism means more than female representation and concentrated on creating authentic, nuanced characters of every representation. As an author constantly labeled as “pink horror” or “girl horror”, it’s nice to talk about what that really means.

Monster Mash: This panel started by defining what a monster is in horror then examining what makes a compelling monster. However, after 10pm on day two of the con, things rapidly descended in the best way. We ended up playing rounds of Monster Smash or Pass to uproarious laughter. This was probably the most fun I’ve had on any panel. Obviously, we need a full, focused Monster Smash or Pass panel next year.

The largest development for me, as an author, was having a signing at The Slab table in the Death Dealer’s Room. After Stephen Graham Jones, no less. It was thrilling to see my name all over the program and promo material.

While I brought multiple books, my focus was obviously on the latest: Red Walls. And Red Walls SOLD. This weekend was probably the most successful I’ve seen for book sales. Between my signing table and the Horror Writers Association booth, I sold half my last order of copies!

Everyone says it’s the cover, and I can’t argue with them. I’m trying to figure out how to turn it into my next tattoo.

So, the weekend was very successful for me as an author and very fun and fulfilling as a horror fan. It has me excited for Telluride Horror Show next month and Creepaway Camp next summer. I will take all the distraction I can get!

Christina Bergling

https://linktr.ee/chrstnabergling

Like my writing? Check out my books!

  • Red Walls – When Talia’s parents go after the monsters who hurt her, they never expected real monsters.
  • Followers – You never know who is on the other side of the screen. Followers is a mystery and thriller that blends women’s fiction with horror.
  • The Rest Will Come – Online dating would drive anyone to murder, especially Emma.
  • Savages – Two survivors search the ruins for the last strain of humanity. Until the discovery of a baby changes everything.
  • The Waning – Locked in a cage, Beatrix must survive to escape or be broken completely.
  • Screechers – Mutant monsters and humans collide in the apocalyptic fallout of a burned world. Co-authored with Kevin J. Kennedy.
  • Horror Anthologies

Colorado Festival of Horror 2024

Posted: September 24, 2024 in film festivals, horror, horror movies
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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Friday the 13th was made for horror festivals, and Colorado Festival of Horror (COFOH) took full advantage this year. I spent last weekend participating in all it had to offer.

COFOH is now in its fourth year. My first time was their second year, when they featured Art the Clown from Terrifier. Then I volunteered last year, sitting with the creator of Final Destination and members of the cast of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The festival definitely has been growing and evolving each year into a destination event for horror lovers.

The weekend is put on by genre lovers, and their passion shows. It is also still small enough that there is a community feel. It is welcoming and approachable, with fun events like karaoke, a cosplay contest, and a Little Shop of Horrors sing along.

This year, I participated even more by sitting on three different panels.

Meet Me in the Dark: We discussed the relationship between trauma and horror movies and how horror can be therapeutic. This conversation resonated with me both because I consume horror as therapy and also create it as an outlet. So many of my stories are my own trauma stretched and processed. We covered our favorite “comfort” horror movies, mine being ones like Scream and You’re Next where everyone lies and hurts the final girl but she emerges stronger and a survivor.

Turning Trauma into Art: This session was the workshop extension to Meet Me in the Dark. Instead of covering horror that comforts and helps us, we expanded to discuss the art and horror we create to deal with our own trauma. I discussed works like my post-partum horror short. Then we went through an exercise of word association with different feelings and crafted art from those lists.

Where is the Monster Line: Joining authors from Horror Writers Association Colorado chapter and Denver Horror Collective, we discussed our favorite monsters and villains we love to hate. Then we dove into what makes a villain sympathetic, interesting, or relatable versus what crosses the line into abhorrent.

I also volunteered with the celebrities again. My husband and I sat with Thom Mathews (Tommy Jarvis of Friday the 13th Part VI).

Befitting the theme and the weekend, other Friday the 13th people were in attendance. Tom McLoughlin (director of Friday the 13th Part VI) and Vincente DiSanti (creator/director/actor of the Never Hike Alone movies and a frequent Telluride Horror Show attendee).

We got to meet Pam Grier as she introduced a screening of Ghosts of Mars and provided new insights into the film’s merits.

And, perhaps most importantly, we sat beside the delightful Tiffany Shepis and helped her create and recruit for a spatula cult (IYKYK). The Spatulatti spread like wildfire.

The weekend was a bloody whirlwind that left me exhausted, but my black, little heart was full. I needed this time with fellow horror lovers. I felt involved and included, like I was contributing. At this point in my horror life, I probably should be!

Christina Bergling

https://linktr.ee/chrstnabergling

Like my writing? Check out my books!

  • Followers – You never know who is on the other side of the screen. Followers is a mystery and thriller that blends women’s fiction with horror.
  • The Rest Will Come – Online dating would drive anyone to murder, especially Emma.
  • Savages – Two survivors search the ruins for the last strain of humanity. Until the discovery of a baby changes everything.
  • The Waning – Locked in a cage, Beatrix must survive to escape or be broken completely.
  • Screechers – Mutant monsters and humans collide in the apocalyptic fallout of a burned world. Co-authored with Kevin J. Kennedy.
  • Horror Anthologies