Blerdcon was recently held July 12th-14th in Crystal City, Virginia. It’s a convention made by and for Black nerds to come together and enjoy an inclusive space where everyone (except haters) is welcome. The event was spread across two hotels, and streets were filled with Black cosplayers, nerds, gamers, artists, musicians, and children ready to engage in the various activities at the con. While the event leans into comics, games, and anime, attendees can explore other interests, especially horror!
Horror Heads Showed Up This Year
This year, Blerdcon hosted multiple panels that discussed horror, an upgrade from years prior. This was my fourth year in attendance. Every day, there was something special for the horror fans, and each event was packed. On Friday night, The Evol Tyrone and Lady Evol hosted an interactive storytelling panel called Black Ass Decisions. The hosts called on the audience for story elements and created a horror scenario. Then, audience members would discuss what they would do in that situation. The call-and-response element made the panel fun and engaging. They also had candy!
Saturday afternoon, Rise From The Dead and The People Under Scares podcasts came together to discuss the top ten Final Girls of Color across the genre, like Jada Pinkett Smith from Tale From The Crypt: Demon Knight (1995) or Melissa Barrera in Scream VI (2023). They also included an audience poll to rank the final girls. While I aggressively disagree with the poll results, I loved the inclusion of the crowd. That night Mark O. Estes of Midnight Social Distortion, discussed Black Queer Horror Characters. He dove into early representations of queerness in the genre alongside the issues and victories that came with it. He also gave the audience great examples and movie recommendations. There was also a giveaway!
‘Cause This Is Thrilla
Sunday Girl, That’s a Massacre (Girl, That’s Scary + Blerdy Massacre) took to the main stage and hosted a Hip-Hop and Horror discussion. We showed clips of rappers using horror references and imagery in their music videos and lyrics, with music breaks included. It was the perfect segue into the closing ceremony, where Horror was announced as the theme for 2025. Thriller by Michael Jackson played, and ghouls popped out to dance around the main stage. This was exciting news for horror fans, and many have already started constructing their cosplays for next year. Blerdcon 2025 will have an expansive selection of horror panels, vendors, artists, and more. The con is usually held in July, but the new date for the next five years will be in March. It will be one of the few DMV area cons focused on horror in 2025.
Blerdcon Thrilla will take place March 7-9, 2025. Tickets can be purchased here.
