Monster-Mania returns to South Jersey for a celebration of all things scary

NEW JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — For as long as Dave Hagen remembers, Philadelphia has been crazy for horror movies.

"I went to see ‘The Exorcist,’ you had to wait in line for, like, over an hour just to get into the movie theater,” he said.

That passion inspired the Philly native to create the Monster-Mania Convention in 2003.

Now, it runs three times a year, with thousands of attendees and guests from across the world of entertainment, including actor Robert Englund, better known as “Freddy Krueger” from “Nightmare on Elm Street.”

The next edition, Monster-Mania 59, is coming to the Doubletree Hotel in Cherry Hill from Aug. 2 through 4. And, among the guests is one of the biggest names in fright — Clive Barker, the creator of the long-running “Hellraiser” franchise.

"He's gonna retire from doing convention appearances … we got lucky, we were one of the four that were picked,” Hagen said.

Other guests include Englund and actress Heather Langenkamp from the “Elm Street” series; actor Antony Starr, who plays the evil Homelander on Amazon’s superhero satire “The Boys;” “Star Trek” icon William Shatner; “Natural Born Killers” and “Yellowjackets” star Juliette Lewis; and the cast of Barker’s original “Hellraiser” movie.

But the excitement doesn’t end there. Attendees can snag memorabilia, watch horror movies, and even enjoy a performance of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” a staple at the convention for more than 20 years.

And, as Robert Asheuer of “Rocky” troupe Transylvanian Nipple Productions tells us, people who enjoy it “get really into it."

The macabre awaits. For tickets and more information, click here .