Popverse was there for all four days of New York Comic Con 2024, immersing ourselves in the pop culture party full of vendors, events, and celebrities from the worlds of comics, movies, TV, gaming, and more. If you couldn't make it (or are worried you missed something) click the link for our wall-to-wall coverage of the event.

So you want to celebrate the best time of year (Halloween, of course) by doing something special; where do you start? The internet is helpful but also, well, the internet, and your friends can only advise you so far, especially if they're not the samhain-type.

Why not take the advice of a source in the middle, someone who is both an expert on the season but is also a person, not an algorithm? Horror author Grady Hendrix fits that bill, which is why Popverse asked about his usual Halloween plans during our conversation at New York Comic Con 2024.

Some context: Popverse was speaking with the author, who was in town for a NYCC '24 panel all about his upcoming book, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls. Over the course of our conversation we covered all manner of frightening fare, including witchcraft magazines from the 70s, demonic lore, and one or two haunted puppets. Toward the end, though, there was one thing we had to learn from Grady: How does he usually spend Halloween?

"Oh, man," the author answered excitedly, "Usually on Halloween, I'm doing a show. I used have a friend who had a really great Halloween party. But the thing I used to do that I miss so much, I haven't able to do it in like 3 or 4 years, cause I'm always promoting a book is: there's this group of dudes down in Philly called Exhumed, and they do a 24-hour horror movie marathon. You don't know the titles of any of the movies. You just go in and it's just one after the other, and that room smells so bad by the time it's done."

"[The event's producers] made a vow to never show something twice," Hendrix continued, "So the first year they can do Evil Dead and American Werewolf in London. But at this point we're at, like, The Incredible Melting Man and Mexican children's horror movies with marionettes."

While we can't vouch for the veracity of the theater's smell, we can confirm that Hendrix isn't lying about the festival. Exhumed Films has been freaking out the Philadelphia and South Jersey area dating all the way back to 1997. And while there's no word on the 24-hour horror movie marathon for this Halloween, their schedule is still bursting with great events such as a 16mm screening of Stephen King's The Dead Zone on November 2, and a mystery Monster-Thon the week after. Learn more by checking out Exhumed Films's Facebook page.

But what if you don't live in or can't make it to Philly this year? Well, there's still a way you can put a Hendrixian spin on your spooky season, which Grady himself told us about as the interview was wrapping up. 

"It's taken me years, but I did a podcast called Super Scary Haunted Home School," the author said, "I am just now finishing up the twilight episode [...] So if anyone cares about vampires, my website is GradyHendrix.com, the podcast is there, but it's also on Spotify or wherever else. It's a lot of good producers and special effects people and actors and I've put way too much money into it."

As you can see, we've gone ahead and given you the link to Grady's podcast above. And unlike its creator, you won't have to put any money into it - every episode is totally free. 

For those that are interested in reading Grady Hendrix's work, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls comes to bookstores January 14, 2025, though you can preorder the novel now on Amazon. Keep an eye out around that time for our full interview with Hendrix, and in the meantime, maybe gather your own friends for an especially long, especially weird horror movie marathon. 

Just be aware; according to experts, your apartment might not smell amazing by the end.

In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, "Life's no fun without a good scare." We couldn't agree more, which is why we think you should check out horror aficionado Greg Silber's list of the best horror movies of all time. Or, if you've already seen those classics, check out our list of the most underrated horror movies from the past couple years. And if you've already seen all of those, Let us tell you what to look forward to (or dread) in Popverse's list of upcoming horror movies.