After a couple of years, I made my way back to Smoky Mountain Terror, the horror-themed convention of the Smoky Mountain events. With the success of my recent trip to Smoky Mountain Fan Fest, I was really excited to see what improvements were made here to better work with the venue, The Meadowview Convention Center, and what amazing activities the convention had in store.
Starting off with the guest list, Smoky Mountain Terror does not disappoint with an impressive roster of talent from all things horror. You had multiple actors from Resident Evil, Scream, and Terrifier. However, you also had actors from franchises that might not be classified as horror but are still dark or supernatural in nature, like The Boys, Twilight, and Hocus Pocus. There was plenty to see, and it wasn’t too hard to meet the guests. Some of the more popular guests did have rather long lines, so it took a bit to meet them; however, nothing ever made it feel like it was impossible to meet everyone you wanted to see.
The vendors were a lot of fun to shop around too, as you had many booths offering all kinds of original items, and many of them from franchises that many of the guests were a part of. I ended up with a custom-made deck of Magic: The Gathering cards based on Super Smash Brothers and a bunch of Moonshine shots. I’m not sure what it is about the Smoky Mountain events that gets me doing Moonshine shots, but I’m not complaining. You could also get photos with the Wildefell Wolves, where fans can get beautiful photo ops with either their Wolves, Owls, or both.
There was also a lot of space to shop in, as most of the time, the crowds were not an issue. There were a few moments when the crowd made things a little tough; in particular, vendors near the guests were the hardest to shop in. Lines from the guests sometimes crowded the immediate area. The biggest part of the crowding was actually due to people stopping in the middle of the aisles, but I also saw how convention management stepped in to resolve it and encourage people to keep the flow of traffic moving, and things were noticeably better not long after that. Major kudos to them for actively noticing stuff like this and doing something to make improvements.
The panels were also a lot of fun as they were all centered around Q and A panels with individuals or multiple guests from specific franchises. Like with Smoky Mountain Fan Fest, panels often started with the cohost LeeLee Williams entertaining the crowd for a few minutes before the guests arrived. He does an incredible job making everyone laugh and have a ton of fun, and that’s before the panel officially starts. Then you have the panels themselves, and because many of them have multiple people, it was great seeing several stars from these franchises all together. They didn’t clear the panel room in between panels, and this is still something I don’t personally care for. However, from my perspective, it didn’t look like anyone failed to get a seat to the panel they wanted to go to because of it. I went to The Boys panel and got there only a couple of minutes before it started, and managed to get in without any issues.
Smoky Mountain Terror also featured a variety of special events on top of this. I went to Saturday night’s Karaoke party. It was fun chatting with everyone as fans, and even some of the guests started singing. They had a burlesque show on Friday night, and while I couldn’t attend this one, I knew all about it because so many people spoke highly of it. You also had an R-rated Twilight: After Dark panel that you could attend Saturday night for an added fee. There’s no shortage of fun things to do while you’re here.
Overall, Smoky Mountain Terror was a lot of fun. Most of the time, it was pretty easy to get around and do everything I wanted to do. Even when the crowds were a little challenging, the convention actively worked to resolve these issues, and the results helped a lot. Panels were a lot of fun as they started with a charismatic co-host who kept everyone entertained before the guests even arrived, and then continued to be fun as the Q and A panels progressed. The only question left on my mind as I write this is whether this could be the year I attend all of the Smoky Mountain Events for the first time. Two down and just one more to go.