Colorado's Monster Mash: Festival of Horror Returns

Here there be monsters. Right here, Denver, at the fifth annual Colorado Festival of Horror. This year's theme is "Monsters," be they toothy, drooling aliens or Universal's classic pentagram of characters: Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman, the Mummy, and, of course, the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

"We're excited to have a sci-fi angle to this year's event," says co-founder Bret Smith. "We were pretty much straight-on horror for the first four years, but we thought we might do well to tap into the science fiction genre as well, maybe even attract the StarFest crowds and give them a new home."

That new home just might be the annual Colorado Festival of Horror, returning for a fearsome fifth year over the weekend of September 12-14 at the Marriott Denver South at Park Meadows. Full weekend passes are already sold out, but single-day passes are still available at the COFOH website. To kick off the festivities, COFOH will celebrate its new partnership with Woods Boss Brewing Company to release a special edition red ale amber brew called — what else? — Monster Mash, which will be available at both the event and Woods Boss Brewing through September 20.

Regarding the inclusion of sci-fi in the horror genre, it probably didn't hurt that Smith and company found that the original team of Colonial Marines from the 1986 film Aliens — considered by many to rival The Empire Strikes Back as one of the rare part-twos in a film series that surpassed the first installment — were available to serve as top-line guests. "I've loved the Alien franchise since forever," admits Smith. "I've been trying for years to connect with Jenette Goldstein, who played the iconic role of Vasquez in Aliens. I just couldn't find her anywhere. Finally, I saw she was on Instagram, and I messaged her there."

There was no response until a year or two later, when Smith got a message back from Goldstein saying she was already booked for the COFOH weekend. "So that was exciting. Fast-forward to this year, and I messaged her again, and this time, she responded with her agent's info."

What's more, Smith found out that the agent also repped a lot of the other Colonial Marines. "We figured, why not make the fifth COFOH a kick-off to the 40th anniversary celebration of Aliens in 2026?" Smith says. Rounding out the Colonial Marine reunion are Michael Biehn (who not only played Corporal Hicks, but also Kyle Reese in the 1984 classic The Terminator); Mark Rolston (Private Drake); Ricco Ross (Private Frost); Daniel Kash (Private Spunkmeyer); and Cynthia Scott (Corporal Dietrich).

But the list of special guests doesn't end there: this year's COFOH also features famed actress Sybil Danning in her first Colorado convention appearance. Danning starred in a number of film and television roles but is perhaps best known for being one of the first B-movie queens, with star turns in Howling II, Battle Beyond the Stars, and the cult favorites Amazon Women on the Moon and Reform School Girls.
Among several other special guests (listed in full on the COFOH website) is Victoria Price, daughter of famed horror icon Vincent Price, who was a tele-guest at the first COFOH back in 2021. "We had this very slight window between COVID waves," recalls Smith, "but traveling was still pretty tough. Instead of cancelling on us, Victoria was kind enough to appear virtually, which was amazing. But it'll be a real treat to have her here in person this year."

As always, there's a petrifying plethora of other aspects to COFOH, aside from a strong set of special guests. There's the Death Dealers Room that hosts a menagerie of artists and vendors selling their creepy wares; panels, Q&As and film screenings all day; workshops and Monster Main Events to entertain; the faint-inducing Gore Galore Costume Extravaganza; the (new this year!) Inked In Blood Horror Tattoo competition; a Reel Horrors Film Fest; and after-hours activities for haunting fun like trivia contests, karaoke, and a "Drawn In Blood" Draw-Off for artists.

This year also marks the release of the final issue of the "True Believers" series, with the third issue becoming available at COFOH — appropriate, since the comic itself is set at COFOH, with a murderer on the loose. Local creatives with national recognition Josh Viola and prolific author Stephen Graham Jones are bringing that ferocious fun.

But maybe the biggest draw for COFOH is that it's one of the few fan conventions in town that are truly (and still) home-grown. "We're all just fans," laughs Smith. "If I didn't run the thing, I'd still be there pretty much every moment. It's an amazing thing to get to share what you love with others who love it too, and that's what COFOH is all about."

The fifth annual Colorado Festival of Horror returns with Monsters Friday, September 12, through Sunday, September 14, at the Marriott Denver South at Park Meadows, 10345 Park Meadows Drive in Lone Tree. Single-day passes are still available at the COFOH website.