Last week I drove six hours to Pittsburgh with my wife to attend StokerCon 2026. We’d been planning this trip for nearly a year, ever since we attended StokerCon last year, and this year’s festivities didn’t disappoint. Firstly: Pittsburgh is a fascinating city and I hope to explore more of it in the future. This being my second StokerCon, I knew what to expect, but was still surprised by the number of attendees. Horror authors, publishers, and agents were among the attendees who conducted readings, panels, and events. Needless to say, I was in my element.
One of the most humbling things to come with this year’s convention was the publication of my short story “Nobby’s Happy Forest” in the StokerCon 2026 Souvenir Anthology. The story about the murderous puppet Nobby Broomsticks is a strange cosmic horror/psychological horror tale, one with grim portents if you’re into that sort of thing. The underpinnings of dread and nostalgia are interwoven here, revealing the terror like a slow torture, and culminating into an unsettling ending.
Speaking of puppets, we took a side quest to the Senator John Heinz History Center. Besides a history of Heinz Ketchup, the center had sets and artifacts from Mister Roger’s Neighborhood, which I absolutely adored as a kid. Fred Rogers was a kind and decent man whose lessons are sorely needed today. Just being able to see the original puppets and sets to this show was a rare treat, so we hit up the gift shop and I bought finger puppets of King Friday XIII and Daniel Striped Tiger, because I’m an adult and nobody could stop me.
Besides sightseeing, I also attended panels about horror writing: “No One Wants to Publish Mr. Hyde: Professional Etiquette for Horror Writers”, “Sell Your Books! Tips and Tricks for Hand-Selling Books”, “Uncanny Educators: Learning Horror, Writing Horror” and “The Library Eats You Last: Why (Dark) Academia Makes the Perfect Monster.” Informative and entertaining. Highly recommend attending panels during these conventions.
I met many horror authors and had a chance to chat with a few of them at the mass book signing event. It’s such a bizarre community filled with talented people whose love for storytelling is apparent in their work. While writing is a solitary endeavor for me, and the financial rewards are virtually nonexistent, I feel connected with other authors during conventions like StokerCon. They make me feel less alone and inspire me. During the convention I edited a short story and read the draft manuscript of a novella I’ve been working on, a super secret project I’m keeping a lid on for now.
I want to thank the organizers of StokerCon, the attendees, and the city of Pittsburgh for a great experience. I’m humbled I got to be a part of this, and take home several books which I’ll spend the summer reading. There’s no people like horror people.
“Rage Room” is Soon!
My short story “Rage Room” will be published in the V anthology from Shadow Spark Publishing on Sunday, June 21! “Rage Room” is a brutal story about violence as entertainment, about shapeshifting and greed, and the love two sideshow acts have for each other. Some of the best writing I’ve ever done, “Rage Room” is just one story in an anthology concerning villains and villainy, so pick up your copy.
Eric Avedissian 