Freddy Krueger is no stranger to Cincinnati. The horror: He's never had the chili

“You are all my children now.” Those words sounded so horrifying when they were yelled by Freddy Krueger, as he terrorized teenagers at a poolside party in "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2." Robert Englund starred in eight movies as Freddy Krueger, the ghost of a serial killer who slays his victims with his clawed glove in their dreams, causing their real-life deaths.

The actor was supposed to appear at the HorrorHound Weekend convention in Sharonville this past March, but the event was canceled because of COVID-19. Fortunately, Cincinnati fans can get their Freddy Krueger fix at the Virtual HorrorHound Weekend Sept. 18-20 because Englund will be doing special Q&As. Fans submitted questions for him on Instagram.

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Englund is no stranger to Cincinnati. He has been coming to Cincinnati since the 1970s to watch theater productions and, later on, guest on radio talk shows when promoting his movies. Englund is very fond of Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Cincinnatians will be horrified to learn that in all his years visiting Cincinnati, Englund has never tried Cincinnati chili, but likely will on his next visit to Cincinnati. “Maybe I’ll try to get me some Skyline Chili or some Gold Star Chili,” Englund said. “I will call you up and tell you which one I prefer.”

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Englund says he enjoyed playing Freddy Krueger. “It was really fun to be able to hide under all that makeup. I could change my voice and I could move differently than Robert Englund moved,” Englund said.  “And I could be a little more theatrical because Freddy exists in the imagination, in the landscape of the mind, in the nightmare landscape, in the world of the dream.”

Playing Freddy Krueger was not always comfortable. “The makeup was no fun. It takes hours and hours and is itchy,” Englund said. The clawed glove was not easy to work with, either. One time, Englund accidentally cut the bottom of his nose with the claw. He did not realize it until he saw the dry blood in his nose piece at the end of a 14-hour workday.

HorrorHound Weekend is an annual event hosted by HorrorHound Magazine, a Cincinnati-based business. You can learn about the magazine at horrorhound.com.

Fans need to purchase tickets to attend the virtual convention. Tickets can be purchased up to the last day of the convention. A ticket grants access to the weekend-long Virtual Film Festival, celebrity Q&A panels, live chats, vendors and more. After purchasing a ticket, the purchaser will receive an email with a password code. To enter the virtual convention, ticket holders will log on to live.horrorhound.com and enter the code when prompted. The convention will be able to be streamed on all devices, including phones, tablets, computers and streaming TV devices.

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Virtual convention-goers can opt for the VIP package, which comes with a ticket, an event T-shirt, soft enamel pin, a limited edition exclusive badge, a special sticker, a virtual copy of HorrorHound Magazine’s 15th anniversary special and an autographed celebrity picture.

Tony Todd, star of "Candyman," will participate and discuss the film’s upcoming sequel, scheduled for release this October. Lloyd Kaufman, the co-founder of Troma Entertainment, which has produced over 1,000 independent films, will partake. Rick Baker, the Oscar award-winning special effects master from "An American Werewolf in London" and "Men in Black," will also appear.

There will also be a virtual concert hosted by Clownvis, featuring Jess-O-Lantern, Big Bad, the Jasons, Psycho Charger, Argyle Goolsby and Mummula.

Filmmakers from the film festival will be doing live chats, watch-parties and chatroom Q&As during the film streams. 

People who like dressing in cosplay and those who like looking at them are in luck. The festival will host costume contests.

“What I love about the HorrorHound con. I’ve done one in Indianapolis, it’s just horror,” Englund said. “Just purely horror. You get a lot of the horror cult film fans. You saw some of the best cosplay at HorrorHound.”

HorrorHound Weekend

Where: Online, live.horrorhound.com

When: Sept. 18-20.

Admission: $10, $50 VIP.

Information:horrorhoundweekend.com