This week ends with everyone’s favorite unlucky day, Friday the 13th. And on Sunday, March 15, Wisconsin Avenue will fill with hundreds of people dressed as the holiday’s equivalent to Santa Claus—famous movie axe murderer Jason Voorhees.
It’s part of an attempt to create a world record gathering of cosplayers dressed as the character. To join their number, you’ll just need a hockey mask, maybe some coveralls, and a bloody machete (a prop one, the organizers are quick to point out) and you’ll fit right in with the horde of Jasons.
The record stabbing gathering is part of the Milwaukee Horror Con, kicking off Friday the 13th and slowly stalking its way through the next two days at the Baird Center. It’s a full weekend of vendors, film screenings, afterparties, and special horror celebrity guests.
Conference organizer Chris Vecchio says the idea was inspired by a suggestion of one the conference vendors, Mo Magical Monstrosities, to tie into the conference’s opening date.
“We thought it would be a perfect fit for the event,” Vecchio says, something that would be “fun and memorable for horror fans.” From there, “it turned into the idea of trying to break a world record and creating a really fun moment for fans.”
Some of this year’s special horror celeb guests also have a tie to the Friday The 13th-verse. Ari Lehman portrayed Jason Voorhees (before young Jason even had a hockey mask) in the very first Friday The 13th (1980), which was a key piece of the slasher renaissance of the ’80s, along with the A Nightmare On Elm Street and Halloween series. Lehman celebrates this legacy with his horror metal band, First Jason, who will be playing a conference afterparty show Friday night at MKE Ultra.
That original movie was followed by nine sequels, a dream matchup of Freddy vs. Jason (2003), an obligatory reboot in 2009, comic books, video games, and other media. Jason is one of the hardest working slashers in the business.
Other Milwaukee Horror Con guests who have gotten within hacking distance of the franchise include Judie Aronson, Melanie Kinnaman, and CJ Graham, who appeared in Friday The 13th parts IV, V, and VI, respectively.
But what’s a little strange about all this is that there is no record to chop—yet.
“There isn’t really an official record on the books. There have been a few attempts over the years, but nothing that’s been clearly documented or verified,” Vecchio explains. The closest thing, he says, was an attempt at a convention in Canada a couple years ago.
“They handed out cheap hockey masks to everyone at the door just to boost the numbers—but that’s not really the spirit of it,” Vecchio says. “Plus, there was never any real documentation of it.” Hosers!
The Milwaukee gathering, on the other hand, will consist of “real Jason cosplayers and horror fans of all ages, people who show up because they love the character and the franchise.” The goal is to assemble at least 251 Jasons. But why that number? Is that the average number of horny teens murdered in an average Friday The 13th flick?
“Honestly, why not?” Vecchio says of the arbitrary number. His favorite entry in the series, by the way, is 1981’s Part II as well as the 2009 reboot. To him, 250 plus one just seems like an indisputable amount of slashers.
The Gathering of Jasons will be on Sunday, March 15, at 2 p.m. It’s open to all ages, and you don’t need a conference pass to participate, as the gathering will be staged in an area of the Baird Center open to the public, the Collaborative Staircase. A cosplayer known as “Jason Voorcheese” for his cheesehead interpretation of the character, will be the host. Vecchio is confident that his goal of 251 Jasons will be hit like a fishing spear piercing a human torso.
“The horror community has been really excited about it, and we’ve been seeing a lot of people saying they’re bringing their hockey masks,” Vecchio says.
For more info and tickets to the Milwaukee Horror Con, visit: www.milwaukeehorrorcon.com
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