Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Johnsey.
Hi Jennifer, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My name is Jennifer Johnsey and I am the creator of CreepyCon Halloween & Horror Convention. I had been planning events for a few years prior to launching CreepyCon. After attending a Halloween & attractions trade show in St. Louis I really wanted to launch an event that focused on Halloween here in Knoxville. I had been in the Haunted Attraction industry for about a decade and thought it would be a lot of fun to make an event that celebrated Halloween.
About 12 years ago I developed the concept of CreepyCon and threw the idea out to a few colleagues who didn’t seem very interested in it. I had a young son at the time and also had started a brick & mortar business so I was pretty busy anyway. I sat on the idea of CreepyCon for a couple of years and then decided it was something I just had to do. I bought the domain name and the trademark and launched the event as a one day convention on a Friday night in early September 2017.. It instantly took hold in the Halloween, Horror & Haunted Attraction community on social media so I felt a little relieved that I had come up with an event that people might actually buy tickets to. Nearly 2,000 people showed up to support its inaugural year at the Knoxville Convention Center.. It was a lot of work but it was a total blast and CreepyCon was born.
The first two years of the event were organized primarily by myself, Bradley Drake and Diana Waldeck plus a handful of volunteers that were very good friends of ours and also fans of the Halloween industry. In 2019, Bradley, Diana and I became business partners. The event had grown rapidly and needed a strong management team. Right Brain Productions, LLC was born. We also do ChocolateFest Knoxville and the Knoxville Book Festival under our umbrella as well as the Memories Co which is a photography business and Scream Seeker magazine. We have more projects we want to do as well.
In 2019 we moved CreepyCon Halloween & Horror Convention to Chilhowee Park and held it in the Jacob Building. In 2020, the pandemic kept CreepyCon in its coffin for a year. In 2021 we had another fun year wearing masks during the convention but we were able to host it and it was great to be with friends and fans again but we had grown too large for the Jacob Building.
IN 2022 we moved to the Knoxville Convention Center and held the event in Hall A (the larger hall). In 2023, we expanded to Hall A & B (120,000 square feet) and in 2024 we introduced The Dark Side. The Dark Side is just that. It’s dark. The overhead lighting is turned off in the convention hall and our entertainment stage and attractions as well as vendors that sell light-up items, etc are located on this side. We are rapidly approaching our 2025 event (August 1st – 3rd) and already planning for our 10th Annual event in 2026.
This gives you some background in the progress of the event.
Now, here is what CreepyCon IS. CreepyCon Halloween & Horror Convention was developed BY Halloween & Horror fans FOR Halloween & Horror fans. We are much different than your average fan convention and we always have been. Our motto is “At CreepyCon you get MORE”. It is important to us to provide more entertainment than people can handle in one weekend. From live entertainment on the main stage and the floor to workshops and panels, to contests, to a film festival and to the very best shopping at our vendor booths. We want people to have fun, meet like-minded people and maybe even learn a thing or two. We invite a few special celebrity guests that coincide with a “theme” we create for the event each year. This year our theme is Paranormal so we have invited guests from the hit television series Supernatural and Haunting at Hill House and also a few paranormal investigators as well.
Our Supernatural guests include DJ Qualls, Ty Olson, Samantha Smith and Julian Richings. Our Haunting at Hill House guests include Henry Thomas, Robert Longstreet and Katie Parker. Our paranormal investigators include Amy bruni and The Fourman Brothers. We have also invited Robert Kurtzman who is an Academy and Emmy Award winning director, filmmaker, screen writer and special fx makeup artist.
We are proud to share this event with our community and we have dreams of expanding to other cities.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it has not been a smooth road at all. Part of that is growing pains, financial struggles and lack of support from the community in general in the beginning as people tried to understand what CreepyCon is all about. We felt and sometimes still feel like our event is not fully understood. Halloween is a $10 billion per year industry and yet, if you do not have a passion for it, you don’t understand it and cannot relate to it. We felt like in the beginning some people thought we were a bunch of weirdos and freaks putting on an event. I cannot tell you how many people have said to me “WHY do you have a Halloween & Horror Convention in August???!! Why not in October?”. Well, if you ask me that question, then. you do not understand and will never understand. You are not my target demographic. What I say is this: “Halloween & Horror are a lifestyle. It is the most anticipated time of year by those of us that love it. Take a look at the retail stores right now. July. What do you see? Halloween and Fall decor on sale. Because even retailers know that people begin looking forward to fall as soon as Independence Day has passed.”
Over the years, we have proven this to be a viable event and as more and more people attend and see what it is really like, more people embrace the “weird” and respect it. So many times people have come to our event and been absolutely blown away by it. They say “ohhhhhh, wow! I had no idea!” I thought you were just another fan convention. Nope. We are not just another fan convention. CreepyCon embraces a lifestyle. A community. A passion for Halloween, horror, art and performance. Anyone that has a slight interest in the macabre up to full blown passion for Halloween & Horror will love CreepyCon.
Some of the main struggles were learning how to explain what we do and what people can expect. From the Fire Marshall to the venue managers. Helping them learn that what we are doing is not “weird” or “dangerous”. We have worked together for years now and we are all on the same page which is great. Attendees of CreepyCon are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. They are just genuinely happy to be there and be with “their kind”. There are thousands of us.
The expenses of hosting an event are also very difficult. Event promotion is not for the faint of heart and certainly not a way to get rich. We love this though and as long as we can pay the bills, we will keep on going! We learn more and more each year as we grow.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Speaking for myself, Jennifer Johnsey, I am actually a radio broadcaster. I have an over 20 year career in broadcasting. I also worked in the Haunted Attraction industry for many many years. I started my career at the age of 27 at WIVK-FM 107.7 in Knoxville. I worked every Saturday night from Midnight to 6am while finishing college at the University of Tennessee. I loved radio and I knew that was what I wanted to do. I had also been volunteering at the Haunted Cave at Cherokee Caverns for 10 years. I have always loved Halloween & Haunted Attractions.
I wanted to pursue a full-time career in radio so my first full-time job was with B97.5 FM. I was the midday host for a little over 10 years. I had my son in 2009 and opened a brick and mortar business called Imagination Forest in 2014. That was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I made it 2 years and had to close. It was an awesome idea, but starting a retail store in the middle of the Amazon boom was difficult. I had been running small events on the side during all of this. When I closed my business I went to work a few odd jobs. I worked at Zoo Knoxville, MUSE, Museum of Appalachia and a few restaurants while running events on the side. I went back into radio full time at WIVK-FM 107.7 again around 5 years ago working in Promotions as well as on-air. I developed a love for the promotional side of radio and went off the air and focused on promotions. Seeking a better salary, I took an Event Director position with East Tennessee Economic Council in Oak Ridge. I made it a year. I missed radio too much so I am back in it again with every intention of staying in it until retirement. I am currently the producer for Yarbrough on NewsTalk 98.7 FM as well as assisting with events and promotions for Cumulus Radio Group. That is my part-time job and the I help run Right Brain Productions, LLC events as my other part-time job.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
The ability to cry a lot but don’t quit. Fail forward. I have had many failures, but many more successes. I will say I am more successful with executing a fantastic event then I am with success in my bank account but that is ok. This is what I love to do and as long as I can pay the bills, I will continue to do it.
I have cried a lot. I have been frustrated a lot. But each time this happens, I get a little stronger. Things roll off of my back now. I don’t cry nearly as much. hahaha.
It is extremely stressful and exhausting, but when you see your event in progress and the smiles on peoples faces, I know it is all worth it.
Pricing:
- One Day Ticket: $35
- Three Day Ticket: $55
- Kids Ticket – $10
- VIP – $175
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.creepycon.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/creepyconknoxville
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CreepyCon/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CreepyCon
