Back in the summer of ’04 a relatively unknown event emerged from the darkness. It was known as the Midwest Haunters Convention. This rather small gathering of ghouls took place inside Cooper Stadium, Columbus’ Minor League Baseball stadium and former home of the Columbus Clippers and Terror Park Haunted Attraction. This small assembly of fear featured a handful of haunt and horror related vendors as well as educational seminars and fun, yet frightful events.

The first MHC would introduce events such as the Monster Makeup Wars which many haunt conventions across the country have adapted since then. Bobbie Weiner of Bloody Mary Makeup would become the event’s title sponsor and has been ever since. She is a world famous makeup artist that has done makeup work for films like Titanic and Pumpkin Head 2 and also supplies Camo Face Paint for soldiers and makeup for funeral homes.

The Wolfe Brothers would become the first ever Monster Makeup Wars champions. Other events haunters could enjoy was a behind the scenes tour of the over the top Dead Acres haunted house and the first annual Masquerade Ball sponsored by Hauntworld.com. The Midwest Haunters Convention would cement itself as a gathering that would grow and expand over the years and eventually become the second largest haunt convention behind Transworld.

2005 marked the year that Midwest Haunters Convention started to gain ground and it moved its location to the Radisson North Hotel. No one would have ever guessed how quickly this convention would expand, but it did and haunters were ready for it. 2005 included a tour of Scareparts, one of the haunt industry’s largest prop companies as well as a tour of Costume Specialists and City Blood’s 2004 Haunt of The Year, The House of Nightmares. MHC was bigger and better than ever with parties, contests, vendors and anything that could put a smile on a haunter’s face.

2006 would be yet another big year for MHC with a return to Dead Acres. But instead of a behind the scenes tour, it was a complete, fully staffed haunted house with some intense in your face actors. While there were a lot of changes made for MHC, one of the biggest was yet to come. 2007 would introduce, the now popular, pre-convention bus tours. Haunt owners and actors had the chance to see some incredible haunts instead of having to bust their butts during the haunt season. It was a chance for those who shed blood, sweat and tears, to sit back, relax and enjoy the scares. Ghostly Manor, Haunted Hydro and Horror Hotel (a horror museum) were part of the first ever pre-convention bus tour.

MHC 2008 made the most dramatic changes since their move in 2005. This rapidly growing convention had finally moved to a real convention center, The Greater Columbus Convention Center. The number of vendors had also grown in size from 60+ to well over 80. This was achieved with help from the Midwest Fantasy show which ran concurrent with MHC. Everything haunters have come to love about MHC had returned such as the parties, education and haunt tours. 2008′s MHC would be making a stop in Southwest Ohio to tour great haunts like Junction Nightmare, Riverside Jaycees Haunted House, St. Rita’s Haunted House and The Dent Schoolhouse. Many of these haunts were less than 30 minutes from my home in Cincinnati, OH.

Haunters were even treated to a tour of the new Scare Factory facility and The House of Nightmares in its new downtown location. 2009 and 2010, Midwest Haunters Convention once again took place at the Greater Columbus Convention Center and grew bigger than ever with new vendors, new tours, events and tons of education. Midwest Haunters Convention was quickly becoming the funnest event in the haunt industry that welcomed everyone from enthusiasts to haunt professionals.

2011 would prove to be yet another monstrous year for MHC. Wednesday and Thursday, there were tours of haunts all over Ohio and Indiana. This included everything from a circus museum to a haunted cave. With 19 haunts being toured in 2 days, this would make the pre-convention bus tour the largest of its kind that any convention has ever organized. But, the haunt tours weren’t over just yet. On Friday night, The TerrorFest in Downtown Columbus offered free admission to a limited number of people who pre-registered for this haunting event. Afterwards a party with food, refreshments and karaoke (aka Scary-oke) was open to haunters of all walks of life. Haunters even got the chance to have a private sit down dinner with Phillip Morris, the creator of the infamous Big Foot Costume. 2011 was a very successful year for MHC with registration up 50% and more events than you could count on two severed hands.

Nearly 8 years have passed since the original MHC invaded Cooper Stadium. Now, this humble event with a few hundred attendees has grown leaps and bounds with thousands of haunt owners, actors, workers and enthusiasts congregating in one place to celebrate Halloween and Haunted Attractions. While the setting of MHC no longer takes place inside a stadium or hotel, the mood is the same. It’s Halloween time in June and the creatures of the night have invaded the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

What does the 2012 Midwest Haunters Convention have in store for the haunt industry? You’ll just have join the festivities to find out.

Special thanks to Noah Wullkotte of City Blood (www.ohioshaunted.com) for compiling a great history of MHC