The Brief

A workplace misconduct investigation found a top Orange County elected official violated gender discrimination and retaliation policies and harassed a subordinate over her medical disability, according to a confidential county-commissioned report obtained by LAist.

According to the investigator’s findings, O.C. Assessor Claude Parrish:

• Downplayed the employee’s chronic medical condition as a “tummy ache”
• Shared her private medical information with coworkers
• Regularly commented on her diet
• Told her to stop taking her prescribed medication 
• Made her “drink baking soda mixed with tap water to ‘fix’ her medical condition” 

The investigator’s final report, filed in 2023, also found that Parrish retaliated against the subordinate because of her disability by moving her to a different department for taking time off for her disability and medical condition.

In addition, the investigator found Parrish regularly used language effectively casting women employees as subservient to their male colleagues.

“It is more likely than not that Parrish routinely refers to male employees as ‘Mr.’ and female employees by their first name, based on their gender,” the investigation found. “The cumulative effect of Parrish's practice of using formal, deferential means of addressing men, while using informal, casual means of addressing women serves to highlight a subservient relationship between such employees, based on their sex.”

While the investigator’s findings were disclosed to county human resources officials in the May 2023 report, they have not been publicly reported until now. LAist obtained the report — which is labeled “confidential” — via a public records request.

At least two Orange County supervisors did not know of the findings until this month — and only found out because the county was preparing to release the report to LAist, according to their offices. Under state law, the Board of Supervisors has an oversight role over Parrish, though it’s limited because voters elected him.

Parrish, who has been the county assessor for 10 years, has continued to serve since the findings against him nearly two years ago. In interviews with LAist, Parrish said he was not at fault, named the former employee and called her a “pathological liar.” According to the report, witnesses corroborated many of her claims and the investigator found she was “generally credible.”

LAist obtained the investigation report after citing court precedent requiring local governments to release such documents under the Public Records Act.

Parrish was told to cease and desist

Citing the investigation findings, the county’s HR director sent a letter to Parrish telling him to stop violating harassment policies.

“The investigator’s findings raise serious concerns about your treatment of Assessor employees,” wrote Collette Farnes, the county’s chief human resources officer. The December 2023 letter was also obtained by LAist in the public records request.

“As the County’s Chief Human Resources Officer, I am obligated to instruct you to cease and desist from any and all conduct that violates County policy.”

Farnes went on to “strongly recommend” Parrish to take a two-hour anti-harassment training.

Parrish told LAist that he does not remember if he did the requested training.

“ I honestly don't remember if I did. It was too long ago, so I don't remember,” he said.

A county spokesperson told LAist that Parrish completed the training recommended in the letter from Farnes.

When asked about what was done in response to the findings, a county spokesperson pointed to the letter’s demands. No further action was described.

Under county policy and state law, all county employees have to complete a workplace harassment prevention training every two years. A county spokesperson told LAist that the requirement applies twice a year to supervisory and management roles.

Parrish told LAist he does not remember if he’s ever done harassment prevention training.

Who oversees the assessor?

Parrish is responsible for overseeing about 250 staff. His department determines the value of billions of dollars of homes and other real estate in Orange County for tax purposes. Parrish first took office in January 2015, in an election that followed his predecessor being charged with (and later convicted of) filing false nomination papers for re-election.

As an elected official, Parrish operates largely independently. The power to hire and fire the assessor rests with the voters, who choose every four years whether to re-elect him. Parrish was most recently reelected in 2022 when he won the primary outright with nearly 71% of the vote.

Under state law, Orange County supervisors’ authority is constrained “to ensuring that the assessor faithfully performs the duties of the office,” according to a state Supreme Court ruling in a case out of Orange County. But the board is not allowed “to control, directly or indirectly, the manner in which the [assessor’s] duties are performed,” according to that same ruling.

“As a County officer, the Assessor is subject to supervision by the Board of Supervisors,” county spokesperson Molly Nichelson said in a written response to LAist’s questions. She pointed to state law.

Parrish responds: ‘Nobody's more employee-friendly than me’

Asked for his response to the HR investigation, Parrish told LAist he’s a kind boss. He said he’d been on the “best terms” with the former employee he later was found to have harassed, until the day he transferred her to a different department in July 2022.

“ Nobody's more employee-friendly than me,” he said, adding that he let the employee take off whatever time off she needed for her medical issues.  “ I was like her best friend, for years.”

“We were on the best terms for the entire time she worked here, except for the last day,” he added. “To this day, to show you what a nice guy is, if she comes and says, ‘I’d like to work here,’ I'd hire her now. Even though she's said all those terrible things about me."

“She just lies, stabbed me in the back,” Parrish said, saying the former employee would “make up all sorts of stories.”

“I’m not mean to anybody,” he added.

While the initial complaint against Parrish did not include allegations of harassment based on gender, those allegations came up as employees were interviewed, according to the investigation report.

As for the findings about how he addressed male versus female employees, Parrish called that “a lie.” He said he referred to one high-ranking male executive — Neil Shah — as “Mr.” because they worked together at the State Board of Equalization.

“ Mr. Shah and I are old time friends from when I was on the Board of Equalization, so I have great respect for him. So that's the deal,” Parrish said.

Multiple employees told the investigator otherwise — saying that in the workplace, Parrish referred to all men as “Mr.” and all women by their first names, according to the report. The investigator found that Parrish’s practice was “gender-based rather than based on their role/title.”

The investigator determined that Parrish violated the county’s harassment policy based on gender.

Investigator found Parrish not credible

The confidential report redacted the names of the complainant and witnesses.

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The investigator’s report, which redacted the name of the employee with the medical issue, found her to be “generally credible” — noting several witnesses corroborated her claims.

In contrast, the investigator wrote that they “did not find Parrish credible” for several reasons, including that he contradicted himself and “was at times evasive.”

“When the Investigator asked Parrish to respond to an allegation of race harassment and discrimination, his initial response was limited to, ‘Well, that's totally false. If anybody's a racist, it's [name redacted],’” the report states.

In addition, the report said in response to the investigator asking if there was anything Parrish wanted to say about the allegations against him, “he spoke for eight minutes about how he is ‘employee friendly’ as evidenced by his installation of air and ultraviolet filters, conducting air quality testing, and providing Dial soap at the Assessor’s Office.”

During his interview with LAist, Parrish also brought up the air filters and ultraviolet filters for employee computer screens.

In finding that he engaged in disability and gender harassment, the investigation report found that Parrish’s conduct “was not occasional, isolated, or sporadic.”

“Instead, the evidence shows that Parrish engaged in unwelcome conduct directly related to [redacted employee’s] medical condition on a continuous basis throughout her employment,” investigators wrote.

Unprompted, Parrish names employee he was found to have harassed

In the HR director’s 2023 letter, Parrish was instructed not to “ascertain the identity of any complainant or witness” and “not take adverse action, disparage, or otherwise retaliate against any County employee” because of their complaints or participation in the investigation.

The investigation records released to LAist blacked out the name of the former employee whom Parrish was found to have harassed, along with the names of witnesses. In responding to LAist’s records request, the county CEO’s office said they made the redactions because disclosing the names of reporting parties and witnesses “would constitute an unwarranted invasion of the right to privacy and would also have a chilling effect on an individual’s willingness to come forward.”

Parrish handled that differently in his interview with LAist.

Unprompted, Parrish repeatedly identified by first name the former employee he was found to have harassed. And he called her a liar.

“ Candace, bless her little heart, she's a pathological liar. She'd make up all sorts of stories,” he said.

Online records show only one employee in his office with that first name during a timeframe the investigation said the employee worked there.

During the interview with LAist, Parrish also brought up information about the employee’s medical condition.

“Candace was just sick all the time,” Parrish said. He went on to disclose, unprompted, a detail of her medical condition that was redacted from the investigation report.

What the former employee says

The Orange County Assessor's office is located on Main Street in Orange.

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In interviews with LAist, Candace Jones confirmed she was the employee who filed the complaint that is the subject of the investigation and report. She gave LAist her account.

Jones said she had been a human resources employee under Parrish for years, until he transferred her out to a different county department in 2022.

Jones told LAist that when she started in her role at the department in 2015, she was in remission for Crohn’s disease, a chronic condition for inflammatory bowel disease. The following year, she said, she complained directly to Parrish and her supervisor alleging medical discrimination. She said they downplayed her complaints and forbade her from escalating the complaints to county-level HR.

When she did report issues within the Assessor’s department to county HR officials, Jones said, Parrish yelled at her “for going over his head.”

“ The stress got so bad where my intestines just completely got ruined, so now I've been left with a permanent ostomy bag, so that will be for the rest of my life,” Jones told LAist, referencing the redacted medical condition Parrish told LAist about. “I don't think I would be in my current situation if I didn't have to endure the stress at the assessor's office.”

Asked about Parrish’s claim that she’s a liar who makes up stories, Jones noted the county-commissioned investigation substantiated her credibility about many of her claims, including that Parrish discriminated against her.

“County HR has long been aware of Claude's behavior towards numerous staff throughout the County, but they have consistently failed to intervene and protect its employees,” she added in a text message.

“I look forward to the County taking the necessary steps to implement meaningful safeguards that protect employees from elected officials who are unwilling or unable to adhere to EEO laws and policies,” referring to equal employment opportunity regulations.

Parrish responds to Jones’ allegations

When LAist asked Parrish about Jones' account, he said her first complaint was about two colleagues with whom she disagreed. He said he tried “to smooth everything down to make everybody happy.”

Parrish said all employees can complain to HR and he couldn't stop them. He also said it was “an absolute lie” that he yelled at Jones for escalating to HR.

“ She's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It's hard to believe. She's always so nice and always thanking me for everything I do,” he said. “She's having some second thoughts and fabricating stuff and twisting something and it just, it's never ending.”

In the interview, Parrish called himself “an innocent victim.”

Jones, he added, is “vindictive.”

Jones told LAist: “As an elected official, Claude can and will continue to cover up abuse and hostile working conditions without repercussions.”

Through the records request, LAist also obtained a log of when Parrish’s key card was used in his department’s headquarters. The log shows his badge was often swiped multiple days per month in 2021 and 2022, then dropped to only one day per month on average in 2023 and 2024.

In responding to the records request, the county said Parrish’s office “is accessible by physical key only and not through badge access. However, other floors within of the Assessor Department are accessible via badge access. Thus, the records…reflect whether Mr. Parrish’s badge was used to access the elevator or another floor.”

Asked about the drop in how often the log shows him swiping, Parrish told LAist he’s come in every day.

“ I pride myself, since I was elected, I came in — I come in here every day. Even when I'm sick, I come in and I spread the cold,” Parrish said. Asked about his employees, he said: “I don't touch them or sneeze.”

“I never miss. If I'm sick as a dog, I come in,” he said.

He also said he does not miss work except for holidays and official days off.

“ Under penalty of perjury, you could say that. I'm in here every single day,” Parrish said.

As for the badge log, Parrish said that “a lot of times I don't go upstairs. I just stay down [and employees] come to me.”

“ I'll swear on the Bible, I come in every — even when I'm sick,” he added.

He then asked a subordinate, “Would you swear under a Bible that I come in every day?”

The employee replied, “I would.”

“Even when I’m sick,” Parrish said.

“Even when you’re sick,” the employee responded.

OC supervisor says he’s ‘appalled’ by assessor’s conduct

LAist reached out to all five county supervisors for comment on the investigation’s findings.

In a statement, Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said he was “appalled by the issues that have been brought forward regarding the functioning of the Assessor’s office and his conduct in the office.”

“As shown in recent actions, this Board has not shied away from addressing these issues in our workplace and I hope that county employees and anyone working with the county will feel empowered and supported to bring concerns regarding ethical or discriminatory practices to our attention so they can be addressed,” he said.

The Board of Supervisors recently yanked the investment authority of O.C.’s elected Treasurer/Tax Collector Shari Freidenrich after numerous complaints of mismanagement, some of which was examined and substantiated in a county-commissioned investigation. That investment responsibility was the only power that the county CEO’s office said supervisors had authority to remove from the treasurer.

Asked about Parrish, Supervisor Katrina Foley said she takes allegations of misconduct against county employees seriously and is following up to make sure the findings of the investigation are dealt with properly.

“I will continue to work with County Human Resources to ensure the Assessor's Office addresses and corrects the sustained allegations,” the statement added.

Both Sarmiento and Foley only found out about the investigation findings this month because of LAist’s records request, according to their offices.

LAist asked the county CEO’s office, which central HR falls under, why the findings weren’t disclosed to the Board of Supervisors sooner. Nichelson declined to answer, saying communication between county attorneys and the board are confidential.

Supervisors Don Wagner and Doug Chaffee declined to comment, and Supervisor Janet Nguyen did not respond to requests.

After learning of the investigation's findings, Sarmiento is exploring options to address employee concerns with the county’s attorneys, according to his spokesperson. And Foley told LAist she is looking to implement in-person harassment training.

Reggae star Ziggy Marley has spent decades carrying one of music’s most celebrated legacies. But until now, he had never written a song directly about his father, Bob Marley.

That’s changed with “Many Mourn for Bob,” a track on Marley’s ninth solo album Brightside, his first release recorded in his new studio in North Hollywood.

Marley was just 12 when his father died of cancer in 1981. Now 57, Marley says the song instinctually emerged after years of life experience and producing the biopic One Love, which revisited his father’s struggles like an assassination attempt amid political violence in Jamaica.

“He went through some things that was really tough on a human being – and just understanding him in that light is to have a little bit more emotional, deeper connection to his experience,” Marley said in an interview at his studio.

Searching for the bright side

The deeply personal track is part of a splashy return for Marley, who's touring behind Brightside and will perform at the Hollywood Bowl on June 21.

The new album blends political themes, optimism and musical experimentation.

Its lead single, “Racism Is a Killa,” featuring Big Boi, pairs the heavy topic with an upbeat groove that he hopes will make the song more accessible to young people.

“We just wanna come out straightforward, like I never want to come out tiptoeing,” Marley said. “I want to say something that can catch your ears or catch your thoughts.”

That tension between darkness and hope runs throughout Brightside. Marley described the album as a reflection on enduring difficult periods – from the pandemic to the Los Angeles wildfires – without losing sight of optimism.

“Sometimes we get lost in that so much that we don't realize that there is always a bright side,” Marley said.

The 432 Hz experiment

The album also experiments sonically: Marley recorded Brightside using 432 hertz tuning instead of the standard 440 hertz in most mainstream music. Advocates of 432 hertz believe it produces a warmer, more meditative sound better synced to the natural world. (You can hear the difference for yourself here.)

“It's a lower musical frequency, but it's a higher frequency in a next sense of your spirituality and emotion,” he said. “So even though the numbers go down, the frequency actually go up.”

Marley sees the move as part of a larger search for new creative approaches.

“I'm very open-minded and always trying to evolve and just experiment with life and music,” Marley said.

The Grammy winner, who joins James Blake and Ed O’Brien of Radiohead as the most high-profile artists to record at the lower frequency, floated the idea of a larger movement among artists.

“Let's just have a revolution in the music industry,” he said. “Let's change the frequency.”

Building a dream

Marley works out of his Rebel Lion Studio in North Hollywood, its name a nod to his 2018 album Rebellion Rises while also a play on the word “rebellion.”

He described the studio as an extension of the independent spirit his father built with Tuff Gong Studio in Jamaica.

Musicians set up for rehearsal ahead of the next leg of Ziggy Marley's tour.

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“My father had a dream, and I had a dream too,” Marley said.

Like with Tuff Gong, Marley also plans to expand the studio operation to include vinyl pressing as records continue their resurgence in the streaming era.

“There’s always gonna be a vinyl present going on,” Marley said. “A thousand years from now, people that we're still gonna need vinyl records to listen to music.”

Ziggy Marley in the hallway of his new studio in North Hollywood.

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For years, Marley said, he worked out of smaller home setups and rented facilities before deciding to build a larger permanent space in L.A.

Marley said the city has become central to his own creative evolution over the last two decades of living and working here.

Drawn initially by music, friends and the city's small but tight-knit Jamaican community, he says being surrounded by creatives from different backgrounds helped push his artistry in new directions.

“I left my safety and my community, my tribe, and come out by myself to L.A.,” he said. “But it's a great experience. It really helped my growth as a human being being here.”

What’s next

Fresh off the release of Brightside, Marley says he’s already working on another album – a notably quicker turnaround since his last album, the family-music release More Family Time in 2020,

“We're doing back to back,” he said.

Ziggy Marley will be performing at the Hollywood Bowl on June 21 as part of a tour supporting his new album Brightside.

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He’s also busy writing a children’s book based on his feel-good hit anthem “True to Myself” and eyeing opportunities in front – or behind the camera – inspired by his time working on One Love and making the video for “Racism Is A Killa.”

“Same philosophy, same message, but within visuals, you know?” Marley said excitedly. “I want to create some stories and try out. I feel it coming. I can feel it.”

A new free record shop for survivors of last year’s Eaton and Palisades fires is celebrating with a grand opening party Saturday night.

After losing his home in the Eaton Fire, Brandon Jay founded Altadena Musicians to get instruments back into the hands of musicians who lost their gear in fires.

Now he’s doing that with vinyl records, too.

“We want to be here to help replace those items and support music in people’s lives that can’t necessarily afford it right now because they’re saving all their pennies just to live and also just to rebuild their homes,” Jay told LAist.

Jay says they’ve seen roughly 3,000 records donated so far. Now they have a dedicated space on Lincoln Avenue where fire survivors can sign up for time slots and shop for up to 10 records a month.

“It’s a really lovely distraction but it kind of keeps me going as well just to know that we’re trying to build something great for the community and keep us all moving forward,” Jay said.

The store will carry copies of the benefit album, Gimme Shelter: Songs for LA Fire Relief. The compilation features cover art by Shepard Fairey and L.A. specific tracks from artists like Elliott Smith ("Angeles" of course), Norah Jones, The Flaming Lips, as well as a cover of "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads performed by Jay and about 50 other fire-impacted musicians.

A City Council committee voted Friday to shelve a proposed ballot measure aimed at cutting L.A.'s “mansion tax” nearly in half.

The ad hoc committee on Measure ULA voted 2-1 to set aside a proposal by Councilmembers John Lee and Marqueece Harris-Dawson that would have asked voters in November to reduce the ULA transfer tax rate for multifamily and mixed-use properties to somewhere between 2% and 3.5%, down from the current rate of up to 5.5%.

However, the ballot measure proposal was also referred to the City Council’s rules, elections, and intergovernmental relations committee, which could still choose to move it forward.

Instead, the ad hoc committee advanced a narrower pilot program that would reduce the property transfer tax only for newly built affordable housing projects.

The pilot program won't need voter approval in the form of a ballot measure. Committee Chair Ysabel Jurado, who introduced the substitute language, said she believes the city should avoid a ULA ballot measure because it’s still too early to evaluate the measure’s long-term effects.

“ I'm against going to the ballot, but I'm for making fixes that make this better,” Jurado said.

Voters will see a separate proposal on their ballots by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association to effectively repeal Measure ULA.

If the L.A. City Council does not approve reforming the measure, the only decision on the ballot in November may be whether to keep the mansion tax in its current form or end it.

About the mansion tax

L.A. voters approved Measure ULA in 2022 to fund affordable housing and homelessness prevention. The measure taxes real estate sales over about $5 million. Since taking effect in April 2023, ULA has raised just over $1.1 billion from 1,633 real estate transactions, according to the city’s housing department.

The city projects it will generate about $500 million in the coming fiscal year — about half of what proponents initially promised. It has funded about 800 new affordable units and helped stabilize thousands of renters facing eviction, according to the housing department.

But critics say the tax has suppressed housing development. Several studies link the tax to a slowdown in apartment construction in Los Angeles, but ULA supporters say high interest rates and broader economic conditions are to blame.

The City Council's ad hoc committee on Measure ULA was formed earlier this year to study how the measure is working and develop potential reforms. That work took on more urgency inside L.A. city hall after the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association qualified a statewide ballot measure for November that would effectively repeal Measure ULA entirely.

Joe Donlin, director of the United to House LA coalition, which campaigned for the original measure, said the City Council committee made the right call by rejecting broader exemptions.

“By not taking up the extreme calls for broad, 15-year waivers that could cost the program about a third of its revenue, the committee acknowledged that ULA is working,” Donlin said in a statement.

A separate group of housing developers, union workers and advocacy groups calling itself the “Mend It, Don’t End It” coalition has been urging city hall to make changes to ULA. On Friday, the group said it supports the measure, but believes targeted reforms are still needed.

“Independent research shows that Measure ULA has slowed housing production in Los Angeles at a time when we need more housing, not less,” said Melanie Mendoza, a coalition spokesperson.

What the data show

The debate over ULA's impact played out in the committee room Friday morning. The city's chief legislative analyst reviewed seven independent studies on ULA’s impact. Three of those studies concluded ULA had suppressed housing production and reduced property tax revenues, while four found no meaningful negative impact.

Before ULA took effect, Los Angeles collected about $22 million a month in transfer tax. After that, it dropped to about $13 million. But city legislative analyst Henry Flatt told the committee a similar decline happened in cities without the tax, including Glendale, Long Beach, Pasadena and Santa Clarita.

“We are not currently convinced that Measure ULA has had an extremely negative impact on general fund revenues,” Flatt told the committee.

The county assessor's office read the same period differently. Scott Thornberry, an assistant assessor with L.A. County, told the committee that commercial and industrial property sales are falling in the city but not elsewhere in the county.

“We are seeing, we believe, a trend line of impact to property tax revenue growth in the city of L.A. specifically," Thornberry said.

What the committee did

Instead of the ballot measure, the committee voted to develop a five-year pilot program cutting the ULA tax to 1.5% for newly constructed affordable housing projects that meet specific requirements.

Lee, whose ballot measure was replaced with language advancing the pilot program, said he hadn't seen the substitute prior to Friday’s meeting and voted against it.

“This was just placed in front of me,” he said. Lee objected to a provision in the substitute recommendations calling for $30 million in new spending on homelessness support.

“Without knowing where this money's coming from, I'm going to have to vote no,” he said.

Lee told LAist he supports stronger oversight and technical improvements to Measure ULA, but believes a ballot measure is the right approach.

“Voters deserve the opportunity to consider targeted changes that would preserve the intent of the measure while addressing its unintended impacts on housing production and real estate activity in Los Angeles,” the councilmember said, in a statement.

Friday's meeting was the committee's final scheduled hearing. The committee, which is set to dissolve June 1, also voted to advance a narrower nonprofit tax refund limited to organizations that can prove all sale proceeds went directly to affordable housing.

The committee continued a separate motion on fire exemptions for Palisades fire victims, which will be heard by another council committee. A motion to loosen eligibility rules for the ULA Citizens Oversight Committee was noted and filed.

Councilmember Imelda Padilla, who introduced several of the committee's motions, said the process had been guided by a commitment to protect the measure.

"My goal has always been to listen carefully, bring people into the conversation, and protect ULA while honoring the voters' intent," she said at Friday’s meeting.

In her closing remarks, Jurado reflected on the three-member committee’s past work.

“We released $14 million in rental assistance to the most vulnerable Angelenos and $300 million for affordable housing,” she said. “We did in six or seven meetings what others couldn't do in five years.”

The ad hoc committee's recommendations now move to the full City Council.

Harris-Dawson and Lee’s ballot measure motion will be considered by the City Council’s rules committee at a later date, officials said.

Monsterpalooza, the annual movie-monster bash for horror fans, returns to the Pasadena Convention Center this weekend, starting Friday night (May 29) and lasting through Sunday.

What to expect

Now in its 18th year, devotees can rub elbows with legendary beastie creators, browse hundreds of vendors who traffic in the weird and unsettling, and marvel at practical effects that’ll make your flesh creep.

Dozens of panels and presentations are scheduled, including a deep-dive into the 95th anniversary of the Dracula and Frankenstein movies by writer Julian David Stone.

Writer Julian David Stone gives a presentation at a past Monsterpalooza event.

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Stone said that the two classic movies have left a lasting impact.

“Dracula is a movie about supernatural horror..... and Frankenstein is about technological or man-made horror," he said. "You can just trace those two themes all the way forward to this past year with Sinners and Megan 2.0."

Richard Redlefsen's Armageddon Rat at the PPI Booth at a past Monsterpalooza.

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Stone first attended the convention in 2008, returning over the years as a fan, spectator and presenter.

“It’s just a terrific convention that celebrates all things horror,” Stone said. “There’s a lot of celebrities you can meet who were in these horror films and you can get pictures with them." He added that he’ll never forget when he met Carla Laemmle in 2010 — the last living cast member of the original 1931 Dracula.

Mike Mekash and Chris Nelson re-created Twisty the Clown on Dan Gilbert at the PPI Booth at a past Monsterpalooza.

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Who's attending

If you’re jonesing to be photographed with high-profile entertainers (expect a fee for many), this year's event has a line-up that includes musician Alice Cooper, actress Lin Shaye from the Insidious movie franchise and David Howard Thornton, who plays Art the Clown in the popular Terrifier movie series.

Cosplay and crazy costumes are encouraged, although a T-shirt celebrating a classic horror movie will also do. Just come ready to adore all things that gnaw and gash.