(Photo credit to Nerd Alert News)
Written by Mandie Stevens, Staff Writer
All hell broke loose in the best possible way this past weekend, September 18-20, 2026, at the Denver Marriott Tech Center, where the 6th Annual Colorado Festival of Horror: Clowns vs. Witches took place. The event was an extraordinary experience for fans of all ages, some who crossed the country to attend the most horror-ific convention of the season (of the witch, or the clown?!).
This was the first time the Denver Marriott Tech Center hosted the event—bringing COFOH into a legendary local space with a rich multi-decade history of hosting major fan conventions. Providing a much larger, more expansive venue to accommodate a rapidly growing community that refuses to miss The Colorado Festival of Horror (yours truly included!), its outdoor courtyard, dedicated event spaces, on-site restaurants, and plush rooms proved to be the ultimate immersive setting to set the tone for COFOH 2026.
This year’s theme, “Clowns vs. Witches,” sparked an epic weekend-long showdown as sides were fiercely drawn and stoically defended. Whether you aligned with the underground circus or a powerful coven, fans leveled up their cosplay to prove which faction truly ruled the fest. While David Howard Thornton (Art the Clown, from the ‘Terrifier’ series) brought the house down for the clowns, the coven was fiercely repped by horror royalty like Veronica Cartwright (‘The Witches of Eastwick’) and ‘The Blair Witch Project’s’ Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams. Adding to the chaos was a large number of fans suiting up as Art the Clown, grouping together to honk their horns in exuberant menace and joy — easily one of the funniest standouts of the festival.
The guest list alone was enough to make any horror fan lose their mind (ask me how I know). The ‘Terrifier’ crew brought out David Howard Thornton, Samantha Scaffidi, and Amelie McLain, while the legendary Chiodo Bros. repped ‘Killer Klowns from Outer Space’. Nostalgia hit hard with ‘The Blair Witch Project’ leads Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams, plus the ‘Hatchet’ gang featuring Adam Green, Parry Shen, and Tiffany Shepis-Tretta. Icons like Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, You’re Next) and Veronica Cartwright (Alien, The Birds) held court for Team Witch. Indie filmmakers like Anthony Cousins (Frogman) and Aurelio Voltaire (The Demonatrix) kept the creative and terrifying energy buzzing all weekend.
Naturally, the dark fiction and art side of horror got plenty of love too. Bestselling authors like Stephen Graham Jones, Jon Bassoff, Mario Acevedo, L.S. Strange, and Christina Bergling brought the chills on the page, while Hollywood concept artist Xander Smith—whose work spans ‘American Horror Story’ and ‘Agatha: All Along’—rounded out an absolute powerhouse lineup.
Beyond the celebrity panels and massive guest reunions, the festival packed its expanded schedule with signature annual events: Fans browsed the sprawling, iconic Death Dealer’s vendor room for macabre artwork and oddities, while the Reel Horrors Film Festival showcased three full days of terrifying short film blocks. The energy bled into chaotic fan favorites like the Gore Galore Costume Extravaganza, horror trivia, karaoke, midnight ghost stories, and The Enigma’s Monstrous Tattoo Competition.
With so much going on, it was genuinely impossible to do everything. Attendees constantly had to make tough choices. The fan energy was off the charts, especially with incredible photo ops giving everyone a chance to pose alongside their favorite icons—getting snapped with Art the Clown and the Blair Witch crew and stepping right into the middle of the theme rivalry.
When the hotel lights came up after it was all over, one vital, terrorizing question remained entirely unresolved: did the clowns or the witches actually win the weekend? With greasepaint and spellbooks thrown around in equal measure, the ultimate turf war is officially still up for debate. Until COFOH returns next year for their 7th annual convention, the circus underground and the coven can agree on one thing: it was a killer weekend to be a horror fan in Denver.
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