Con Horror Stories

[ashfire]

When I attended Nekocon there was a panel on Con Horror Stories.
Some were funny others horrible for the people that experienced them such as being injuried or sick during the con or worried that someone would hurt them.
Some of the stories I heard.
There was a story about the panelist walking into a church on Sunday during a con. Many cosplayers in costume were sitted in the pews. The peacher was preaching about the reurrection of Christ. When he got to the story of the tomb and the stone had been rolled away. The preacher then announce "He Had Arisen" and a cosplayer dressed as Jesus walked into the church. The preacher stopped and stared. The cosplayer stood and shruged. The preacher started to clap and the congregation gave the cosplayer a standing ovation. How many people could sleep in a Embassy Suites hotel room meant to sleep 6. The answer was 22.
Someone being drunk and saying things he didn't mean to say.
The panelist then told of being at the top of a flight of stairs and broke his shoulders when a friend intending to glomp him hurled themselves at him and he did what he could to prevent them from going down the stairs.
I just wonder if anyone have had other experiences?

[ashfire]

A attendee at the show told of a incident at Otakon where a friend had bought a machete from a sword and knife vendor during the show. The laws in most areas prevent the showing of live steel or weapons in public.
The attendee and his friend were walking on the street in Baltimore with the machete and a assault weapon replica. They had been stopped a couple of times by Baltimore City police officers but after they explained what they were doing they were let go. Well the friend swang the machete and hit the person telling the story. Well it hurt but they kept walking down the street. Well the other person noted blood on his friend's leg which required a city ambulance and ride to the hospital with a cut which took 27 stitch to close.
Another story was about Katsucon when there was a major blizzard which trapped attendees for days. One thing was about food for everyone in the hotel and other needs. One attende told of trying to get to the show and in order to attend volunteer as part of the con staff to have a place stay in the hotel. They told of having a tickle in her throat before she got there. They ended up sharing the room with a person who had just gotten out of juvenile and needed medication to control their behavior. Well the attendee came down sick and the room mate almost ran out of medications before they could leave the hotel.
I would have said something about what happen to a friend and myself. We had stayed at one motel near Nekocon for a couple of years always on the first floor and close to the same area of the motel. Well last year we ended up on the second floor in the rear of the hotel. We had problems with the door lock to the room not opening to the keycard twice and heat in the room. The motel management moved us to another room above the loaction where we had stayed before. Well there was a hole in the wall to the bathroom. The door to the bathroom had been damaged from what looked like a kick and the lock would not work. This cause a problem the last morning in the room. I went in to change clothes and open the door on my lady friend who was standing in front of the mirror half dressed. It was a embarrassing situation and quick shut of the door and her running around the wall to get a robe.
We were able to get money back from the conditions we had encountered with the motel and this year use that money for Embassy Suites.

[Sapphire225]

-A friend of mine and a friend of hers dressed up as Hetalia characters. Hetalia Yaoi fangirls literally chased them and made them take a very uncomfortable photo shoot. No wonder she doesn't like the fandom at all.
-A guy that semed to have developed a crush on me on my way to Otakon turned out to be one of my boyfriend's friends. O_o

[airichan623]

At the Anime Iowa rave, I was still dressed as Sakura Haruno, so when I saw a Kakashi and Pein dancing together I went and danced with them. But...then they both started gyrating toward me with pelvic thrusts. So I went behind my girl friend and kept innocently dancing.

Also at the Anime Iowa Naruto photoshoot, I wanted a sasusaku pic. I ended up hugging a "sexy jutsu sasuke"(instead of the male sasuke) ...awkward... and then to make matters worse, someone yelled, "HEY, LET'S GET SOME YURI ACTION!" at me. I ignored it but put even more distance between me and the 'sexy sasuke.'

for reinforcement, he's the foto.

...yeah. awkward.

[TopazRaven]

-A friend of mine and a friend of hers dressed up as Hetalia characters. Hetalia Yaoi fangirls literally chased them and made them take a very uncomfortable photo shoot. No wonder she doesn't like the fandom at all.

What the...are some of the fans really THAT bad? 0.o I always kind of rolled my eyes when people were like, "OMGZ guys, Hetalia fandom suckz and they are all crazeh". Considering I'm a fan of the show and would like to consider myself inleast semi-normal, I've talked to plenty of other mature and non-crazy fans as well so I didn't really know what all the complaining was about. Yaoi also doesn't bother me though so I guess my tolerance level is very high fandom wise. Still if that was me and one of my friends I think I would have told them to back off and threaten to get security if they refused. o.0

[Sapphire225]

What the...are some of the fans really THAT bad? 0.o I always kind of rolled my eyes when people were like, "OMGZ guys, Hetalia fandom suckz and they are all crazeh". Considering I'm a fan of the show and would like to consider myself inleast semi-normal, I've talked to plenty of other mature and non-crazy fans as well so I didn't really know what all the complaining was about. Yaoi also doesn't bother me though so I guess my tolerance level is very high fandom wise. Still if that was me and one of my friends I think I would have told them to back off and threaten to get security if they refused. o.0

Nothing wrong with being a Hetalia fan, my roommate is a big fan and even I love me some Hetalia. However, you do have fans that take it to frightening levels, especially those that cosplay Nazi Germany and Prussia (brr...) But yeah, the Hetalia fandom has become a bit infamous because of several fans that take their love for the show too far. At first, I was skeptical, but after my friend told me her experience and coming across some scary pictures and tales on the web of some Hetalia fans going too far, I realized why the fandom is called crazy.

Then again, any popular anime with a huge enough fandom will have some over-the-top fans.

[Sheenar]

I had posted in this thread, but my post vanished for some reason.

I have only ever been to one con and I have to say that it was overwhelming. I did go to a few fun panels and see some neat stuff, but attending a con with a service dog is nuts --people, well, they just acted crazy around my dog (my yellow Lab). Lots of high-pitched squeals from both girls and guys. Lots of really random comments/questions.

"Is that a real dog?" (Got asked that a LOT).
"No, it's a child cosplaying as a dog." (My friend Debbie is um, blunt. lol)

Some guy walked up to me and, assuming that I was blind, said:
"I bet you really appreciate the anime dubbing process!"

"Is that one of them blind dogs?"

[TopazRaven]

People actually cosplay as Nazi Germany and Prussia? *Facepalm.* Okay, that is...just no. Yeah, fan-art doesn't usually bother me unless it involves rape or child molestation which I will admit is far to common in this fandom. I have to keep myself from flipping at peope, if it's on DA I just report them as both those things are against the rules anyway. As for violence, it depends on the context. If it's a fan-art or fan-fiction describing a time of war then blood is to be expected after all.

[Neane]

People actually cosplay as Nazi Germany and Prussia? *Facepalm.* Okay, that is...just no. Yeah, fan-art doesn't usually bother me unless it involves rape or child molestation which I will admit is far to common in this fandom. I have to keep myself from flipping at peope, if it's on DA I just report them as both those things are against the rules anyway. As for violence, it depends on the context. If it's a fan-art or fan-fiction describing a time of war then blood is to be expected after all.

You know, someone created a 100% fan-video of Axis Powers and it had them all with guns and knives and they were killing each other. And it was really well done.

Most Powerful Fanbases on the Internet:

1.) Touhou
2.) Valve
3.) Hetalia
4.) My Little Pony

[TopazRaven]

Seriously? That actually sounds pretty scary. See, fan-made stuff can be fun though. I only know the last 3. Though with Valve I'm only familier with TF2 and Portal 2 so far. Never played Touhou.

[Hiryu]

This past year, my older brother walked into the bathroom and saw an out of shape 40-year old dressed in a pikachu costume.

[Atria35]

This past year, my older brother walked into the bathroom and saw an out of shape 40-year old dressed in a pikachu costume.

Depending on what that costume looked like, it's perfect for hiding that out of shape body I'd do it.

One of my friends had a story about a con she went to in Texas, people that didn't have a room, and a fountain on the grounds that got dirtier each day of the con.

[aliveinHim]

I was playing around with some Naruto cosplayers and there was one guy dressed as Sasuke. I tried to steal his kunai from him (he had it tucked in his leg wrap thingy) and he took it out of my hand . It was weird cuz someone yelled "HEY! SOMEONE GRABBED URAHARA'S BOOBS!" (I was dressed as Urahara from Bleach). I felt sorry for him. I told everyone I just tried to take his kunai.

[ashfire]

Being on Attendee Management Services for Nekocon, which is some what a security and first response group, I had been involved in medical incidents or controling the crowds or attendees.
My first year at Nekocon I was the only certify emergency medical tech there and volunteered. The con ran 24 hours in the hotel and I tried to see how long I got hold out until I needed to go upstairs and crash in the hotel room my club members were staying in.
The third year I was signed up again when a emergency happened in the hotel swiming pool. It was a cut to the leg but required a ambulance. We had more incidents that weekend. A asthma attack and a injury in the rave. Then a con volunteer pulled the fire alarm by accident and someone smoked under a smoke alarm in the hallway upstairs.
We had a few more years in that hotel with differnent things happening. One incident involved blood drops from the front desk and blood all over a public bathroom which closed it for cleaning near the rave. The con moved to another hotel with a con center across the road from it.
We then moved to the Hampton Roads center in the past few years which changed the actions of the group because the convention center has control of main security and medical response but many of our people still have some work to do. The first year the con shared the building with the Marines and a Catholic Church having a dinner. I heard some nuns got glomp by attendees who thought they were cosplayers. Some one cosplayed as a priest and then was confronted by a real priest. The were a few confrontations between attendees and the Marines. There was a standoff one time near the ballrooms until a cosplayer came down the hall dress as a military character from Street Fighter. One of the Marines ran out and saluted and the rest did the same. I was on radio and heard a call for someone falling down the escalator. I got there and someone had caught the person who had a seizure and got them to the bottom with no injury. They required ambulance transport for a checkup.
One rave I was in the con ops area resting and heard a incident was coming to the con ops. Everyone rushed out and a young girl was telling the AMS volunteers the guy that follow her and her friends out of the rave had grab her chest. The girl was under 16 and the man over 21. The guy was surround by AMS members and taken into ops along with the girl. We then put the girl and her friends in another room. Convention center personnel arrived then followed by Hampton City police. We had to clear a path to the elevator for the police to march the guy out.
Another incident at the rave had a attendee show up drunk and vomited in one of the bathrooms and then lock himself in a stall. He had a chose of a ambulance or police car ride. He chose a walk back to his room with help of his friends.

[aliveinHim]

I almost got thrown off a balcony .

[seaglass27]

Are cons family-friendly? It kinda doesn't sound like it.

BTW, about cosplaying as Nazi Germany and Prussia, why is that so bad? Unless you start going "seig heil" or something I would probably think it was cool.

[Davidizer13]

BTW, about cosplaying as Nazi Germany and Prussia, why is that so bad? Unless you start going "seig heil" or something I would probably think it was cool.

And that's precisely what they do; there's some incredibly stupid cosplayers who do the salutes and everything, in front of Holocaust museums, no less. I've seen a few pictures where cosplayers are pointing guns at Stars of David. Plus, why would you even want to be associated with genocide by dressing up like that?

[seaglass27]

Well, yeah, that's stupid. And I definitely wouldn't wear the costume outside the con building.

[TopazRaven]

Are cons family-friendly? It kinda doesn't sound like it.

BTW, about cosplaying as Nazi Germany and Prussia, why is that so bad? Unless you start going "seig heil" or something I would probably think it was cool.

Stuff like that...just makes me feel very uncomfortable I guess. As was mentioned most people act like idiots and I know I personally would never want to be associated with that sort of thing. Some real Germans still get the, 'lol, you're a nazi 'cause you are German' treatment, so I really don't think stuff like that helps. Then again I'm probably being over sensative.

[mechana2015]

Are cons family-friendly? It kinda doesn't sound like it.

Keep in mind that this thread is the catalog of everyones BAD experiences. Many of these experiences are not the norm.

[seaglass27]

So how are they in general?

[mechana2015]

Fairly family friendly, as much as any large public event (like a college or professional sporting event) can be. I'd more be worried about bringing kids due to all the walking and sitting around quietly than anything else.

[TheMewster]

You know, I was interested in going to a con, especially as a CAA meetup. Not anymore.

Needless to say, I've never been to a con, so I don't have any horror stories. Ashfire pretty much covered them, as well as anyone talking about the Hetalia fandom.

[ashfire]

Most cons are family friendy. It just takes a good staff of volunteers to keep it that way. We do have to watch for costumes and things that don't meet the cons plus the place it is being held rules but also local laws.
Sometimes con attendees will alert the staff of a problem and then they have to step in and bring it under control.
Has to the Nazi thing I heard of incident that involved cosplayers doing the flag waving and the other things and then along came a few drunk Marines.
I think I knew who won.

[mechana2015]

You know, I was interested in going to a con, especially as a CAA meetup. Not anymore.

That's pretty disappointing, as many of these things aren't common, or were one time events.
Some of them are even just... things that happen whenever a lot of people are in one place (some of the injuries) and aren't really con specific.

[TheMewster]

Interesting. I knew I was interested in one con that's in Florida. Maybe I'll regain interest. Then again, it's a small one, and my main motive for going to a con is to meet people on CAA, so...

[wildpurplechild]

I've got a couple from waiting in lines at cons. Once, me and my friends were waiting in the registration line, and some one a couple people in front of us threw up! That was really gross... That and the long line should have steered me to registration online, but when the con came around the next year, I decided to buy at the door again. The line was MUCH longer than the year before, so I stood waiting for probably 3 hours or so. No food, or water. Needless to say, I got dehydrated; threw up at the hotel, and had stomach pain all night. Yuck. Luckily, aftter water and rest, I was fine the next day.

[Blitzkrieg1701]

I've actually managed to avoid most con horror stories, even when they happen at con's I'm at (not only did I miss the Otakon Fire Alarm last year, I honestly didn't know anything had happened) so to anyone who hasn't been to a con before, take hart: it really isn't ALWAYS this bad.

The most horrific things that have ever happened to me weren't at the cons themselves, but during the commute. For some reason, I just can't seem to get myself to or from a convention without getting epically lost at some point. Probably the worst was finding myself stranded in a giant parking lot somewhere near the Baltimore airport... like this

[ashfire]

Yeah the fire alarm at Otakon was a mess. Think of getting over 30,000 people out of the entire convention center and safety away from the building.
I was at the middle of the building where the street runs between the two sections of the center but there is a walkway over and under the street. I seen Baltimore Police cars one after the other come down the street. They came to move the crowd off the street or close down the streets to traffic.
It is not the only time the alarm has been set off during Otakon. The first year it happen at Baltimore CC there was a Muslim religious convention in one half of the center and some of the children there pulled the alarm.
The one year there was a train accident in the tunnel between the ballpark and the BCCC a week before Otakon. One of the train cars was a tank car with a chemical in it which leaked into the drain system. That Sat morning during Otakon the manhole covers blew off the street at Inner Harbor. Well the fire dept started pouring water into the system to clean out the chemical.
Well that evening during the rave the alarms in the building started. What happened is that the water in the sprinkler and standpipe system dropped below the safe level from all the water being used on the street and it set off the alarms. Being a volunteer firefighter I felt I should help with the evaculations before the BCCC security people told me to leave the building.