As a kid, the TV show In Search Of led me do further reading about cryptids, forteana, and high strangeness and I've been able to share that interest with my family. Yesterday and today we spent at the 4th Cryptid Con in Lexington, KY (little over an hour away from Boone County KY where I live) and it was just a total blast.
I've been to plenty of gaming conventions and I've worked plenty of comic conventions and there is nothing quite like Cryptid Con in my opinion. From my experiences, the comic and gaming industries are filled with large egos and plenty of drama and there has been none of that at any of the Cryptid Cons I've attended.
Even people with TV shows like Ghost Adventures and Finding Bigfoot are not only very easily accessible but really cool to talk to. You aren't going to be in long lines to have them charge you for an autograph and get a pic with your phone you are going to stand right next to them and talk to them or run into them in a restaurant or a hallway and they seem to be having as much fun as I am. I realize cryptids are a niche within a niche, but in 2021 its really cool to have nothing but positive experiences with like-minded, kind people.
One of the things that I feel makes this community so cool is that its predicated on listening to other people's experiences--yes, it might be a ghost, a snallygaster, or an alien but even the biggest names at the show have to listen to other stories for their job. And I think the world could use a lot more of that. Someone to listen to you and someone to say, "I get you, I might not have had your experience, but I get you and you are not alone."
How cool is that? I watched people from every walk of life hang out and create memories with each other instead of finding ways to divide themselves further. It was cool. Really cool. Heck, the Cryptid Con in 2018 was where I met the extradordinary Eric Bloat of Bloat Games. We missed him this year, but may next year y'know?
I realized years ago that what works for me isn't by any means universal. I sell comics books and DnD for a living. My wife, my kids, and I are always together (we home school). And when it comes to the paranormal and fortean I'm big kook. I hope that all of you find something that...heals you the way Cryptid Con me. This life is short and these times are strange and its good to know you fit somewhere.
Be good to each other!
3 comments:
I loved "In Search of..." So many fascinatingly strange things for a kid to research.
Cryptid Con sounds fun. I wish they had on around here!
"In Search of" was fantastic!
I used to love watching "In Search Of..." and flipping through Fate Magazine. The issues were full of some outlandish stories, but it helped fuel my creativity.
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