Colorado Festival of Horror Brings Clowns, Witches and Fresh Nightmare Fuel to Denver This Weekend

The sixth annual fan-run horror convention takes over the Denver Marriott Tech Center Sept. 18-20

Scary season is not politely knocking this year. It is kicking in the door wearing greasepaint, carrying a spell book and asking where the vendor room is.

The Colorado Festival of Horror, better known as COFOH, returns this weekend for its sixth year, running Sept. 18-20 at its new home: the Denver Marriott Tech Center, 4900 S. Syracuse St. in Denver. The fan-run horror convention and film festival has moved into a larger venue this year, because apparently Colorado’s appetite for monsters, slashers, cursed objects and celebrity Q&As is not a phase, Mom.Denver Westword

This year’s theme is Clowns vs. Witches, which is either a horror fan’s dream matchup or the exact reason some people will be triple-checking the hotel elevators before stepping inside. The three-day event promises celebrity guests, independent film screenings, panels, workshops, contests, vendors, artists, authors and plenty of theatrical mayhem.Nerd Alert News

A Bigger Haunt for a Growing Horror Crowd

COFOH has grown enough over the past few years that organizers have moved the convention to the Denver Marriott Tech Center, a larger venue with more room for guests, vendors and the kind of costumed crowd that makes hotel lobbies infinitely more interesting.Hoodline

The move also brings more vendor space than in previous years, giving horror collectors, artists, authors and small businesses more room to sell the essentials: creepy art, cursed-looking trinkets, books, shirts, masks and probably at least one thing you will regret not buying by Monday.Hoodline 

Guests, Panels and the Beautiful Chaos of Horror Fandom

This year’s guest list includes horror icon Barbara Crampton, known for “Re-Animator” and a long list of genre credits, along with Veronica Cartwright, Amelie McLain, Samantha Scaffidi, Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams and Kelsey Livengood, among others.Denver Westword

The event overview also lists author Stephen Graham Jones among the featured names, giving literary horror fans a reason to emerge from their book caves and mingle with the rest of the beautifully weird population. Jones has also been connected to “True Believers,” a meta-horror comic project tied to COFOH’s convention-floor mythology.Hoodline

Fans can expect Q&As, horror panels and hands-on workshops throughout the weekend. Translation: You can learn things, meet people and still tell your relatives you were “networking,” even if you were covered in fake blood at the time.

Reel Horrors Film Festival

The Reel Horrors Film Festival returns as part of the weekend lineup, spotlighting independent short films from local, national and international filmmakers. The three-day showcase gives horror fans a chance to see new work outside the usual streaming-service swamp, where every title somehow looks like it was generated by a committee and a haunted spreadsheet.

For indie filmmakers, it is a chance to screen in front of an audience that actually wants the weird stuff. For everyone else, it is a reminder that short horror can do more damage in 10 minutes than some franchises manage in six sequels.

Contests, Karaoke and Other Bad Decisions We Fully Support

The weekend’s entertainment slate includes the Gore Galore Costume Extravaganza, horror trivia, karaoke, midnight ghost stories and a tattoo competition hosted by The Enigma Live. There will also be haunted vendors, artists, writers and installations from Distortions Unlimited throughout the venue.

Basically, if your weekend plans did not already include clowns, witches, monsters, tattoos and ghost stories after midnight, congratulations: Your calendar has been underperforming.

Death Dealers Room Hours

Online tickets can be shown digitally or printed for scanning at the door, and tickets are expected to be available at the door as well.Nerd Alert News

Death Dealers Room hours:

• Friday, Sept. 18: 4-8 p.m. general admission; VIP admission begins at 3 p.m.
• Saturday, Sept. 19: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. general admission; VIP admission begins at 10 a.m.
• Sunday, Sept. 20: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. general admission.Nerd Alert News

If You Go

What: Colorado Festival of Horror: Clowns vs. Witches
When: Sept. 18-20, 2026
Where: Denver Marriott Tech Center, 4900 S. Syracuse St., Denver
Theme: Clowns vs. Witches
Tickets: Available through Eventbrite and at cofestivalofhorror.com.Nerd Alert News
Expect: Celebrity guests, indie horror films, vendors, panels, workshops, contests, karaoke, ghost stories, tattoo competition and more monsters than your average corporate retreat.

COFOH runs Friday through Sunday, giving Colorado horror fans a full weekend to celebrate the genre in all its bloody, funny, spooky and wonderfully unhinged forms. And honestly, in a world that keeps insisting on being terrifying in boring ways, spending a weekend with clowns, witches and horror nerds sounds almost reasonable.