Silver Scream Con V Is Coming to Worcester and the Lineup Is Absolutely Stacked
- Klep Napier
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Klep Napier | Wearecritix.com
If you are a horror fan anywhere in the Northeast, you already know that Silver Scream Con is the one event you do not skip. Ice Nine Kills frontman Spencer Charnas has been quietly building something genuinely special since 2022, and now with Silver Scream Con V officially announced for October 2-4, 2026 at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, it is safe to say the fifth edition is shaping up to be the biggest one yet.
Let's break down why this year matters.
The Guests: A Murderers Row of Horror Royalty
The headliner news alone is enough to justify the drive to Worcester. Linda Blair is making her Silver Scream Con debut, and that is a huge deal. The Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee who terrified the world in The Exorcist has become one of the most beloved figures in the genre, and seeing her appear alongside this crowd feels exactly right. If you grew up watching Chained Heat or Savage Streets, you already know Blair is so much more than Regan MacNeil. She is a cult icon in her own right, and her work with the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation adds an incredible human element to everything she does.
Joining her for their first Silver Scream appearances are some seriously exciting names.
Juliette Lewis, an Oscar and Golden Globe nominee, is best known to genre fans for her role in Cape Fear alongside Robert De Niro and Nick Nolte, but her credits run deep into horror and thriller territory. Natural Born Killers, From Dusk Till Dawn, and What's Eating Gilbert Grape are all on her resume, and she brings a kind of raw, electric energy to everything she touches. This one is genuinely surprising and exciting.
Nick Swardson rounds out the newcomers, and he is a welcome addition to the Silver Scream universe. Beyond his comedy work on Reno 911 and cult favorites like Grandma's Boy and Grown Ups, Swardson has real genre credibility through A Haunted House and the adult animated horror comedy Hell and Back. He is the kind of guest who brings a different kind of energy to a convention floor, and that is always a good thing.
Joel David Moore is a name that should ring a bell for multiple reasons. Hatchet fans know him well, but he is also Dr. Norm Spellman in James Cameron's Avatar franchise, which is a pretty insane range to have on your resume. Most importantly for INK fans, Moore appeared in the "The Great Unknown" music video, which means he and this world have already crossed paths in the best possible way.
The Terrifier Connection Runs Deep
Speaking of crossovers, Damien Leone and David Howard Thornton are back.
Coming off the record-breaking success of Terrifier 3, which featured Ice Nine Kills' track "A Work of Art," the duo have become a natural fit for Silver Scream Con's DNA. Leone is currently working on what he has described as the final chapter in the Terrifier saga, set around New Year's Eve, with filming on Terrifier 4 expected to begin later this year.
Having him and Thornton at the convention while the next Art the Clown chapter is in production makes this feel like a genuinely special moment for the franchise's fanbase.
What Silver Scream Con Actually Is
For anyone who has not been before, a quick primer. Spencer Charnas and Ice Nine Kills launched Silver Scream Con in 2022 as a direct expression of the band's obsession with horror. What started as a passion project has grown into New England's premiere horror convention, drawing 15,000 fans to Central Massachusetts last year alone. It is three days of panels, autograph sessions, merchandise, performances, and the kind of community energy that is hard to find anywhere else.
Charnas put it well in a statement about the fifth edition. He noted that when the band started, he never could have imagined they would build and curate their own horror convention, let alone be looking down the barrel of year five. The Psychos who support INK, he said, will make Silver Scream Con V the biggest yet.
That community element is real, and it is a big part of why people keep coming back. This is not just a place to get a photo with a celebrity. It is a gathering for people who love this genre deeply, and the curation reflects that.
Why You Should Go
The DCU Center is a legit venue in the heart of Worcester, and the city is easily accessible from Boston, Providence, Hartford, and beyond. The dates are October 2-4, 2026, which gives you plenty of time to plan.
Single day and weekend passes are available now at silverscreamcon.com. With a lineup this strong, the time to grab them is sooner rather than later. Silver Scream Con IV pulled 15,000 people, and year five looks like it is built to surpass that.
Horror convention season has plenty of options, but very few events feel this intentional, this curated, or this genuinely fan-first. Silver Scream Con V is the one to be at this fall.
Silver Scream Con V takes place October 2-4, 2026 at the DCU Center, 50 Foster Street, Worcester, MA. Tickets are available at silverscreamcon.com.
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