The convention formally opened with the arrival of Count Dracula - in a hearse. His coffin was carried into the hotel, where it was opened and the Count (portrayed by an actor, of course) arose.
The convention was organized by Elizabeth Miller and J. Gordon Melton of the Transylvanian Society of Dracula, along with Jeanne Youngson of the Count Dracula Fan Club. Celebrity attendees included authors Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and Fred Saberhagen, Dark Shadows stars Lara Parker and Kathryn Leigh Scott, and Hammer Films stars Ingrid Pitt and Veronica Carlson.
Convention goers voted Bram Stoker’s Dracula as the best dramatic adaption of the novel, and judges awarded Bill Zaget of Toronto first prize in the short story competition for "Renfield, or Dining at the Bughouse."
For those who were unable to attend, the organizers plan to release a video soon, and to collect many of the scholarly papers into a book. And there’s talk (though as of yet, no firm plans) about a second Dracula convention at some point in the future.
The television series Rag and Bone is still an active project. Created by Anne and Forever Knight producer James Parriott, it’s a detective story featuring a ghost. It’s set in New Orleans (Anne has promised that it will avoid the clichéd mistakes that show up on many New Orleans based movies and TV shows), and will star Dean Cain (Superman). The pilot has been completed, but there’s still no word from CBS as to when it will air.
There’s a lot of talk about movies from Anne’s books, but no hard details - and as we’ve learned when dealing with Hollywood, a lot more gets talked about than actually gets done. Supposedly, Showtime is developing The Feast of All Saints and Servant of the Bones for their original movie series. James Cameron’s production company owns the rights to The Mummy - and after seeing Titanic, wouldn’t it be great to have Cameron direct it? Warner Brothers still owns the rights to The Vampire Lestat, but so far has chosen not to do anything with it. In 2001, though, the rights to all of the Vampire Chronicles revert to Anne, so if Warner doesn’t make it, perhaps someone else will.
If you’re interested in helping to bring back Forever Knight, or if you’re just curious as to what’s going on in the FK world, check out "Kickstart the Knight," a group devoted to keeping the show alive. They have an information hotline (702-798-0448), or you can write to them at KtK, 103 Jamestown Manor, Lower Burrell, PA 15068.
Forever Knight reruns are showing on the Sci Fi Channel, Monday through Thursday at 9:00 PM and 1:00 AM Eastern.
For information, send an SASE to Dark Shadows, P.O. Box 92, Maplewood, NJ 07040, or check their web site at http://www.darkshadows.org/Official/dsfcfest.html
On November 25, 1996, Ruth and Richard Wendorf were beaten to death in their home in Eustis, Florida. The grand jury declined to indict their daughter Heather Wendorf, although she was present at the time of the killings and fled to Louisiana with the group. The other members of the group, Howard Scott Anderson, Dana Cooper, and Charity Keesee are charged with murder and will be tried separately at a later date.
The case attracted the attention of the vampire community and the nation as a whole due to the group’s vampire role playing, blood drinking, and the brutality of the crime. As reported in JOTD #9, though, a psychologist who interviewed Ferrell shortly after his capture stated that vampires had nothing to do with the murders.
In a separate case, Ferrell’s mother Sondra Gibson pleaded guilty on November 14, 1997, to a felony count of unlawful transaction with a minor. She had attempted to seduce a 14 year old boy into a sexual initiation rite.