By Jennifer Russo

October is one of my favorite months ~ the air is cooler but not freezing my (insert freezable part here) off; the leaves are gorgeous; the fall beers are flowin’; Halloween is coming; and Worcester is alive with anticipation for one of the most unique and entertaining conventions of them all ~ Rock & Shock 2013.

True to its name, the show combines some of our favorite rock acts and shocking celebrity appearances into a few days of celebrating everything that makes life rocking or shocking. This is Rock & Shock’s 10^th anniversary, so you can bet it’s packed full of high-profile entertainment with a little something for everyone.

For horror lovers, hope that you aren’t dreaming when you meet Robert Englund (a.k.a. Freddy Krueger) face to face. Tuesday Knight will also be showing up ~ let’s hope they aren’t in the same room!

Slasher movie obsession? See a couple queens of the bloody screen ~ Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, Carrie, Being Human) and Jordan Ladd (Cabin Fever, Death Proof, Hostel 2), as well as Kane Hodder (Friday the 13^th, Hatchet). The Devil’s Rejects themselves, William Forsythe and Dave Sheridan, also will make an appearance.

Are zombies more your cup of flesh? Meet the Walking Dead’s Lew Temple and IronE Singleton, as well as the Merle we loved to get mad at, Michael Rooker (who also starred in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, The Bone Collector, Slither and is currently filming for the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy). If you always wondered what you’d look like as a crazed and brain-hungry walker yourself, there will be special FX makeup artists who can make you into a zombie, too.

For those of you who love suspense and edge of your seat “Oh my God, dude, run. He’s right behind you!” action, you have the chance to meet (if you dare) Terminator 2’s famous T-1000, Robert Patrick, who has also starred in True Blood, X-Files and Gangster Squad.

On the lighter and funnier side of things, Rock & Shock will be graced with the appearance of John Ratzenberger, who we came to know as the bar know-it-all, Cliff Claven, from Cheers, but more recently for voicing lovable animated favorites in Wall-E, Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc./Monsters University.

More into lewd, stoner-style humor? R&S will welcome Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes ~ yup, better known as Jay & Silent Bob, who will be promoting their new animated movie, titled appropriately, Jay & Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie. There will be a podcasted Q&A, so get those questions ready!

OK, there is the shock … now, what about the rock? Rock and rap enthusiasts will not be disappointed. Marilyn Manson’s Twiggy Ramirez will join the party. Starting off the pre-party on Thursday, Oct 17, will be Between the Buried and Me with support from The Contortionist, The Faceless and The Safety Fire. BTBAM will perform the entirety of Future Sequence. On Saturday, Oct 19, Danzig brings his 25^th anniversary celebration to the convention with ex-Misfits guitarist Doyle and the supporting acts of the sexy Butcher Babies, OTEP, Texas Hippie Coalition, Stolen Babies, A Horse Named Death and New Years Day. Performing on Sunday, Oct 20, is the always insane and outrageous Twiztid with The R.O.C, Blaze, Madchild and Aqualeo.

There may be more guests as well ~ “like” Rock & Shock’s Facebook page and get announcements at 10 a.m. every Tuesday.

If all this wasn’t enough, R&S is hosting its seventh annual film festival. With selected submissions from indie filmmakers, there will be tons of extremely cool displays, places to play games like Magic, and for those of you with brave kids who might like to attend, a children’s area with tons of fun things to do.

And, of course ~ as with any convention ~ costumes are encouraged. Be sure to wear your most horrific and shocking outfits, but please remember to leave the realistic-looking weapons at home, lest the people dressed in the scariest costumes of all ~ security guards ~ take them away.

More Information

The 10^th annual Rock & Shock convention will be held Oct. 18-20 at the DCU Center and Worcester Palladium. To learn more about the convention, visit  rockandshock.com.

Tickets for the three-day convention are $50 if purchased in advance ($60 day of); only want to go one day and it’s $20. For combo passes (which include package selections for convention, movies and concerts), the prices range from $25-$90. These tickets can be purchased at the DCU Center box office and on ticketmaster.com.

Of course, if you want the star treatment yourself, there is a VIP Package available for $175 (must be purchased in advance) and includes the three-day convention, all concerts, reserved seating, pre-party, after-party, a T-shirt, a laminated pass and a swag bag. These can be purchased at the Palladium box office or at tickets.com.