Creep I.E. Con brings back horror and movie icons to Ontario

Things are about to get really creepy in the Inland Empire as the local horror convention season launches with Creep I.E. Con.

Named as one of the Top 10 Must Attend Horror Conventions of 2025 in the nation by Macabre Daily, Creep I.E. returns to the Ontario Convention Center from Friday, Jan.31 through Sunday, Feb. 2.

“It’s the first big spooky event in Southern California for 2025,” said Brian Boget, co-founder of the convention, which launched in 2022. “It is the place to be if you love horror. There’s a lot of fun things going on, a lot of spooky shenanigans.”

The weekend event includes panel discussions, a walk through haunt, vendors selling all sorts of scary goods, an arcade, a tattoo artist that specialize in macabre creations and a long list of celebrity guests.

“One of the highlights is our cast reunions and celebrity roster. We have over 40 celebrity guests coming to the Inland Empire,” Boget said.

Creep I.E. Con returns to the Ontario Convention Center Jan. 31-Feb. 2. (Photo courtesy Creep I.E)

Indeed one of the reasons Creep I.E. made the list of top national conventions because of its focus on celebrity appearances, and this year it features one of the biggest names in horror: Cassandra Peterson, who is best known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. She will appear on Saturday only.

“She’s a horror icon and we wanted her to attend a Creep I.E. since we first started three years ago. She’s one of my all time favorites. When you think horror, Halloween, you automatically think of Elvira,” Boget said.

Jason Patric is joining other cast members of “The Lost Boys,” at Creep I.E. Con, which returns to the Ontario Convention Center Jan. 31-Feb. 2. (Photo by Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images)

Another celebrity highlight will be a cast reunion of the 1987 teen vampire classic “The Lost Boys.” Cast members expected at Creep I.E. include star Jason Patric, who played the lead role of Michael, and Jameson Newlander, one of the teen vampire hunters. Members of the vampire gang will be there too, including Alex Winter, who is also famous for playing Bill in “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” Also appearing is Billy Wirth, he portrayed the vampire Dwayne whose bloodsucking life was ended in the epic “death by stereo” scene and Chance Michael Corbit, who was the little boy vampire.

“This is of course one of the greatest horror films of all time,” Boget said.

Another actor who made the Creep I.E. cut is Tobin Bell, who starred as the brilliant and twisted Jigsaw in the Saw franchise.

“Tobin hasn’t done a con in Southern California in many years. He’s the star of the entire Saw franchise and we’re so excited to have him here,” Boget said.

Creep I.E. is followed by other local horror conventions that also made Macabre Daily’s Top 10 list including Long Beach’s Midsummer Scream, which is set for Aug. 15-17 and Monsterpalooza, which takes place at the May 30-June 1 at the Pasadena Convention Center.