Touring horror convention Days of the Dead announced Thursday that it’s postponing its 2025 Phoenix edition, which was originally scheduled to haunt the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown from July 11 to 13.
The event was set to go head-to-head with Mad Monster Party Arizona, the long-running horror con taking place the same weekend at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel in Glendale.
According to a statement posted on social media, Days of the Dead axed its Valley appearance due to unspecified beef between organizers and its venue, the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown. No further details were provided.
"Terrifier" actor David Howard Thornton was scheduled to appear at Days of the Dead Phoenix.
Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0/Flickr
“So we've decided to postpone next weeks Phoenix show to 2026 with a new venue. The current property and the show didn't see eye to eye on a couple matters and have made it impractical to continue. We tried to work it out, and thought we had. To no avail,” the statement read in part. “We know this sucks, we tried.”
The 2025 edition of Days of the Dead Phoenix was set to feature a huge lineup of horror actors. Several stars of the “Terrifier” series — including David Howard Thornton, Amelie McLain, Damien Leone and Kailey Hyman — were scheduled to appear. The event was also set to host cast reunions for such flicks as 1984’s “Revenge of the Nerds,” 1985’s “The Return of the Living Dead” and 1986’s “Aliens.”
According to Days of the Dead’s statement, refunds will be issued beginning on Thursday evening. Vendors and those with VIP tickets will “have the option of a refund or moving the purchase to another show.”
Days of the Dead stages horror/pop-culture conventions across the U.S. each year, including Las Vegas, Atlanta, Chicago and Indianapolis. The event made its Phoenix debut in June 2024.
Local horror fans raised eyebrows after Days of the Dead announced last summer its 2025 edition would take place the same weekend as Mad Monster Party Arizona, a popular horror con that’s taken place in the Valley annually since 2014.
Phoenix resident Tony Gautier, co-host of local horror and true-crime podcast Scaredycast says he was disappointed by the news that Days of the Dead Phoenix was postponing its 2025 event.
“We’re super bummed, it was planned to be a pretty amazing weekend,” Gautier says. “But we understand it’s a situation that’s totally out of their hands, they did everything they could to resolve things with the hotel but weren’t able to. But we can’t wait for next year at a new venue.”
