Alice Cooper has been putting horror on stage since before most Monsterpalooza attendees were born. Now he's walking into the convention itself.
Cooper will appear at the Monsterpalooza horror convention May 29-31, 2026 at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, California, for fan professional photo ops across all three days. And he won't be the only metal presence there — Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor is also confirmed for May 30-31.
The booking makes complete sense. The metal-horror overlap isn't a crossover event or a marketing gimmick — it's the foundation that Alice Cooper built an entire career on.
What Monsterpalooza Actually Is
Founded in 2008, Monsterpalooza is the world's premier horror and special effects makeup convention. Three days of panels, screenings, presentations, celebrity guests, and over 400 vendors selling everything from studio-grade prosthetics to vintage horror memorabilia. It's where the professionals who made the monsters you grew up fearing come to break down exactly how they did it.
The event draws makeup artists, directors, creature designers, and actors whose credits span every major horror franchise of the last 50 years. Tom Savini — the practical effects legend behind Friday the 13th, Dawn of the Dead, and Creepshow — is confirmed for 2026. Kane Hodder, the man who played Jason Voorhees more times than anyone else, is also on the guest list. Geena Davis. Lin Shaye. Thomas Jane. Juliette Lewis.
Adding Alice Cooper and Corey Taylor to that roster tells you everything about where horror and heavy metal intersect in the culture.
Why Alice Cooper Belongs There
Cooper didn't borrow from horror — he helped build the template for how rock could use it. The guillotines, the fake blood, the gallows, the boa constrictors, the straitjackets and executioner hoods. The 1975 Welcome to My Nightmare album and accompanying film turned Vincent Price into a collaborator and redefined what a rock concert could look like when it committed fully to theatrical dread.
His favorite horror films are genuinely well-curated: Salem's Lot (1979) tops his personal list, followed by Dario Argento's Suspiria, The Evil Dead, The Haunting, and Carnival of Souls. He's appeared in John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness and Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare. He made his own horror film, Monster Dog. The man is not cosplaying horror fandom — he's been embedded in it for five decades.
Showing up at a convention where Tom Savini is teaching practical makeup techniques is, for Alice Cooper, a natural habitat.
Corey Taylor Adds Another Layer
Taylor confirmed for the final two days of the convention (May 30-31) deepens the metal angle. Since founding Slipknot in 1995, Taylor has maintained his own documented obsession with horror — citing The Shining, Halloween, and A Nightmare on Elm Street as formative influences, and having referenced them directly in his songwriting. His appearance at Monsterpalooza is separate from any Slipknot activity but reinforces how genuinely personal the horror connection is for a lot of metal's biggest names.
If you're a fan who wants to put yourself in the same room as both Cooper and Taylor, this is a rare convergence. These aren't arena photo ops through barricades — this is convention floor access with structured professional photo ops.
How to Get In
Monsterpalooza event tickets are required before purchasing any photo ops. They're on sale now via Eventbrite. Professional photo ops with Alice Cooper are being handled exclusively through Celeb Photo Ops. No table selfies will be permitted — photo ops only.
Alice Cooper's full discography is available on Amazon: browse Alice Cooper albums.
For Ticketmaster events and Alice Cooper's upcoming tour dates: search Alice Cooper on Ticketmaster.
The Convention Guest List
Beyond Cooper and Taylor, the 2026 Monsterpalooza roster includes:
- Tom Savini — practical effects legend (Friday the 13th, Dawn of the Dead)
- Kane Hodder — Jason Voorhees across four Friday the 13th films
- Geena Davis — The Fly, Beetlejuice
- Juliette Lewis — Natural Born Killers, Strange Days
- Thomas Jane — The Punisher, Dreamcatcher
- Lin Shaye — Insidious franchise
- David Howard Thornton — Art the Clown in Terrifier
- Tom Woodruff Jr. — the creature performer and effects artist behind the Alien and Predator franchises
- Paul Williams — composer and actor, Phantom of the Paradise
The Pasadena Convention Center has hosted Monsterpalooza since the early years. The fall offshoot, Son of Monsterpalooza, has run separately since 2012.
For SoCal metal fans, this is a three-day window to be in the same building as two of the scene's most iconic figures while surrounded by the horror craft that influenced them. That's not a coincidence. It's the whole point.
Monsterpalooza runs May 29-31, 2026 at the Pasadena Convention Center. For more tour and metal event coverage, visit Metal Mantra Metal News or check our full Festivals coverage.
