Necronomicon drew people of all ages to attend the annual horror, sci-fi, and fantasy convention. Besides bringing people of varying ages, it also brought people from both near and far.

Huddled around one of the game tables playing Merchants and Marauders were longtime friends Alex, Jason, Chris, and Paul. Paul traveled all the way from Boston to keep up the group’s ten-year tradition of attending Necronomicon together. They have maintained their friendship over the years in part through gaming. They all first heard of Necronomicon through a friend they met playing Dungeons & Dragons and they have attended ever since, and they plan on keeping it that way.

“We’re still planning on coming every year, unless it really is the end of the world. I’ll guess we’ll see in December,” explained Paul.

While gaming is what attracted many to the convention, Necronomicon also had many other events to look forward to.

“I’m most excited for the costume contest,” explained second-year attendee, Daisy who was dressed as the third doctor from Doctor Who.  Another thing Daisy is looking forward is graduating from SPC this semester… providing that the world doesn’t end after all.

As a newcomer to the convention, Ness was also looking forward to the costumes as well as the Necronomiprom.

When asked about her costume Ness explained, “ I’m dressed as Booster Gold, the comic book character. She’s the greatest superhero you’ve never heard of.”

However, Ness and Daisy were not alone in dressing up for the convention. Walking into the hotel it became apparent who was there for the convention by the various costumes, which ranged from mimes, Hunter S. Thompson, zombies, various doctors from The Doctor Who television series, and a multitude of comic book characters.

While there were a lot of newcomers in attendance this year, there were also many members who have been coming for years such as Glenda Finklestein. Glenda has been attending Necronomicon since 2003 and was even a host on a few panels this year. It’s ironic that she began hosting panels because as she explains, “ I originally got into writing so that I wouldn’t have to talk in front of people.” When asked if she thought the world would end soon Glenda replied, “Probably not. Knowing where things began fascinates people and so does knowing how it ends.”

So much concern regarding the world ending comes from the Mayan calendar, which ends in December 2012. However most feel that the end is not as near as we all may think. Third-year attendee Sara came to the convention with her husband and son and is among who that don’t believe the world will actually end in December.

Sara explains, “I think that the Mayans were talking about the beginning of The Golden Age. Every end is a new beginning”.

In the event that the world does not end, you can attend Necronomicon next year October 18-20 in Tampa.