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Scaradise returns to Tampa with three days of thrills, chills, and pop culture excitement

  • Writer: Alastair Mac
    Alastair Mac
  • 3 hours ago
  • 8 min read
Scaradise - Florida's latest Horror Convention is back to haunt Florida State Fairgrounds from February 27 - March 1, 2026.

Scaradise! Florida's latest Horror Convention takes over the Florida State Fairgrounds

Get ready! Scaradise, the ultimate destination for horror fans, fright seekers, and pop culture enthusiasts is back this spring, and it's coming to the Florida State Fairgrounds for three days of spooky fun.


Formerly known as Spookala, this reimagined event has leveled up to bring guests an even bigger and bolder experience with the spring edition taking place from February 27 - March 1, 2026,


Scaradise will feature celebrity guests and panels, haunted attractions, vendors, live entertainment, and unforgettable scares, and whether you’re a die-hard fan or just looking for a thrilling weekend, Scaradise promises chills, thrills, and memories you’ll never forget.



Meet stars from your favorite horror franchises and hit TV series, or shop hundreds of vendors specializing in rare collectibles and macabre art. Don’t miss the chance to hear behind-the-scenes stories directly from your favorite actors and directors during our live, interactive Q&A sessions!


Celebrity Guests:

This springs edition of Scaradise features an impressive list of stars, including....


Shannon Elizabeth

Shannon Elizabeth is actress, activist, and poker player. Her roles in the Scary Movie (2000) and the American Pie film series (1999–2001; 2012) solidified her status as a sex symbol of the 1990s and 2000s. Elizabeth’s film credits include Tomcats (2001), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Thirteen Ghosts(2001), Cursed (2005), and Night of the Demons(2009), and supporting roles in Love Actually(2003), The Grand (2007), Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019), and Plan B (2024). In television, she had a recurring role in the Fox sitcom That ‘70s Show (2003–2005) and a main role in the UPNsitcom Cuts (2005–2006).


Jack Quaid

Jack made his acting debut with a minor role in the dystopian film The Hunger Games (2012). Quaid was part of the main cast of the drama series Vinyl (2016) and had a supporting role in the film Logan Lucky (2017). His breakout role was as vigilante Hughie Campbell in the satirical superhero series The Boys (2019–present). Quaid has voiced Bradward “Brad” Boimler in the series Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020–2024), and Superman in My Adventures with Superman (2023–present). He played Richie Kirsch in the slasher film Scream (2022) and physicist Richard Feynman in Oppenheimer (2023), and has since taken on starring roles in the films Companion and Novocaine (both 2025).


Mckenna Grace

Mckenna has appeared in the films I, Tonya(2017), Troop Zero (2019), and Captain Marvel(2019). During this time, she appeared in several horror projects, including The Bad Seed (2018), The Haunting of Hill House (2018), and Annabelle Comes Home (2019). For playing the abused teenager Esther Keyes in The Handmaid’s Tale (2021–2022), Grace was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, making her the first child recognized for a guest acting Emmy. She appeared in the supernatural comedy films Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) as Phoebe Spengler, receiving critical praise and a Critics’ Choice Super Award nomination. In 2022, Grace wrote, executive produced, and starred in The Bad Seed Returns, and portrayed Jan Broberg in A Friend of the Family. She then starred in the romantic drama Regretting You (2025) and the supernatural horror Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (2025). In 2026 Mckenna Grace will be appearing in Scream 7 & The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.


Alicia Witt

Alicia first came to fame as a child actress after being discovered by David Lynch, who cast her in Dune (1984) as Alia and Twin Peaks (1990) as Gersten Hayward. Witt was a regular on Cybill Shepherd’s sitcom Cybill (1995–1998) for four seasons, playing the title character’s daughter, Zoey Woodbine. She had a critically acclaimed role as a disturbed teenager in Fun (1994), appeared as a music student in Mr. Holland’s Opus(1995) and as a terrorized college student in the horror film Urban Legend (1998). She appeared in Vanilla Sky (2001) as Libby, Two Weeks Notice(2002), Last Holiday (2006), 88 Minutes (2007) as Kim Cummings, I Care A Lot (2020) and Longlegs(2024). Witt has made television appearances in shows such as The Walking Dead, The Sopranos, Friday Night Lights as Cheryl, Twin Peaks: The Returnas Gersten Hayward, CSI: Miami, Supernatural, Justified and Orange Is the New Black. She starred in five episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Detective Nola Falacci in Season 7.


David Arquette

Arquette’s breakout came with his starring role as Dewey Riley in the slasher film Scream (1996), a role which he later reprised in four sequels from 1997 to 2022. Following Scream, he starred in the films Dream with the Fishes (1997), Ravenous (1999), and Never Been Kissed (1999). In the 2000s, Arquette starred in the films Ready to Rumble(2000), 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001), See Spot Run (2001), Eight Legged Freaks (2002), Never Die Alone (2004), The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D (2005), and Hamlet 2 (2008). He made his directorial debut with The Tripper (2006), and had a main role as Jason Ventress on the ABCsitcom In Case of Emergency (2007).


Vincent D’Onofrio

Vincent’s roles include Private Leonard “Gomer Pyle” Lawrence in Full Metal Jacket (1987), Robert E. Howard in The Whole Wide World (1996), Edgar the Bug in Men in Black (1997) and Men in Black: The Series (1997–2001), Carl Stargher in The Cell(2000), New York City Police Detective Robert Goren in Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001–11), and Victor “Vic” Hoskins in Jurassic World (2015). Since 2015, he has portrayed Wilson Fisk / Kingpinin the Marvel Cinematic Universe.


Colby Minifie

Colby is best known for her supporting role as Ashley Barrett on the Amazon Prime Video satirical superhero series The Boys (2019–present). She is also known for her recurring roles as Robyn on the first season of the Netflix neo-noir superhero series Jessica Jones (2015) and Virginia on the fifth and sixth seasons of the AMC post-apocalyptic horror drama series Fear the Walking Dead (2019–21).


Hayden Panettiere

Hayden is best known for her roles as Claire Bennet in Heroes and Juliette Barnes in Nashville, earning Golden Globe nominations for the latter in 2013 and 2014. She also appeared in the Disney Channel films Remember the Titans(2000), Ice Princess (2005), and Racing Stripes (2005), and reprised her role as Kirby Reed in Scream VI (2023


James Remar

Highlights of James’ 45-year career, in film include his portrayals of Ajax in The Warriors(1979), Albert Ganz in 48 Hrs. (1982), Dutch Schultzin The Cotton Club (1984), and Jack Duff in Miracle on 34th Street (1994). In television, he is best known for playing Richard Wright in Sex and the City (2001–2004), and Harry Morgan, the father of the title character, in Dexter (2006–2013) and Dexter: Resurrection (2025). Since 2009 he has done voice-over work in ads for Lexus luxury cars. Remar studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City.


Jenna Kanell

Jenna gained recognition for her portrayals of Tara Heyes in Terrifier (2016) and Kim Hines in The Bye Bye Man (2017)—both horror filmsin which she performed her own stunt work. Her film career has since expanded to a variety of genres such as the political drama The Front Runner (2018), the horror-comedy Renfield (2023), and the action comedy Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024).


Skeet Ulrich

Skeet is best known for his roles in popular 1990s films, including Billy Loomis in Scream (1996), Chris Hooker in The Craft (1996), and Vincent Lopiano in As Good as It Gets (1997). From 2017 to 2021, he starred as Forsythe Pendleton “F.P.” Jones II on The CW’s Riverdale. He reprised his Scream role in the sequels Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023). His other television roles include Johnston Jacob “Jake” Green Jr. in the television series Jericho, and LAPDDetective Rex Winters, a Marine veteran from the Law & Order franchise.


Jeremy Davies

Jeremy is known for playing Ray Aibelli in Spanking the Monkey (1994), Corporal Timothy Upham in Saving Private Ryan (1998), Private Toffler in Ravenous (1999), Snow in Solaris (2002), Bill Henson in Dogville (2003), Charles Manson in Helter Skelter (2004), Sergeant Gene DeBruin in Rescue Dawn (2006), Daniel Faraday on the series Lost (2008–2010), and Dickie Bennett in the series Justified (2011–2015). Jeremy plays the role of Terrence in the horror movies The Black Phone (2021) & Black Phone 2 (2025)


Matthew Lillard

Celebrating 30 years of Scream the very same weekend Scream 7 releases! - we are very excited to announce Matthew Lillard will be returning to Scaradise this February! Matthew Lillard is known for his roles as Stu Macher in the Scream franchise and Shaggy Rogers in Scooby-Dooand Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. He also played Chip Sutphin in Serial Mom (1994) and Emmanuel “Cereal Killer” Goldstein in Hackers (1995). Lillard’s directorial debut, Fat Kid Rules the World, won the 2012 Audience Award at SXSW. 


Christopher McDonald

Christopher is best known for his villainous role as professional golfer Shooter McGavin in the 1996 sports comedy Happy Gilmore, a role he reprised in its 2025 sequel. Other notable starring roles for McDonald in film include “T-Birds” member Goose McKenzie in Grease 2 (1982), Darryl Dickinson opposite his former fiancée Geena Davis in Thelma & Louise.


Anna Lore

Following a recurring role as Carrie on season 3 of the CW sports drama series All American (2021) and a starring role in the slasher film They/Them (2022), Anna received recognition for her main role as DC Comics character Stephanie Brown on the CW superhero series Gotham Knights (2023). She gained further attention for her starring role in the supernatural horror film Final Destination Bloodlines(2025) & horror film Black Phone 2(2025).


Lizze Broadway

Lizze is best known for her role as Emma Meyer / Little Cricket in the Prime Video series Gen V.


Ruby Modine

Ruby Modine is best known for playing Sierra Morton in Shameless. She also co-starred in the 2017 slasher film Happy Death Day, as well as in its sequel as Lori Spengler. Ruby is set to appear in the 2025 slasher remake Silent Night, Deadly Night.


Lukas Gage

Lukas Gage appeared in the television series American Vandal (2017), Euphoria (2019), The White Lotus(2021), You (2023), and Fargo (2023), as well as the films Smile 2 (2024) and Companion (2025).


Madeleine McGraw

Madeleine gained recognition for her roles in various horror-themed projects including the television show Outcast (2016–2018), and the films The Mandela Effect (2019), and The Black Phone (2021) which earned her a Saturn Awardnomination for Best Performance by a Younger Actor. She has also been referred to as a scream queen.


Jessica Rothe

After appearing in independent films and on stage, Jessica breakthrough came with playing Tree Gelbman in the comedy slasher film Happy Death Day (2017) and its 2019 sequel, which established her as a scream queen.


Asa Germann

Asa is best known for his role as Sam Riordan in the Amazon Prime Video superhero series Gen V & The Boys. Asa will be featured in Scream 7 releasing February 27th 2026.


Spencer Charnas

Spencer Charnas is the lead vocalist, songwriter, and creative force behind the horror-themed metal band Ice Nine Kills.


For more details on the thrills, chills, and pop culture excitement coming to Tampa: https://www.scaradise.net


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Scaradise! Florida's latest Horror Convention takes over the Florida State Fairgrounds

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Emma Walton News Producer

Emma Walton

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Shane Walton

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Aly Mac News Editor

Alastair Mac

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