15 years a fan and counting

I was 15 when I saw House of 1000 Corpses in 2005 (with my mom), almost a full two years after it was released in theaters. I don't recall if I was a fan of Rob Zombie's music before I saw the movie, but I definitely became a fan after. I also became obsessed with his wife Sheri Moon and her character Baby Firefly. Later that same year The Devil's Rejects was released, although I missed that theatrical release as well (although my mom surprised me by downloading it for me). 14 years have passed and Rob has released a handful of movies starring Sheri, including the Halloween remakes, Lords of Salem, and 31, and I was excited for each one, but none as much as 3 From Hell, which is finishing its three night premier across the country tonight.

I attended the first night with my boyfriend and our good friend G. I was pumped throughout the showing. For me, House of 1000 Corpses can't be beat, but 3 From Hell was just as entertaining as I hoped it would be and I put it on par with Rejects (yes, I am of the minority who prefer HO1C to Rejects). I really loved how Rob brought back parts of Baby's personality from H01C that I think are downplayed in Rejects, like her desire to be the center of attention, her twisted playfulness, and her fantasy of being a star. I also like that they gave her back some of her iconic, heavy blond curls that were absent in Rejects (she wore a huge wig in H01C that was absent in Rejects). Sheri and the rest of the cast are all great, as expected. I really enjoyed Richard Brake's character too, and was glad to watch him become a part of the Firefly family after watching how brutal he was in 31.

Sid Haig was only in the film briefly, which was disappointing, but understandable. I met him a few years ago at TerrorExpo in Texas (very sweet), along with Bill Moseley (also sweet, and enthusiastic), and later got to take a photo with them both dressed as Showtime Baby:

Photo by Wolf Studios at TerrorExpo 2016, San Antonio with Sid Haig and Bill Moseley. Vegan for 3 years by that point, but still hadn't realized my 10-year-old headband was made of feathers.

At nearly 10 years old, my Showtime Baby cosplay was in its third or fourth iteration by the time that photo was taken.

My mom made the dress for me in 2006 for Halloween my senior year of high school. I wore it to school despite being very sick with some kind of viral throat infection and a fever, so I walked home at lunch without saying anything to anyone (nobody knew who I was anyway). I still managed to go out for a little bit that night in costume, although I ended up missing the rest of the week of school:

Cheap white wig, spray-colored a brownish shade. My mom made the dress, I did the headband and applique. I didn't, however, realize how thin and see-through the fabric was until I saw photos that clearly showed the outline of my bra and pajama pants underneath.

I updated the wig for a shoot for the SF Chronicle in 2015 and added a slip to go under the dress:

Photo by Russell Yip for the SF Chronicle. He also photographed another cosplay of mine that made it to the cover. of the Sunday edition

I added more applique, a fuller wig, and glovelets for TerrorExpo and I believe that was the last edit. It was not until after Monsterpalooza 2018 that I realized my headband was made of feathers. I mean, I knew they were feathers, but I had been wearing them on and off for almost 12 years by that point and never gave them a second thought until it hit me one day. Next time I pull out the costume, I will be pulling off the feathers and replacing them with a synthetic material.

My last day wearing feathers.

Showtime Baby isn't the only Baby I have dressed up as. One of my go-to easy cosplays is Baby from the special features menu and Easter eggs of the HO1C DVD.

I updated that wig, too, by sewing on wefts I cut off from another wig. I wore it two years later at SCC 2017 with a new hat:

Where was I going with this post again? Oh well, takeaway points are 3 From Hell = good movie, Sheri Moon Zombie = badass vegan babe, and Baby Firefly = forever cosplay.