White Plains Tattoo Convention Adds Chills to the Thrills of Body Art

Jay Palacio came ready last Saturday for an event perfect for lovers of body art and frightening tales.

The 7 Souls Tattoo artist from Fair Lawn, New Jersey brought the perfect tribute to the genre of horror, what was a new element of the weekend’s well-known White Plains tattoo convention, now called The New York Blood and Ink Tattoo & Horror Convention.

Those who stopped by the Westchester County Center got to see his entire left arm covered with ink featuring Jason Voorhees from “Friday the 13th,” Ghostface of “Scream,” Freddy Krueger from “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” Pennywise from “It,” Michael Myers from “Halloween” and Jack Torrance from “The Shining.”

The rookie winner won first place for his best horror-themed tattoo on a stage filled with about a dozen other competitors.

“It’s cool to know I have an award-winning sleeve I can show off,” said Palacio.

“I grew up on horror, watching all the movies with my family,” he added about the theme. “Halloween is my favorite holiday.’

“The Shining” tattoo, featuring the “Here’s Johnny” scene, is his most beloved art. He noted how “it’s a classic movie” everyone should watch.

What’s also “good to see,” said Zurdo Estrada, the tattoo artist from Seven Souls Tattoo responsible for Palacio’s art, is “hard work getting those results.”

“We did them on Halloween day,” he added. “And we’re best friends.”

The convention, organized by White Plains’ own Addicted To Ink, returned for the eighth time to the Westchester County Center after a hiatus dating back to 2019 and its founding more than a decade ago.

“There’s been some horror elements added along the way, but this is the first year we rebranded as ‘tattoo and horror’ as opposed to just a tattoo convention,” said Chris Wilcock, owner of Addicted To Ink and founder of the convention.

“We run the Comic Con here as well, and we wanted to do a Horror Con, but the overlap with this crowd is usually pretty high, so it didn’t make sense to run it as two events.”

The event attracts thousands — many of whom get tatted inside by more than 200 artists from around the globe. More than 40 vendors make up the scene too, along with loads of entertainment, activities and celebrities.

The familiar names included the likes of actress Marley Shelton, America’s Got Talent performer Jelly Boy The Clown, voice actor Roger Jackson, reality television show star Bam Margera and a lot of the main cast from the “Hocus Pocus” franchise.

“We made it bigger and better. We used all three floors instead of just the main floor,” said Wilcock. “It’s just a fun event. If you’re looking for fun tattoos, great. If you’re interested in them and just want to look, that’s awesome too.

“But even if you don’t care about tattoos, there’s vendors and performances. We let kids in for free and it’s cheap thing for parents to do with them. We have a kids’ zone with a bouncy castle, games and activities.”

Alli Henning and Yuna Castillo, tattoo artists from the Bronx who work at Addicted To Ink, purchased scary flannels from Squirrelly Stitcher of Quakertown, Pennsylvania.

Henning’s was pink and black with a print of Tiffany Valentine and Castillo’s was red and black with Chucky Ray. Both are fictional horror characters whom were married, and were featured on the back of the garment.

“Pink is my favorite color, and I wanted a female horror character,” said Henning about her pick.

While there, Henning tatted four people, one of whom was part of a “freaky” coincidence. She had the tattoo of the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland on her mind and then suddenly, she got the request for one on a client’s necks.

“I met a bunch of new people and feel like I make some genuine connections here,” said Henning, who was attending for the first time.

Amongst the attendees was Danielle Passeri of Yonkers, a winner from back in 2013 of one of the most familiar competitions at the convention: Miss Inked NY Pageant.

“Everyone has tattoos, but I brought a little bit of personality and charisma,” said Passeri about her win from a decade ago. “They were asking questions, and I was getting a few laughs. I wasn’t just an inked-up piece of eye candy.”

She loves attending the event to see “artists you don’t typically see a lot” and the “freaks, I mean in an endearing way.”

“It’s definitely a community here,” said Passeri.

Some people know exactly the tattoo they want to get while at the convention. Others don’t know, but still walk away with some fresh ink.

“If there’s cool flash, sometimes you feel impulsive and just do it,” Passeri said.

One of the artists, Rob Corsino of Poughkeepsie, was really making attendee’s selection process interesting with a “Regret What You Get” tattoo game.

Participants place a $10 bet that they won’t chicken out in picking a design at random from a large coffin full of more than 80 different ones described as “purposefully lewd, crude, offensive and insensitive.”

Participants are allowed to back out. But if they decide they’re brave enough to get what they picked, they’ll pay the remaining cost for the art.

“There are quality artists here. That’s a testament to the people running it,” said Corsino about the event. “They keep an eye out for who they invite.”

Besides his own game and the artists, he pointed out the fun the celebrities bring to the show.

“It’s cool to see celebrities. Last night, Bam Margera walked by,” said Corsino. “We tried to arrange for him to get a tattoo. His manager even said we had a time, but he got too busy.”

“It’s a nice little twist to see your favorite actors,” he added.

The Undiscovered Realm Comic Con is back at the Westchester County Center on June 21 and 22.