Sarah Armstrong, Festival Co-Chair
A lifelong lover of ghost stories, she has always been drawn to the shadows between charm and scare. As Program Coordinator at PATV, she helps bring community stories to the screen, while her work as a screenwriter and author explores the eerie and the enchanting. Through her business ventures, she blends legacy with imagination, crafting beauty touched with a whisper of the uncanny.
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The Siren
Born from tides and tales, she drifts through CalaSCAREus with the hush of old ghost stories in her wake. She is the presence felt in the quiet before the reel begins, the chill that lingers after it ends. Both guide and warning, she embodies the festival’s haunting charm—an echo that stays long after the curtain falls.
Manuel Crosby, Industry Expert
I'm a writer, director, cinematographer and editor. Passionate about filmmaking since the age of twelve, I always find excitement in collaboration with clients and artists. I've been a part of a wide variety of projects, including narrative features, shorts, documentaries, and music videos. In 2021, the feature film "First Date", which I co-created with Darren Knapp, screened at the Sundance Film Festival and was distributed by Magnolia Pictures.
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The Werewolf
The moon rose full and indifferent, silvering the treetops and sharpening every shadow. Somewhere between a breath and a heartbeat, the night changed--thickened with the scent of pine, damp earth, and something unmistakably alive. Villagers would later swear they heard a howl split the dark, long and mournful, as if the forest itself were warning them. But by then it was already too late. The man was no longer a man, and the beast had begun to walk.
Jeffrey Klingler, Festival Co-Chair
Jeff’s interests lean to the paranormal end of the horror spectrum.
A filmmaker and a classical black and white photographer, his ongoing project The Lonely Places has taken him to abandoned mines, ghost towns, and forgotten cemeteries in remote places. But he never had a paranormal experience. That changed last year. While filming in a 110 year old hotel (someplace he had worked numerous times before), as the camera and microphones were running, a disembodied voice appeared in the footage as he was leaving the building. It said “Jeff.”
The Dark Lord
The Dark Lord knows your secrets. You are thinking about them at this very moment. He knows what you want and how desperate you are to get it. And he is here to help … for a price!
Tom Herlihy, Co-Head of Education
​As the eldest voice on the festival board, I have walked the shadowed halls of horror for a lifetime. My earliest companions were the creatures of black-and-white dread—Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man, Night of the Living Dead, The Birds, Psycho. I’ve always been drawn to places where silence lingers too long—abandoned castles, forgotten cemeteries, the yawning mouths of caves and caverns. Over time, I have shaped nightmares as a producer, scriptwriter, technical writer, set builder, and special effects creator. For me, horror is not simply fear—it is atmosphere, the chill that clings, the slow dread that whispers, you are not alone.
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The Gargoyle
I am “Gargolas”, stone-born watcher of the dead, my gaze has never blinked in a thousand years. For centuries, I have clung to ledges and tombs, watching the living scurry below. We first rose in the Middle Ages, chiseled from cold stone to guard against forces that crept unseen. Through our gaping jaws run rainwater—an architect’s trick. Perhaps. But in truth, we swallow the sky’s tears, washing away the whispers of the dead before they seep into the world of the living. Be aware, I am not alone. My brothers perch on cathedrals, my kin brood over graveyards. At night, when the moon is revealed, the earth will breathe its secrets. I listen… I do not rest… I watch and remember.
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Aryelle Smith, Head of Merchandising
Aryelle’s love for horror ignited at age nine, sneaking into her grandmother’s collection to watch Psycho—she was hooked forever. Passionate about film as an artistic medium, she’s especially enchanted by practical effects, inspired deeply by Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth to dream of creating her own. Each Halloween, she joyfully tests makeup and effects on her eager children. Excited to volunteer at this local horror film festival, Aryelle celebrates emerging talent, effects artists, and the genre’s wild imagination.
Ms. Hyde
Born from a scientific experiment meant to separate good from evil within a single human soul. Small in stature but immense in menace, Hyde embodies Jekyll’s suppressed instincts—cruelty, violence, and moral freedom unchecked by conscience. She moves through Victorian London as a figure of fear and secrecy, committing acts Jekyll herself would never allow. As Hyde grows stronger, the boundary between woman and monster collapses, revealing the dangerous cost of denying one’s own nature.
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Steve Carleton, Art Director/Podcast Host
Steve Carleton is a prolific digital artist with a distinctive style rooted in both pop culture and dark imagination. Steve brings a cinematic touch to every piece, whether he’s designing a terrifying creature, illustrating a moody skyline, or crafting a clean, iconic brand. Beyond the canvas, Steve is a longtime podcaster and storyteller. He co-hosts the long-running podcast and YouTube show The Geekz and is a part-time co-host on the horror-centered podcast The Horror Returns. Originally from Southern California, he’s spent the last eight years in Calaveras County, where he lives with his wife and children.
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The Vampire
The vampire lives deep in the rugged foothills of Calaveras County, hidden among twisted oaks and long-abandoned mining shafts. No one knows how long he’s been there, only that livestock go missing, hikers vanish, and cold winds carry whispers no one wants to hear. He’s not the elegant kind. He doesn’t sparkle. His skin is cracked like old stone, and his fangs jagged and yellow. At night, his roar carries down the hills like a warning. Locals speak of glowing red veins on his arms, pulsing like fault lines, and say he feeds not just on blood, but on fear. He doesn’t hunt for sport. He waits. Watching. Always close, but never seen, until it’s far too late.
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Erin Harris, Head of Programming
A lifelong horror movie fanatic, Erin has spent countless nights chasing the next spine-tingling story, from cult classics to obscure indie gems. Her passion goes beyond watching, she's dedicated to championing the creativity of emerging filmmakers who dare to push the boundaries of fear and imagination. She believes fresh voices keep the genre alive, and is committed to supporting the next generation of horror storytellers through collaboration, advocacy, and sharing opportunities that help their visions reach the screen.
The Banchee
In the windswept hills of Ireland, her wail is the sound of doom. The Banshee, a ghostly harbinger of death, drifts through the mist with hair like tangled silver and eyes as hollow as the grave. Her piercing cry shatters the silence of night, foretelling of imminent tragedy. Some say she appears cloaked in tattered white, others claim she moves unseen—but all who hear her keening know one truth: there is no outrunning the Banshee’s call.
Elsie Lodde
Elsie is a multifaceted entrepreneur and passionate advocate for the paranormal, best known as the owner of Bethany’s Home Sweet Haunted Home, a renowned haunted vacation destination in Jackson, CA. What began in 2021 as a planned long-term rental quickly became the spark for her deep fascination with the unexplained, leading her to transform the property into a must-visit experience for supernatural enthusiasts. Expanding her impact beyond the haunted home, Elsie is also the visionary behind Gold Country ParaCon, a gathering that brings together paranormal enthusiasts, experts, and investigators from across the country to explore and celebrate the mysteries of the unknown.
Elvira
Elvira is a sharp-tongued icon of campy horror, gliding through the shadows with a wink and a perfectly timed punchline. As the self-proclaimed Mistress of the Dark, she blends spooky spectacle with fearless humor, hosting tales of terror while never taking the scares or herself too seriously. Beneath the gothic glamour is a clever survivor who disarms monsters and skeptics alike, proving that confidence, comedy, and a love of the macabre can be just as powerful as any spell.
Cedric Clute, Podcast Host/Voice Actor
Sul sul! Nooboo frasha blarny wibsna yibs, plergna sima doo rayna. Wobna treesh dag dag narsa ploob, quarka flimsha zorba weena. Yibsna gloob farsha simoona, blibna shoo fram dagga noo. Dag dag, sulani fweebna noor shava yibsna plerk! Wabba doo flarsha simoona treesh, quibna zorp dagga noo weela. Frimsha bloob narsha yibbs, plenda woozle farsha mino. Hooba froob, zibna glay shoo. ​
Virgil the Cowboy
Sul sul! Nooboo frasha blarny wibsna yibs, plergna sima doo rayna. Wobna treesh dag dag narsa ploob, quarka flimsha zorba weena. Yibsna gloob farsha simoona, blibna shoo fram dagga noo. Dag dag, sulani fweebna noor shava yibsna plerk! Wabba doo flarsha simoona treesh, quibna zorp dagga noo weela. Frimsha bloob narsha yibbs, plenda woozle farsha mino. Hooba froob, zibna glay shoo.
Ewa Kuc, Head of Social Media
Sul sul! Nooboo frasha blarny wibsna yibs, plergna sima doo rayna. Wobna treesh dag dag narsa ploob, quarka flimsha zorba weena. Yibsna gloob farsha simoona, blibna shoo fram dagga noo. Dag dag, sulani fweebna noor shava yibsna plerk! Wabba doo flarsha simoona treesh, quibna zorp dagga noo weela. Frimsha bloob narsha yibbs, plenda woozle farsha mino. Hooba froob, zibna glay shoo.
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The Baba Yaga
In the deep forests where paths forget themselves, Baba Yaga waits in a hut that stands on chicken legs. She is an ancient witch—neither fully evil nor kind—who trades wisdom for courage and punishes greed without mercy. Those who seek her may leave with a blessing, a curse, or a hard-earned truth, if they survive the encounter.