Meet ghost hunters and horror film stars this week at Universal Studios and Spooky Empire

Fans of horror films and the paranormal are in for a treat this week in Orlando. Two events are bringing a “who’s who” of actors and other personalities to meet.

First, Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango, stars of the SyFy Channel series, “Ghost Hunters,” will be at Halloween Horror Nights to experience the event and sign autographs for guests on Thursday, Oct. 8. Gonsalves and Tango are both members of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) and star in the reality show that follows the group of real-life paranormal researchers as they investigate hauntings across the nation. For autographs, they will appear in Battery Park in the New York area of Universal Studios from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and 10 to 11:30 p.m.

The following day, Friday, Oct. 9, marks the beginning of this year’s Spooky Empire “Ultimate Horror Weekend” which runs through Sunday, Oct. 11 at the Wyndam Orlando Resort. On Friday, sometime between 1 and 4 p.m., The Rich Wierdoes will lead a re-enactment of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” featuring an amazing lineup of special guests that includes Ola Ray, who was Jackson’s date in the “Thriller” music video, Cheryl Sington, who was one of Jackson’s backup dancers in the video, and director John Landis, who directed the video. That will take place at at the T.G.I. Friday’s Front Row across the street from the Wyndham.

At 4 p.m. on Friday, the 2009 Zombie Walk will take place, bringing together hundreds of fans-turned-zombies as they stumble and creep their way down the road from T.G.I. Friday’s to the Wyndam. Here’s a photo gallery from last year’s Zombie Walk filled with creative costumes.

In addition to these events, the Spooky Empire weekend is filled with movie screenings, an exhibitor hall and plenty of celebrities. The list includes plenty of big names from horror films past and present (and a few non-horror actors as well). In attendance will be Fairuza Balk (The Craft), Tippi Hedren (The Birds), Linda Blair (The Exorcist), Bill Moseley (House of 1,000 Corpses), Jason Mewes (Clerks), Shannen Doherty (Charmed), Danielle Harris (several Halloween movies), as well as ghost hunters Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango, and many more. See a full list of guests here.

A complete event schedule can be found on Spooky Empire’s web site.