Hello RegionConners! Just a quick rumor-quash at the end of your workweek — our forums were recently buzzing like crazy about this, and both posts referenced a story about how Old Man Hoff was found hanged in the second floor Convention Center utility closet, which is why the carpet is stained in front of the door. This led to at least one potential attendee being concerned about invoking some kind of supernatural wrath.
First of all, there is no “Old Man Hoff!” The Convention Center is actually named for Edwin Hoff, a noted philanthropist and speaker. Mr. Hoff is alive and well, having tried for the past four years to block RegionCon from showing at the Hoff Convention Center.
And second, the stain on the carpet is dog blood, as attendees of RegionCon 2011 well remember. A stray mutt had wandered into the exhibit hall the night before we opened — even pups can’t resist RegionCon because it’s so doggone good!
The animal suffered a massive hemorrhage and bled out according to responding nuisance wildlife control officers.
So don’t cancel those tickets! RegionCon will be safe, hygienic fun for the whole family — and decidedly ghost-free.
UPDATE: The forum thread about the Hoff Convention Center being haunted was apparently a joke.