Unless you’ve been stuck under a tombstone you probably heard by now that Robert Englund, (a.k.a. Freddy) is the guest of honour at this year’s Festival of Fear. One of the most iconic faces in modern horror, Freddy has slashed and ripped his way through the nightmares of teens since 1984. Though he’s known for his dapper hat and razor fingers it’s his burned up visage that remains seared in our brains.

But other than Englund himself Steve Bellamy has probably spent more time staring at Freddy then, well, anyone. The founder of horror and superhero mask company The Devils Latex, Bellamy started making masks when he got bored giving guitar lessons in his spare time. Turns out he was pretty good at it. A staple of FanExpo, his booth always draws in passerbys, like ten year old Carson who succinctly noted: “You got a ton of cool masks.”

Each Freddy mask has a nickname since for licensing reasons they aren’t really Freddy but “burnt masks that by coincidence look exactly like Robert Englund.” The prices range from $70 to $120 “depending on how many burn holes need airbrushing” but are worth their weight in latex.

As we left the booth to wander on we asked Bellamy if he ever got sick of staring at Freddy. His answer was instantaneous: “Never.”

And don’t forget! Tonight the Toronto Underground Cinema will be screening A Nightmare on Elm St 3: Dream Warriors followed by a Q&A with Robert Englund.