Please read below, our policies for accessibility, harassment, privacy, and covid/ health.
Covid Policy
*Our public health policy and the ongoing Covid pandemic (updated 12 July 2022, by Niels Hobbs, convention director):
PLEASE READ THIS>
The Covid pandemic, which has killed millions of people over the past two years, is still a threat. New variants may be becoming less dangerous on average (though the evidence is still very much being gathered), per case, but are also far more transmissible and infectious. On the balance, that means that Covid is still a threat, especially for a convention that prides itself on being international. There are plenty of folks who are “done with covid” but we simply can’t take that approach. It would be grossly irresponsible of us. We’ve already skipped one year out of a basic sense of caution and it was a very real possibility we cancelled this year again. The ONLY reason we decided to move forward with this year is because we felt we could be responsible enough and respectful of ALL attendees and guests wishes and best interests. I realize that some are inconvenienced by many of the standard health policies related to Covid, and surely we’re all sick of it. But, let me be VERY CLEAR: I will not have it on my conscience to have ANYone get sick at NecronomiCon – or, equally plausible, bring something home with them to get family-members and loved-ones sick (or worse) – without us at least doing what we fairly can to minimize this and simply enact some basic sensible precautions that are minimal and proven effective.
The bottom line is NecronomiCon could very easily not have happened this year and maybe it shouldn’t have happened at all. But, too many of us have really longed for this. So, in the spirit of holding our dearly missed gathering, with risks minimized as much as we can sensibly do, I ask you all to understand and respect our policy here. If you feel uncomfortable with this, please refer to our refund policy. For those who’ve been deeply concerned by our thin policy, I sincerely apologize and hope this provides some degree of ease.
So, to cut to the chase, here are the things we’re doing and requiring to minimize risk and maximize reward for NecronomiCon 2022, so that we may more likely have a 2024 convention:
1. By attending this event you assume the risk of being exposed to COVID-19.
2. We are requiring mask-wearing for ALL attendees, guests, and staff while indoors and will make KN95 masks readily available. The only exceptions to this, apart from being outside, is for speakers or presenters who are distanced from their audience, or staff who need to be clearly heard and are also distanced. The only other exception will be during the very few events where eating or drinking will occur – though we’ve decreased the capacity for such events.
Masks are well-documented to be effective (though not perfect) at decreasing the spread of Covid in all its variants. Given the rate at which variants are overcoming other tactics (vaccines and testing), we feel very comfortable requiring this one small thing of all our attendees – balancing what some might view as the inconvenience of masking with the far greater worry of risk of causing serious sickness and death.
3. We are distancing and decreasing room capacities, placing fewer panelists on the dais, and having fewer players in games.
4. We will provide visible stickers for folks who wish to show how comfortable they are with proximity to others.
5. We are still strongly recommending vaccinations for all attendees, guests, and staff – but recognize there are some valid reasons for exception to this. We also recognize that vaccines aren’t foolproof against Covid, but they still help your (and our collective) odds greatly, even if you’ve already contracted Covid and have some resulting immunity.
6. Rapid testing is also still recommended, PCR testing all the more so. Rapids aren’t as effective, given the current variants, but we do recommend folks continue to test before traveling, as recommended by CDC/WHO and required by many travel and international agencies.
We understand that even the wearing of masks may be unacceptable for some. We’d rather make this a safer event and welcome you back in 2024 where, hopefully, sch policies are not necessary. Personal inconvenience is a small price to pay for public health.
Let’s all work together to make it as likely as we can that this is all behind us by the time we get to 2024!
“May such epidemicks be few & far between!” – HPL to Frank Belknap Long, 20 February 1929
Accessibility Policy
NecronomiCon Providence strives to be welcoming of all member of the Weird community, regardless of ability, and plans all our events to be as physically inclusive as possible. We consider this inclusivity to be an important part of our convention’s success, and value any feedback on this matter.
Harassment Policy
At its core, NecronomiCon Providence is an academic conference (wrapped in a festival) which encourages open discussion and healthy, respectful dialogue, and seeks to consider all views on a matter, with no sacred cows (including Lovecraft). It is also a place that is determined to be welcoming of all fans and practitioners of Weird fiction, art, and academia – regardless of ethnicity, creed, religious background, political background (barring Nazis – they can GTFO), gender and sexual identity or orientation, fandom, etc.
We do not tolerate harassment in any form. This includes, but is not limited to: physical assault, verbal harassment, sexual harassment, stalking, unwanted physical contact, unwanted advances, or inappropriate photography (i.e. where the subject feels they are being stalked, exploited, degraded, or disrespected).
Harassment is defined by the victim.
If it is determined – either by observation or by complaint – that an individual or group has harassed another attendee, any or all of the following things may occur:
That individual or group may be:
1. Warned to cease the harassing behavior;
2. Asked to leave the convention, or;
3. Banned from the convention outright.
For your own safety, if you feel that you are being harassed please report your problems to us as soon as possible. If you cannot find a staff, crew, or volunteer member to assist you, please go to the information desks located near registration or near the entrance to the various convention rooms. Please report to us before taking matters into your own hands (such as personally confronting the aggressor).
(WITH HUMBLE APOLOGIES, we acknowledge largely stealing much of this well-stated text and spot-on policy from Denver Comic Con)
In short:
The greater Weird Community (Lovecraftian, Magical Realism, Cosmic Horror, etc, etc) is a small but growing one, and we work hard to make our corner of it one that is inclusive of all. It is crucial that all guests and attendees treat each other with the same respect and deference with which we’d all individually like to be treated.
In other words, BE NICE, or we’ll feed you to the shoggoths in the basement of the Biltmore!
Privacy Policy
We do not share your emails or information with any third parties. We use your email and information internally to share information with you about our events. We use third party tools such as Eventbrite (to sell tickets) and mailchimp (to send out emails). This site may use cookies and Google Analytics to analyze our design and effectiveness of content.
Please note that your presence at the convention may subject you to photography or videography by our staff, attendees, and press journalists or filmmakers.