Ghostbusters fan sets up first European convention

Edward Parsons, otherwise known as EctoCrank, was behind the event in Glasgow celebrating the 1984 classic.

Known as Ecto-Con, roughly 650 fans saw faces attached to the franchise, including the 1984 film, a voice actor for the cartoon series, and even an 80s Marvel comic artist.

The 35-year-old, from Ipswich, said: "Sony put on a Ghostbusters convention in 2019 in California which I went to, and as so often is the case, America has so many things that we don't, so when I got home, I thought we need something like that here.

"So I contacted Sony but they had little interest, but as long as we weren't using the Ghostbusters branded name, they were happy with us doing something."

Left to Right: Eldo Ray Estas, Jennifer Runyon and EctoCrank (Image: Ecto-Con)

At the convention was Jennifer Runyon, who plays opposite Bill Murray in a scene at the beginning of the film, and Eldo Ray Estas who appears at the end of the film.

There was also Laura Summer who voiced Janine in 'The Real Ghostbusters' cartoon series and Martin Griffiths, who was a comic book artist for Marvel in the 80s working on titles including Transformers, Doctor Who and Ghostbusters.

During the event, Ed met a young fan, George Hinkins, who made a Make A Wish video expressing his love for Ghostbusters.

Ed said on his Instagram: "His enthusiasm for Ghostbusters is infectious" and as such, was given a pair of official Ghostbusters glasses in honour of his favourite character Ray Stantz.

Ed and his fellow organisers decided to give all profits from the event away to the Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity, which they reckon to be in the region of £10,000.

'EctoCrank' is very big in the Ghostbusters community and has even been invited to premieres, including the European premiere of 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' starring Paul Rudd in 2021.

Ed hopes to bring the event to Colchester in 2024 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of the film.