For years, The Walking Dead fans eagerly attended Walker Stalker Conventions to meet their favorite stars. However, behind the scenes, financial mismanagement and unmet promises led to a cascade of issues, leaving many fans disillusioned.
The Meteoric Rise and Sudden Collapse
Launched in 2013 by Tennessee lawyer James Frazier, Walker Stalkers, LLC Walker Stalker Con quickly became a global phenomenon, hosting events across North America and Europe. At its peak in 2017, the company reportedly generated over $11 million in revenue. The conventions offered fans the chance to interact with actors from The Walking Dead and other popular shows, creating a unique fan experience.
However, by 2019, cracks began to appear. Events were abruptly canceled or rescheduled, often with little notice. Promised celebrity appearances were withdrawn, and attendees found themselves without the experiences they had paid for. Complaints flooded the Better Business Bureau, highlighting issues such as unfulfilled refunds and lack of communication. In a 2019 article that documented the mounting drama, the Atlanta Journal Constitution even referenced customers accusing Frazier of running a Ponzi scheme.
Legal Repercussions and Leadership Changes
In response to the mounting complaints, the Tennessee Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Walker Stalkers, LLC and James Frazier in February 2020. The lawsuit claimed that the company failed to refund consumers for canceled events and misrepresented the nature of its offerings.
Amidst the legal turmoil, Frazier stepped down from his role in October 2019, expressing a desire to restore faith in the company. Despite this leadership change, the company's reputation continued to suffer. Just one year later in October 2020, Frazier jumped ship entirely.
Attempts at Redemption and Ongoing Challenges
In December 2022, a settlement was reached requiring Walker Stalkers, LLC and Frazier to issue refunds to affected consumers. The agreement stipulated that proceeds from future events would be used to reimburse those owed money. However, the effectiveness of this restitution plan remains uncertain. Even 3 years later, there has been no official update on how many (or if any) of the fans ever received compensation.
While the official Walker Stalker website and social media channels remain active, no new events have been confirmed. The company's future remains in limbo, and the fan community continues to grapple with the fallout from its decline.
A Little Research Can Go A Long Way
If there’s one lesson worth holding onto from all this, it’s a simple one: learn who’s organizing the event!
Before ever committing to tickets, do your research. Start with third-party review sites like the Better Business Bureau, where you can often find a trail of past complaints and consumer resolution history. But don’t stop there. Online forums like Reddit are increasingly useful for real-world accounts from fellow fans. Subreddits that are dedicated to specific fandoms or events often reveal red flags well before they hit mainstream news.
If you don’t think doing the right research about an event organizer is all that important, let us remind you about Fyre Festival. This infamous 2017 fiasco was meant to be a “luxury music experience,” co-organized by a young investor and a well known music artist. Promoted by influencers and backed by slick marketing, Fyre Festival raked in more than $26 million from customers and investors. Event attendees had plenty of time to wonder where all that money went after finding themselves stranded in the Bahamas without food, shelter, or performances.
So while we agree that Fyre Festival is an outlier, the underlying lesson is universal: great branding can easily mask catastrophic planning.
Final Thoughts
Let’s say you learned about the event organizers and they seem okay. You’re ready to get those sweet, sweet tickets. That’s great – we’re totally behind you. But just keep a few more things in mind before completing the purchase.
First, make sure you’re using secure payment methods. If it’s feasible, use a credit card instead of your debit card. That way, you and your money will be protected if anything goes sideways. Next, make sure you read and understand the event’s cancellation and refund policies. Finally, just try and stay informed. Monitor official communications and news outlets for updates on events and potential issues.
In the end, whether it’s zombies or music festivals, the real horror story is handing over your money without knowing who’s behind the curtain.
