WVWC Professor Invited to Show West Virginia Cryptids at Universal Studios’ Gaming Community Expo – West Virginia Wesleyan College

BUCKHANNON, West Virginia – A West Virginia Wesleyan College professor might be touring with some unusually massive baggage this week after being invited by Gaming Community Expo (GCX), hosted by Universal Studios, to show a number of the West Virginia cryptids on the occasion, which attracts about 10,000 avid gamers yearly.

Dr. Greg Popovich – who obtained this yr’s Distinguished Faculty Award from the senior class – is an Associate Professor of Exercise Science and Athletic Training with an affinity for all issues cryptid and Halloween.

His newest undertaking together with his associate Dr. Kristy Henson is Dr. Jekyll’s Institute of Monster Studies. The pair are co-founders, and Henson is curator. Currently a pop-up museum, the aim is to have a house base opening in early 2027.

These creations don’t slot in carry-on and even checked baggage. The life-size Mothman, Grafton Monster, and newest creation – Snallygaster – will have to be pushed to Florida in a relatively massive car.

“We are fortunate to have procured a grant through the Arts Entrepreneurship for Individual Artists, and that is through the West Virginia Department of Tourism and the National Endowment for the Arts,” Popovich stated. “We will be renting a large van to aid in transportation. The grant will be used to cover travel up and down the East Coast to a variety of events throughout the next year. Other destinations include Louisville, Kentucky and Nashville, Tennessee.”

“I am so excited,” he stated. “I was raised on classic Universal monsters  – watching those films was such a tradition and bonding experience for my dad and me. Just the idea of being a novice and so new to creating these things and having the opportunity to show my wares at an event this large is mindboggling, and to have a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts makes it all the sweeter.”

Over the previous few years, Popovich has traveled across the state with cryptid builds.

“Monsters always had a special allure for me, and Halloween was always my favorite holiday,” he stated whereas the mammoth Grafton Monster loomed within the background. “During the pandemic, I had some extra time on my hands and started getting more ambitious with some of these projects. That culminated in my first couple of creature builds.  Once those made their public debuts, I found myself being invited to various festivals and other events.”

“This year, we will have a central display at the Mothman Festival,” he added.  “I accidentally became a Cryptid ambassador for the state of West Virginia  – it would appear. Cryptids are the new coal.”

At GCX, the museum’s half-dozen or so builds will reside throughout the Fallout Xperience’s immersive sales space weaving the connection between gaming and cryptids.

“For the gaming community – the connection is that a lot of these creatures are featured in video games, particularly Fallout76, which is set in West Virginia,” Popovich stated. “That is how a lot of people are familiar with these characters.”

In the midst of making the Grafton Monster, Popovich discovered a pageant was being deliberate and supplied his creation for the pageant in June 2024.

“That is how I became the de facto Grafton Monster for the state,” he stated.

This construct, made out of upholstery foam, took roughly 500 hours and the costume has undergone repairs since then.

“Most of the things I design are to tolerate bad weather,” he stated. “Most of the builds are pretty forgiving and pretty resilient and that makes it more enjoyable for people to touch them. Cryptids are absolutely fascinating. They are of the people, by the people and for the people. These are our stories and our folklore. West Virginians own this.”

Grafton Monster was named within the high 10 Creature designs of 2025 by the Stan Winston School of Character Arts.

“Yesterday, we put on a workshop for children at a theater camp sponsored by Augusta,” Popovich stated. “The children asked me if I wanted to scare people with monsters. No. My goal is for people to love and adore monsters. As a physical therapist by training, one of my missions is to teach children that just because someone or something looks differently, moves differently, or speaks differently than you do should not be cause for concern. With the end goal that humans are more accepting of others who are different than themselves.”

The newest, Sally the Snally, is a prop made out of spray foam as an alternative of a dressing up, however nonetheless ended up being twice as huge as initially deliberate.

The Halloween traditions and now cryptids assist unexpectedly enrich Popovich’s lessons with college students wanting ahead to the enjoyable and creativity.

“Every year, I host Halloween parties for my nutrition classes,” he stated.

One yr, Popovich had not put as a lot effort and time into his costume, and a pupil inspired him to not take it simple as a result of they look ahead to it a lot. Another alum returned to campus to shock him in the course of the Halloween social gathering.

“If it is the most memorable part of what I do as a professor, then I would say I am just happy to be remembered,” he stated.

Many individuals ask how Popovich does this, since he’s an train science professor and never an artwork professor.

“Both my girlfriend and I have backgrounds in anatomy, and that’s a great foundation for sculpting because monsters are largely a corruption of anatomy,” he stated. “Being a physical therapist helps me understand joint alignments and movement when designing costumes. To me, all these things are inextricably linked. They’re not distinctly separate at all.”

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN COLLEGE
West Virginia Wesleyan College (WVWC) is a non-public, four-year residential liberal arts and sciences faculty in Buckhannon, West Virginia. A convention of excellence for 135 years, West Virginia Wesleyan is house to 14 Fulbright Scholars. The Princeton Review ranked Wesleyan as one among its 2026 Best Colleges within the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States. U.S. News & World Report’s 2026  Best College Rankings designated Wesleyan second in Best Value – Regional Universities (South). WVWC presents college students practically 60 majors and 40 minors; graduate applications in athletic coaching, enterprise administration, inventive writing, nursing and counseling; 22 NCAA Division II athletic applications; a number of performing arts teams; and greater than 50 organizations. Founded in 1890, the College is carefully affiliated with the United Methodist Church and abides by the Wesley doctrine that emphasizes service to others. For extra info, go to wvwc.edu.