Horny Spock
This happened in ‘75 or ‘76. It was a small convention, the sort I always preferred because there could be a real group bond that formed, with harmless shenanigans and in-jokes and no sleep, and laughter all weekend long. It was like being in college again – except with your 50 best friends, and without classes or responsibilities.
I cannot remember the origin of Horny Spock, only that he was an 8-inch action figure that someone had glued a plastic Valkyrie hat onto, so that he had horns. At some point he also lost his clothes, and was wearing only his plastic molded briefs and his knee-high black boots.
Horny Spock had many adventures at a couple of conventions I’m remembering, and a number of games grew up around him in an evolving, organic sort of way. At one point there was an elaborate tag game going, whereby you tried not to be “gifted” Horny Spock when you were not looking – in your purse, in your bed – because if you did you had to contribute to The Book of Horny Spock Chronicles (think Letters to Penthouse, Star Trek edition). Then word went round and you had to READ YOUR ENTRY ALOUD to the standing-room only crowd in the organizers room.
On the evening I’m remembering, there were a bunch of us in the organizers’ room when the person currently in posession of the doll stuck her head in and half-shouted over the din, “Has anyone seen Horny Spock? I think I left him in here.” And Jimmy Doohan – whom she hadn’t noticed – boomed back, in full Scotty brogue, “Have ye checked the captain’s room?”
Scotty knew.