Rides on display behind Denver tattoo shop That Scary Place, 7739 E. Colfax Ave, from May 11 to 13 had all the fixings: custom body work, miles of chrome, killer stereos and - uh - coffins. Lots of coffins.

The show was part of Hearse-Con 2007, held by the Denver Hearse Association. They're not the only game in town for grim gatherings of the automotive kind, but where other groups stick to the professional side of hearse ownership and the funeral biz, the DHA plays host to a crowd of all-age hobbyists who put a macabre spin on custom car culture.

Their annual convention, complete with belly dancers and fire shows, put out 18 hearses for show - everything from a cherry ambulance hearse to a winged behemoth with machine-gun mounts.

The owner of the latter, DHA founder Zachary Byron Helm, welcomes all types. "We like to make it open to everyone," he said. "The only real qualification is that you show up and have a good time. We've got people in our club in every walk of life."

They included Leo Branstetter, of Brighton, who deals in professional vehicles and brought his pristine ambulance, and Justin Rousselot, also of Brighton, whose current hearse, a 1984 Cadillac, was his eighth and an Easter present from his wife.

"There are a lot of car shows like this in other states," said Helm, "but the problem is that a lot of them are very inaccessible. They have very stringent rules where they don't allow caskets. They don't allow custom or modified paint jobs."

Such rules would have turned away Larry Blesch of Evansville, Ind. who came in his show-quality '57 Chevy custom hearse. The car, with custom engine guts and a coffin speakerbox in back, is likely a one-of-a-kind ride, as it was put together by defunct made-to-order hearse company National.

That kind of individuality goes a long way in the hearse subculture, which Helm compares to the lowrider scene. "When the lowrider people started out," he said, "that was a very big thing in Hispanic culture. They didn't necessarily have a lot of money to have really refined nice cars. A big part of how the lowrider scene started out was 'do what we can with what we have.' It's not the same as everyone else's but it's almost better because it's unique. Do it your way and to hell with everybody else."