Halloweentown

I went to Claudville, Virginia last Friday, driving past pumpkin fields, their harvests either very early for next Halloween or very late and hoping to catch up in a whole helluva lot of pies.

So there, right before me, I saw a sign: "Gothic Charms Witch Store," which apparently sold "Witchcraft, Voodoo, Palms Read, Holiday Magick Gifts."

I met the owner of the little shop, Bobby, who was cordial in his devil beard and jack o'lantern shirt. Really nice dude. He allowed me to question him extensively about his experiences with the shop. Turns out, he has been in business for 19 years. Being from Knoxville, I assumed he had issues with conservative rural folk. Turns out, he has apparently been politely accepted by the community. However, when he first opened, he operated under the names "Monster Museum" and "Vampire Museum," which somehow pissed off his neighbors, as his signs were assaulted with veggies and fruit. He changed the name to reflect witchcraft and pagan rituals, and the violence stops. Years later, he's prospering with his wife and enjoying the notoriety that comes with being a local celebrity. Bobby has been interviewed by radio station all over the United States and overseas. According to Bobby, only Pagans have issues with his museum and shop now. Remember that Pagans don't like to be lumped in with commercial Halloween.

When he was 6 years old, Bobby started watching Dark Shadows, The Munsters, and The Addams Family. He spent the next 40 years collecting items from the horror and science-fiction genres, with the emphasis being on film and television. He has the largest and most impressive collection of Famous Monsters Magazine I've ever seen. Come to think of it, I've never seen a Famous Monsters Magazine collection. I swear, I think I saw issues I had when I was a kid. It's not just anyone who can somehow manage to hang on to 46 years worth of memorabilia. Dog knows I lost a ton o' comics when the folks decided to clean house. I used to have a pretty impressive Starlog collection. I don't know where they went.

Bobby's house is the museum. I paid $5 and was granted the privilege of geeking out to toys I've not seen in 30 years or more. His home is a spazomodium overloaded freak-out of something like 7 rooms filled literally to capacity with books, posters, models, statues, toys, masks, magazines, and... and... I could go on and on and on.

I swear I saw a toy robot my aunt and uncle brought to me from Japan in the early '70s, which was the obvious prototype for Transformers, and Power Rangers and the like. Hell, he even had the obligitatory black cat.

I'm not sure if the black cat was part of the exhibition or not. Bobby and his wife live completely immersed in this world of horror and fantasy. I had assumed that at some point he may have had some supernatural experiences. Turns out, I was wrong. No, he just likes the genre. Go figure. Just when I think I can figure people out....

Hopefully, I will meet Bobby again. I'd like to conduct a more thorough interview. I do know that I continued to see new things, even as I was gawking at the sheer magnitude of things in the collection. I'm sure I didn't see it all.