Welcome back to Scare Me! a weekly horror newsletter. Today, I’m in the midst of an unusually busy week so I’ll be communicating primarily in pictures.

When I first began interviewing collectors for Smithsonian Magazine, I thought, “Uh-oh.”

Collectors are some of the most fascinating people I’ve ever spoken with. Through the course of my reporting on the weird history / material culture beat, I met Tamagotchi collectors who’d been tracking the handheld game’s releases for decades. The Guiness World Record holder who possessed the planet’s largest collection of troll dolls. Even Mr. Pac Man himself! (Who, to this day, remains one of the loveliest sources I’ve ever connected with.)

I knew it was only a matter of time before I’d become a collector, too. By the time my horror hyperfixation set in, my fate was long since sealed.

I always love seeing other people’s collections, so today I’m sharing a few favorite treasures from my own horror hoard, ordered in ascending levels of weirdness and obscurity.

Thanks for reading Scare Me! Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up to receive a new edition every Thursday.

Every horror collector has a stash of DVDs somewhere, right? Mine are almost entirely thrifted or plucked from Half Price Books’ second-hand Criterion shelf. The only notable exception is my most recent purchase—the infamously terrifying made-for-TV adaptation of Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black, made available by the wonderful Vermont Movie Store.

I love Jacob’s Ladder, and I love Silent Hill—so much that I have a tattoo of the in-game strip club’s logo on my arm. Silent Hill 2’s soundtrack is one of the most beautifully moody scores I’ve ever heard, and I’ve probably listened to it 10,000 times while writing over the past few years. The remake’s soundtrack got a few updates, but the OG is still closest to my heart.

Movie posters are a classic collectible for a reason. I’d been browsing for a few months when this Hellraiser II teaser poster caught my eye. This picture hardly captures the size of it—it’s truly gigante, about 40’’ tall. I also loved that the eBay seller couldn’t bring themselves to swear and used a euphemism on the poster tube instead.

While writing up my recent interview with She Wore Black’s Agatha Andrews, I went down a rabbit hole looking into the mass market Dark Shadows novelizations she mentioned. If you haven’t seen this melodramatic, Gothic vampire soap, please do yourself a favor and binge an episode or twenty—I love it so, so much, and I always pick up Dark Shadows items when I see them. The 25th anniversary book is from Tacoma Book Center, and the DVD was $1 at my local library’s book sale.

My favorite artist painted one of my favorite horror movies, so how could I not pick up a print? Lisa Hanawalt is a painter, writer, diary comic author, showrunner, and (most famously) the art director behind Bojack Horseman. I’ve been a fan of her work for close to a decade, and profiling her for Vox remains an all-time career highlight. (Her then-partner Adam Conover even tweeted a screenshot of the cameo I wrote into the piece, which was a surreal moment.) Anyhow—her work is really special to me, and I love that she loves It Follows.

I have many, many books piled up around my house, but these three are the most obscure in my collection. Starting on the left, I have The Textbook of Fake Documentary written by Japanese director Kōji Shiraishi, whose chillingly authentic style made movies like Noroi: The Curse so upsetting to witness. The book offers advice for achieving fake authenticity, and it even includes a DVD!

In the middle, the true jewel of my library: A 113-year-old copy of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. This was my jaw-droppingly incredible birthday gift from Jack (my husband) this past year, and I recently posted a video that shows all the cool details.

Finally, my most recent acquisition: A 1965 mass market paperback The King in Yellow! This was another gift from Jack, who was truly on a roll last year. The cover art replicates the artwork featured on the novel’s first edition, which author Robert Chambers helped design. I normally read all the books I own, but this copy is so pristine that I’ll likely pick up a second copy that I can batter around without worrying about creasing it.

And finally: The silliest horror item I currently own! A fake ice cube from Saw III. These are actually pretty inexpensive and plentiful—the bowl next to Jigsaw’s bed was full of ‘em. Some might call this a movie prop, but according to my official certificate of authenticity it is a “relic.”

New Review: You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom by Vincent Tirado

I recently reviewed Vincent Tirado’s latest Gothic horror, which will be out next week on March 10! I enjoyed this twisty, ticking time bomb of a locked room mystery, and I way overshared in my introduction for this review. Enjoy!

Up Next: Wild Card!

As I mentioned up top, this past week has been an absolute whirlwind and I’m a few steps behind where I normally like to be. Next week’s newsletter will be a surprise to both of us!

Scare Me! is a free weekly horror newsletter published every Thursday morning. It’s written by Michelle Delgado, featuring original illustrations by Sam Pugh. You can find the archive of past issues here. If you were sent this by a friend, subscribe to receive more spooky interviews, essays—and maybe even a ghost story or two.

Reply

Avatar

or to participate

Keep Reading