After experiencing the magic that Half Price Books had to offer in Dallas, I was wondering if that level of excitement could be eclipsed by any other store in America.
Along the way I was lucky enough to visit such places as Rocket Video (Las Vegas), Amoeba Music (Los Angeles) and Powell's Books (Portland) to name but a few. Unfortunately, Rocket Video was more rental orientated, with only a few VHS actually available for general sale. Amoeba on the other hand was two floors of geeky goodness that I had great pleasure in running around.
Powell's Books was probably the only place that gave Half Price Books a run for its money (see previous blog). If you're ever fortunate enough to visit one, go upstairs to the Pearl Room and find the Film & TV section. There you will see some of the most obscure books on the planet. I've been looking for most of them myself for years. Titles like 'The Art of the Video Nasty' (Got), 'Nightmare USA' (Need), 'Portable Grindhouse' (Got), 'Psychotronic Video Guide' (Need), to name a few. You could spend hours inside.
Along the way on this trip, a few people were telling me about another store: Scarecrow Video in Seattle. And this, my friends, is where my mind was totally unlocked to the idea that anything is possible. It's all out there, all you gotta do is take it!
There is no entrance fee to pass through the pearly gates (Lord knows there should be). The only thing you need to take with you is a smile, Simon and I had that in abundance. In fact, by the end of our shopping spree we looked like Jocelyn Wildenstein impersonators.
As you walk through the doors of Scarecrow Video, it instantly transports you back to the days when video rental was at its glorious peak. Imagine your favourite rental shop from your childhood and then imagine if it was nine times the size; that's the power of Scarecrow Video. Scarecrow has two floors and countless rooms filled with the most obscure video titles, most of which are unavailable on DVD and I hadn't even heard of some of them. It's like an alternative history of cinema.
All of the films are expertly arranged into alphabetical order and separated by their genre. You can look for Zombie films, Vampire films and you can even look for Psychotronic films. There are sections downstairs which are sorted by Directors, and some by language. You have to see it to believe it. They even have binders listing every movie in the store by the entrance to each room.
The guy behind the desk was so helpful, as were all of the staff there. We had a little chat about Viva VHS and I got some great freebies in the process. I purchased a few VHS tapes, a shirt and an amazing poster of Race With the Devil, which will look unbelievable in my movie room. I'm pretty sure it's an original print too, in fact i'm sure of it.
I cannot recommend Scarecrow Video enough to anyone. It blew my mind and I didn't want to leave. From now on, i'll no longer see a Scarecrow as just some weedy little dude from The Wizard Of Oz, or some corn field killer from a classic movie. To me, the Scarecrow is so much more!
Scarecrow Video is located at 5030 Roosevelt Way Northeast, Seattle, WA 98105. You can visit their website at http://www.scarecrow.com and follow them on Twitter.
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