Horrorbles, which relocated to downtown Berwyn last month (6729 Stanley), may be the world’s finest museum of horror-movie memorabilia. Except for one thing: everything there is for sale. Owner John Aranza has amassed a vast collection—purchased from collectors or acquired at auction—that ranges from sculptures of Boris Karloff to 3D glasses from the original 1954 run of Creature From the Black Lagoon to hockey masks worn by Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th series (and signed by Kane Hodder, the actor who played him). There’s also a large assortment of DVDs, a complete run of Famous Monsters magazine, and an original comic book called Haunting Tales of Horrorbles.
But maybe the most impressive piece is a collection of splinters and rocks and bits of landscape from the house where the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre was shot, all encased in glass tubes like saints’ relics and handsomely displayed in a triangular shadow box.
“They moved the house [from Round Rock to Kingsland, Texas] and reconstructed it into a bed-and-breakfast,” says assistant manager and unofficial docent Matt Wilberg. “It’s so weird. I’d totally go.”
The display sells for $150, which is an excellent deal if you factor in the custom frame job.