So, if that first post didn’t intrigue you, hopefully this one will.
When Adam and I returned to the sale yesterday, I was determined to take home some of the artwork there, and was also convinced that Erin must have missed something incredibly creepy when she was looking through these flat files of drawings by the house’s resident artiste. To reduce confusion and also preserve anonymity, let’s call him James.
James appears to have been obsessed with a character that reappears in his artwork, bearing a striking resemblance to the Iron Man mask. He would draw this dude A LOT, but he also loved taking magazine ads and changing the face to the Iron Man face, and then photocopying it so it looked “legit.” This is by far the creepiest example:
Looks like… a scene from The Strangers? These people are clearly about to go torture and kill something innocent. They are not just chillin’ on a farm for fun.
Here’s another example, further illustrating James’ love for all things creepy:
Also not creepy at all is the “Umbrella-O-Hatchets”… I think I’ll add that to my Amazon Wishlist next Christmas.
Oh, you’re not creeped out yet, you say? How about some “Headibles”?…
Evidently, this face he’s obsessed with is a “head prosthesis”:
Even the cover of the portfolio holding all of these drawings together was the head prosthesis man:
So amidst all of this freaky shit, was this drawing:
Yes, that’s Pee Wee Herman.
Also, I found these pictures, which appear to be photocopies of James wearing some sort of latex garb with his face smashed against the copier glass. Totally normal, NBD.
If you’re feeling too creeped out right now, don’t worry, it gets funny. He also drew a picture of a naked lady with green skin, a purple mullet, and a really bad headache:
This sale is the sale that will go down in history as the gift that keeps on giving. I don’t think I’ve ever found so much stuff that raises so many questions… And the one thing I haven’t even shared with Erin yet is that I also purchased a binder at the sale that is full of hand-written notes and letters that look to be the mother’s (the homeowner)… we’ll save those for a rainy day.
So, to wrap things up… there is still more solving to do in this mystery. I haven’t given up trying to track down James and figure out what he’s up to these days.
-Sarah
Update: James has been found! … and see Part Three for the end of the saga…
This Baldelli ceramic lion bank was one of only two purchases I made at the House of Horrors on Friday. He is mid century modern style and handmade in Italy. I bought him because I saw someone else trying to sell a similar one on eBay for $130. I paid $35 for him and will try to sell him soon. For now, he is watching over his kingdom from atop our mantle.
-Erin
So you were teased, and unfortunately, you’re sort of going to be teased again. This is going to have to be a two-part post–there is too much to cover in one.
We hit the road on Friday with all of the necessary supplies to keep Erin healthy:
Look at Fluffer, watching over her.
Right when we departed, we noticed a sign for an estate sale that was not in our regular listings. We both began chanting, “Secret Sale! Secret Sale!” as if this is something we always shout when we find surprise sales. It’s not–we just both did it. Obviously this is proof that we are true BFFs.
We thought the secret sale was going to be a great way to start the day, but it ended up just having a bunch of overpriced furniture and old garbage. I purchased some wrapping paper for fifty cents. I wanted these small cat dishes but they were priced $25 for four. I asked the seller why they were so expensive and she said, “Because they’re old…” Uhm… that doesn’t mean they’re worth anything, lady. We got on with our day and went to another really disappointing sale. I got some square dancing records. Erin got a whole load of nothing.
Finally, we were on our way to the most promising looking sale of the day. We were really excited for this one because it looked packed, and like there was a lot of different kinds of stuff in the house. This sale was put on by the crabby ladies that Erin mentioned in her post about the antique cigar stand. These ladies like to make things really overpriced, but they often have sales in “digger” type houses. Adam was particularly pumped for this one because they had a bunch of Star Wars stuff, a Galaga cabinet (apparently this is the holy grail of video game cabinets), and tons of comic books. He sent me a list of items to look out for.
The house itself looked perfectly normal from the outside, but little did we know that there were mysteries and mild horrors awaiting us inside.
At first it just seemed like a regular older lady’s house. She clearly liked cats and other animals–there were lots of cat-themed items. She had a lot of books and jewelry. However, when we went upstairs, things changed.
When I got up there, I found Erin taking pictures of something in the corner of a room that was absolutely packed with stuff and other people. There were so many people and so much stuff in the space that at first I didn’t even notice the insanely weird shit around me. As it turns out, Erin was taking a picture of this:
And this…
…along with the creepy sculptures pictured in yesterday’s post. Here they are again:
The entire upstairs of this home was a mishmash of three-dimensional art, drawings and paintings, comic books, magazine clippings, and records. All of this was mixed with Christmas decorations and miscellaneous household items. After hearing the sellers talk more about the home and its owner, Erin and I found out that all of the sculptures and other artwork was created by the woman’s son, who was obsessed with Elvira. Apparently, the woman who lived there just never cleaned up or moved any of her son’s stuff, so it was as if the rooms were sort of stuck in this permanent time warp. It was weird–it was like the kid left one day and never came back, and his mom only went upstairs to store her belongings amidst his. The owner of the estate sale company said that the son now lives in California, and that he went to “that fancy art school.” I’ve been googling him for an hour and haven’t been able to find any info….
Anyway, there was a TON of his artwork in the house, mixed in with a lot of his personal collections of wacky stuff. He seemed to be into Robotech, Star Wars, comic books, Dragonlance, and naked ladies. Here’s one that he actually drew on the wall of that same room with the weird sculptures:
I called Adam and told him we’d need to go back the next day, because there was too much there for me to sort through. Not all of it was creepy (but…uh…most of it was)–for instance, check out this little guy. He almost looks like he’d be on Sesame Street:
I didn’t end up with anything too interesting or valuable, but I did end up with a new cool magnet. I also bought some old Rolling Stone magazines and some Tente blocks that I thought were Legos because apparently both Erin and I can’t read. Adam told me they’re not valuable. However, it seems like decent sized lots of them sell for about 60 bucks on eBay so I hope I prove him wrong.
The best part of the sculpture/creature story is that when Adam and I returned to the sale today, I was convinced that they’d be gone by the time we got there. I saw some hipsters walking out with some of the artwork when we pulled up today. But as it turns out, not only were all of the sculptures still there, but right before we left, a totally normal dad and his three daughters and wife were looking at those creepy dudes, debating on whether or not to buy them. The dad wanted them for Halloween, but he told me he was worried that they might be possessed.
Tomorrow, I’ll post more pictures and info about the artwork that I purchased when we went back today. It is REALLY crazy so stay tuned.
I think Erin is also planning on posting more about her purchases at this sale tomorrow, after she pumps herself full of antibiotics and Vicodin cough syrup.
-Sarah
Update: See Part Two for more creepy craziness.
Here’s a teaser pic for a longer blog entry forthcoming. We went to the most EPIC house today. Can’t you tell?
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One of my favorite things to find at sales besides vintage wrapping paper are vintage greeting cards. I have LOTS, and will one day post a picture of my organization system for them. When I find a ton of them, I typically will ask the seller if I can just buy the entire group of them–especially if they’re loose. Then, I go home and sort through them, keeping the good ones and donating or recycling the bad or damaged.
As you’d probably imagine, most estate sales are in the homes of recently deceased elderly folks. And they tend to have a LOT of get well cards. This makes sense, because the older you get, the more your health tends to decline, so all your peeps need to receive cheerful messages to help brighten their day.
However, some of these get well cards are really weird. Here’s an example:
Now, I’m just going to say… that smoking man is only going to make whatever is ailing the person worse. Who wants to inhale cigar smoke while they’re getting better (even if it is while a piano is being played in your honor, and with a mug of the finest ale)?
Also, this post is dedicated to Erin, who is under the weather. I hope she grows a pair tonight, and then takes some extra strength Tylenol, brings her water bottle, and bundles up so we can get on with our day tomorrow. We’ve been looking forward to the treasures that await us all week!
-Sarah
Well, you win some you lose some. My investment on the matchbooks ended up being a good one. That said, Sarah totally jinxed me in her earlier post when she announced that people pay mad cash for quilting magazines. I guess only sometimes they do. To be honest, I’m just glad they sold so I don’t have to start a quilting hobby, or a campfire hobby. -Erin
I saw this weird looking thing hiding behind a pile of old clothes at an estate sale. It is way heavier than it looks, but I managed to lug it downstairs to the cash-out area. The woman running this particular sale was obviously having a bad day. She was on a cellphone while simultaneously yelling at a buyer who asked for a discount. There was no price on this item I was holding, so I almost put it back just so I wouldn’t have to deal with this woman. As I was about to, a man came running in from outside, yelling and cursing over everyone. Like really really loud, and really angrily. He was a neighbor and someone had parked in his driveway.
I was in hell, but something told me to hold onto this item. It seemed unique, and turns out it is. The piece is actually a smoking stand. The top tray holds an ashtray, and is removable for cleaning. The inside chest is all copper and works as a humidor for cigars. SO COOL. I bought it for $40 since Zach is a cigar smoker and I thought it would look cool in his office.
I looked these up on ebay and they seem to be pretty valuable. Anywhere between $100-$400. We don’t plan to sell it anytime soon, but maybe one day I can sell it and buy a bunch of Hugga Bunches.
-Erin
Erin already knows this, but one of the things I love most about estate sales is finding items from my childhood that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Like this Taco Bell “Hugglet” from the ‘80s (with the tag still attached, inside the baggie it originally came in!) You can read more about Hugga Bunch dolls and Hugglets and as well purchase some for your own collection on this crazy person’s (not me) website. Here’s a picture of Fluffer.
Since finding him in August, he has been clipped to the passenger visor of my car, protecting it from evildoers. I briefly thought that rubbing his gold diaper would give Erin and I good luck at the casino but it didn’t work.
-Sarah
Update from Erin: When I first saw this baby Hugga Bunch I thought it was the worst. After a long car ride home with it though, it kind of grew on me. If you close one eye and hold it kind of far out in your hand, it is pretty cute.