Copyright M Live Michigan
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - At first glance, Alive Again looks like any other business in Grand Rapids’ Creston neighborhood. But through the shop door marked ‘Entrance to mortuary,’ customers are pulled into an era of 1980s horror. Upon walking in, customers are met with none other than a life-sized figure of Michael Myers from the 1978 slasher film, “Halloween.” Around the corner, Alive Again opens up to a second room with another figure of a Chucky doll, the main antagonist of the 1988 “Child’s Play” franchise. With dark colors of red and black, the space mimics a teenager’s bedroom from the 80s or 90s. The three separate rooms are filled to bursting with all things horror, complemented by movie posters taped to the walls and stickers and keychains laid out across display shelves. Owner Carl Crocker opened Alive Again in October 2024, to offer a new opportunity that’s not readily available to the Grand Rapids community. At his store, it’s kept creepy all year round. “It’s just something we don’t have in the area. There aren’t many around in the country, and horror movie memorabilia has been something I’ve been collecting for a long time,” he said. “The idea was just to open a store that catered to people like me who wanted access to more niche horror movies and things you don’t have to wait for, like other stores that do it seasonally around Halloween.” Crocker told MLive that while business picks up around Halloween, he emphasizes that it’s a horror store, not a seasonal Halloween shop. Alive Again specializes in horror movies, with thousands of titles available in various formats for VHS and Laserdisc collectors to Blu-ray and DVD enthusiasts. In addition to the 4,000-5,000 movies in stock at any given time, Alive Again offers approximately 700 horror paperbacks, posters and autographed trinkets. Prices range from $20 to $100, depending on the release and box set. Some rare tapes in the collection are worth $500 now because of their scarcity, Crocker said. “I’ve got lots of rare releases, autographs from people like Ari Lehman, who played Jason Voorhees in the very first ‘Friday the 13th’, and things like a Jeepers Creepers mask that was made for the actual movie in 2001,” he told MLive. Beyond the merchandise, Crocker says his favorite aspect of the business is his interactions with customers. Since he grew up in the 80s, when video store rentals were how people watched movies, the horror section was always his favorite. Now, at 45, he’s able to connect with customers who share his passion for the genre, whether they’re his age or in their 20s. “It’s fun because they want to hear all about it and what it was like back then when these movies were new, whereas today, they read about movies on the internet,” Crocker said. “Back then, we did it by going to the video store and talking to the clerk or flipping through the pages of Fangoria to find out what new horror movies were coming out.” Although he said he doesn’t remember the first horror movie that got him hooked on the genre, he does remember staying up late on the weekends as a kid to watch low-budget horror movies on the USA Network. He wants to bring that same excitement of staying up late watching spooky movies to today’s generation. When asked about what makes his store unique, Crocker emphasized its specialized focus. “It’s a great resource for younger collectors because I lived through the time period,” Crocker said about Alive Again. “It’s the fact that I specifically cater to the horror crowd. There are a couple of other places that sell physical media and movies, but they are kind of broad. I really do focus just on horror and horror adjacent.” The hours of operation for Alive Again are from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
