The Video Store!

There is this small store in my hometown called "Ferragine" (pronounced fair-oj-in-E) that use to rent VHS tapes and older games for Nintendo and Sega back in the mid to late 90s. Currently, as far as I know, it is just a spa that's only open from spring until the end of summer where you can get a fresh tan and I think buy swimming pool supply as well. Anyways, I got word about a month ago from a friend of mine who works there that they still have their stock of VHS tapes. Not only did they still have them, they were for sale! And at 25 cents a pop, how could I resist? Well, I didn't. I had to check this out immediately!

Now, this place isn't one I'm unfamiliar with. This use to be my go to shop, out of the three in the area I grew up in when I was a kid. I remember going with friends and renting Beavis and Butthead, Earthworm Jim, and Mutant League Football for Sega Genesis almost every chance we could get, along with whatever movies we felt like picking out to watch. Countless Friday nights and summer days had been spent looking through those isles of VHS heaven. I never imagined I'd be back there some 20 years later basically doing the same thing.

When you get to the store, there isn't any obvious sign that they were a video rental place at all and I can't remember that being much different when it was a rental place now that I think about it. As I walked in, it felt almost like I was back in the 90’s. Not much at all was really different about it minus some random tanning bed equipment that was in the way of a few isles. They still had some old movie posters on the walls; It's almost like I picked up right where I left off the last time I was there.

When I say this place has a lot of tapes, I mean it. Balls to the wall full of tapes! No DVDs in sight. I believe they quit renting before DVDs became a thing. They also sold out of their video game stuff pretty fast back when they announced they weren't going to rent out anymore. With all that was missing, they did have the most beautiful selection of horror I think I've ever seen. I remember being somewhat terrified as a kid to even go as far as to look down the dead end isle where the horror tapes rested. But this was a real treat this time! I assumed that I'd find the typical stuff like Friday the 13th, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre.... but, no. There wasn't any of the common slasher variety at all. It was the complete opposite. I found titles like Popcorn, Street Trash, The Stuff, Bloody Birthday, Chopping Mall, C.H.U.D.... the list goes on. I've never seen this many rare and obscure titles in the same place. Unfortunately, I did not find Killer Klowns from Outer Space, but what I did find more than made up for it. Most of the tapes were put in these somewhat average plastic sleeves and they all had appropriate genre stickers on them! I'm a sucker for the green "HORROR" dot stickies. You knew you had something good if it had that damn sticker on it.

I ended up purchasing about $40 worth of tapes between a couple trips. Anything from Horror and Sci-Fi to Comedy, Cartoons and even a few random Holiday themed tapes as well. All in all, I don't think I'll ever strike VHS gold like this ever again. Especially not in a place that I am 100% familiar with in my own hometown. It was truly amazing and surreal to revisit a place that I held so dear in my heart through my childhood. Have any good video rental memories? Feel free to share in the comments, we want to hear all about it!