Photo by T. Aleman

Dark Delicacies is relocating within the area, about a block away — in the beginning of June, but the move is expensive, so there will be a Relocation Fundraiser on February 2nd at 7pm, at the store.

There will be an auction and a number of items will be available such as: a signed first edition of Psycho; a signed copy of Ray Bradbury’s The Halloween Tree; and a Dark Delicacies Poster #1, signed by Bruce Campbell, Guillermo Del Toro, Richard Matheson, and a host of others.

For a full list of available items, please check their website here: Dark Delicacies. There are other events planned at Dark Delicacies before they move to Hollywood Way, to make the transition seamless.

Jan. 25 (5 pm) — Ladies & Gents Night Out

Jan. 26 (4 pm) — J.C. Macek III will sign his horror novel, Cargo, and Rick Tuber will be there to sign his thriller, Just My F***ing Luck.

Feb. 2 (3 pm)— Larry Cohen, Steve Mitchell, Joe Kraemer, and David J. Schow will be signing the documentary, King Cohen.

Feb. 2 (3 pm)— Joe Kraemer will also be signing Jack Reacher & Mission: Impossible.

Feb.10 (noon) — Writer’s Coffeehouse

Amanda Hall, who makes the novelty horror candles and soap available at Dark Delicacies, said that her husband is a horror writer and a huge fan of the genre. She said that when they first started dating, after being friends for twenty years, one of the first places he brought her to was Dark Delicacies. Now that’s downright adorable!

Photo by T. Aleman

Hall makes creative, handmade items such as the Bloody Brain Bar, a bar of soap with a bloody bleeding brain; you can find examples of her work on Instagram at The Bubble Broad.

One thing is for certain, we shouldn’t let Magnolia Park become a haven for corporations like the mini Target. How many Targets does Burbank need anyway? The world is changing so fast, even millennials feel old. Digital media, apps, comedy, cupcakes…everything has a timestamp.

Sears, Blockbuster, KMART are gone…what will die from our generation? Social media? Will the Internet eventually die? Or become our literal homes?

In many ways, Burbank is a typical, boring, suburban town — but it has pockets of charm and kitsch. Recognizing the cultural worth that quirky Magnolia brings to the community is invaluable; otherwise Burbank will truly become the way Tim Burton pictured it in Edward Scissorhands.

I realize that I’m part of the problem, because I order way too many books from Amazon Prime. However, I’ve spent thousands of dollars at Halloween Town over the years, buying fake blood, T-shirts, a smoke machine, hats, wigs, and masks for projects, so that’s something.

But I plan to spend my hard-earned money at Dark Delicacies and the other shops on Magnolia in the future — why am I supporting Amazon when I could be supporting my neighborhood?

Keep Burbank Weird.

Have you been to Dark Delicacies? Do you order horror books online or do you shop at independent bookstores? Let us know in the comments!