Weekend Break: Ghoulish Mortals Monster & Horror Store in St. Charles

ST. CHARLES, Ill. — A store in Chicago’s western suburbs is bringing the Halloween haunts year-round.

Maybe you’re a monster and horror aficionado, or perhaps you’re just embracing spooky season. Either way, Ghoulish Mortals Monster & Horror Store, located at 228 West Main Street in St. Charlies, combines creepy with collectors’ items and kid-friendly fun to offer a little something for everyone.

“We concentrate on the art of horror and monsters,” Ghoulish Mortals co-owner Warwick Price says.

Price and his wife, Dove Thiselton, opened Ghoulish Mortals seven years ago. It’s grown by leaps and bound since and now features two floors with themed sections throughout. But one thing has always been at the heart of the operation: A focus on local art.

“There just aren’t very many stores like this,” Price says. “We kind of really concentrate on the art of horror.

“… We have over 175 artists in the store. Over 70% of them are local.”

And Ghoulish Mortals has everything from art prints to sculptures, props, books, dolls, jewelry, pins, and more.

“The biggest thing right now is all the different 3-D-printed toys,” Thiselton says. “The store is full of them. Right now, we have eight different 3-D print artists.”

About the only thing Ghoulish Mortals doesn’t have is costumes. But most people don’t go there for those, anyway.

“We have regulars that come in weekly, people that drive three or four hours to come in, and people love the artwork,” Price says.

And because the store is open year-round, Price says people come to find out just how big the appeal of monsters and horror is well beyond October.

“Halloween is crazy for us, but surprisingly, Christmas is almost just as busy, because you get people who are huge horror fans that need to find Christmas presents,” Price says.

The entire family is also welcome at Ghoulish Mortals, dogs included. The owners have made sure to separate the kid-friendly sections upstairs from the more gory, horror-themed rooms for those who dare to enter the basement.

“We live for this,” Price says. “We really do.”

Ghoulish Mortals is open year-round from noon to 9 p.m. on Sundays through Thursdays and from Visit ghoulishmortals.com for more information.

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