Killer Video Pays Homage to Vintage Horror and VHS Culture

With racks lining the walls and row after row of VHS horror film classics, Killer Video has created the place of a Freddy Krueger fan’s dreams. Freddy is here, so are cardboard standees of Jason (“Friday the 13th”) and Leatherface (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”). 

Jonathon Carmichael and his partner, Erika Fritz, turned part of downtown Akron’s Selle Generator Works building into a museum honoring mom-and-pop video store culture of the 1980s. Killer Video opened to the public for guided tours in February 2025. 

Step through the front door, and you’re transported to those bygone Friday nights hitting the rental store. Killer Video focuses on the horror genre, and its racks of authentic vintage VHS tapes are organized by theme, with sections dedicated to franchises like Alien and Halloween, as well as topics like “Just the Little Guys.” (Think “Leprechaun,” “Puppet Master” and “Critters.”) The museum operates as a nonprofit organization with the goals of preservation and education. 

“The nonprofit is truly about preserving the media, the ephemera and educating the community about the history of the video-rental era,” Carmichael says, “not just the tapes, but the rise and fall of the mom-and-pop shops.” 

Because Killer Video is a museum, the tapes are for browsing only, but visitors are welcome to flip over the boxes to read the movie descriptions. A visit lasts up to an hour, and the first part of the experience is spent exploring the video store, which provides plenty of fun photo opportunities. Patrons are then led through adjoining exhibits that celebrate the art, marketing and merchandising of the VHS-era horror genre.  

Fans exit through a gift shop and DVD and Blu-Ray rental store that currently has more than 1,300 titles and is still growing. Killer video also organizes regularly scheduled events like dead-media markets, trivia nights and special movie screenings. 

“I created this to grow and expand organically, [and] I wanted it to outlive me,” Carmichael says of the museum. “I’m doing this truly for what it brings to the community.” 453 S. High St. #102, Akron 44311, 234/334-0273, killer-video.com

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