Werewolf or not, Vampfangs offers a bite of Halloween

Werewolf or not, Vampfangs offers a bite of Halloween:

October 11, 2018, published by Boston Globe, digital and print, Metro section, by press release)

For online and offline communities enchanted with the occult, Salem is the place to go. On Essex Street, Vampfangs wants to give them a place where they can howl at the moon.

After 25 years as an online retailer of custom-fit fangs, special effects makeup, and cryptic fragrances, Vampfangs can now welcome customers in the flesh at its new store at 224 Essex St.

“We want everyone to feel like they belong, and to be who they are,” said Alexis Abare, who co-owns the store with Benjamin Selecky.

The store’s namesake points to one of its most popular items, custom-fitted fangs. It offers in-store fittings that match a customer’s teeth down to size, shape, and color.

“Custom fangs are like the Cadillac of the fang world,” Selecky said.

Selecky, 38, of Salem, and Abare, 35, of Lynnfield, bought Vampfangs as an online entity from the previous owner in 2015. The Salem store opened in August, and held a grand opening with city officials in September.

Selecky has lived in Salem his whole life, and is familiar with the traffic coming in and out throughout the year. Both Selecky and Abare know what it is those people looking for:

“People come here to look for the spooky and macabre,” Abare said.

The online store has had over 1.3 million online customers, according to its website. The owners say the brick-and-mortar addition was an important way to further build the community, face-to-face.

“We try to curate unique collections and bring things into the store that you can’t find up and down the strip,” Abare said.

Fangs from the brand ScareCrow can be picked up in the store and fitted at home, at prices ranging from $18 to $40. For the more detailed match, prices start at $165 and increase depending on the details.

The store sells a handful of items from local artists, such as custom 3D-printed rings from the Lowell-based HypnoVamp, and encapsulated spider web pendants from CreativeCinderella, also based in Lowell. The in-house apparel line, Dark Alchemy, is designed by local female artusts, too, Selecky said.

The store also donates items to nonprofits such as Don’t Be A Monster, which works with haunted houses to put on anti-bullying assemblies for students, and Magic Wheelchair, which builds custom Halloween costumes for kids in wheelchairs.

The store’s owners met through spooking people at haunted attractions around the region. Combined, they have years of experience in acting, producing, and consulting with haunted attractions, especially farms.

With all that expertise, they started Haunted Farms of America, a membership-based organization that offers training, resources, and networking opportunities for farms around the country that produce seasonal agricultural entertainment, such as haunted trails, barns, and hay rides.

Next, the two are looking to expand Haunted Farms and keep developing their Essex Street store, but first they must survive the busiest time of the year.

“Halloween quarter,” as Selecky dubbed the months of August until November, is a hectic time of year for stores like theirs, especially in Salem. Witch City becomes a hot destination during this time for tourists from all over looking for spooky shopping experiences in the area, widely known for its Salem Witch Trials of 1692.

“From our experience and getting to know the community after we bought Vampfangs, a pilgrimage to Salem — for every one of our customers — is on their list,” Selecky said.