A seven-foot My Pet Monster greets shoppers near the door, a giant Chucky doll lurks by the shelves, and the soda cooler is stocked with something called Bug Barf. This is the Horror Boodega, a Burbank convenience store that sells horror- and Halloween-themed food and collectibles not just in October, but all year round.
The shop sits a few doors down from the Mystic Museum at 3116 W. Magnolia Blvd. in Burbank's Magnolia Park neighborhood, according to the Los Angeles Times. Both businesses belong to Erick Wessel, who according to that same reporting owns the Horror Boodega and the Mystic Museum across the street and down the block. Wessel has described the shop as possibly the world's first horror- and sci-fi-themed convenience store, per the Times.
Inside, the shelves lean hard into nostalgia and gore in equal measure. Shoppers can find zombie-themed Takis, ghost-shaped gummies, Disney-villain coffee and eyeball jawbreakers, along with a hot sauce labeled with the twins from The Shining and a drink called Zom-Berry Ghoul-Aid, the Times reports. Monster-themed cereals, candy vampire fangs and candy corn pumpkins round out the Halloween aisle, while movie tie-ins like Twinkies and Scream popcorn cater to film buffs.
A Shop Born From a Scrapped Restaurant Plan
Wessel's path to convenience-store ownership wasn't exactly direct. He worked in professional kitchens in Cleveland and the Los Angeles area and cooked into his early 30s before opening the Mystic Museum in 2013, according to the Los Angeles Times. He originally envisioned the Horror Boodega as a horror-themed restaurant, but scaled back the plan after he lacked the funds for a full kitchen, the paper reports, and it took him six years to find the right space.
What emerged instead is a snack shop that also functions as a mini-museum. The Horror Boodega features large-scale horror sculptures pulled from past Mystic Museum exhibits, including the aforementioned Chucky doll and a Goosebumps One Day at HorrorLand monster sculpture, per the Times. Wessel told the paper that searching for horror-themed products is fun, and he looks for new items almost daily, sourcing from about 100 different companies and scouting horror conventions and social media for fresh finds.
Limited Runs and Local Collaborations
Some products rotate in and out, including a limited-run Jason Voorhees Monster energy drink. The shop is also one of the only places to find Boo Bars, John Carpenter's chocolate line, the Times notes. Baked goods come from Deadly Sweet, an Oxnard-based horror cake company whose offerings feature Beetlejuice, the Martian from Mars Attacks and the Horror Boodega's own logo, according to the same reporting, which frames the partnership as the shop's way of supporting other spooky small businesses.
Inventory swells dramatically with the calendar. The Horror Boodega stocks about 200 items during the off-season but ramps up to as many as 2,000 items come fall, and revenue more than doubles during Halloween season, the Los Angeles Times reports. Wessel has said he plans to host food pop-ups and product tasting events going forward, and has signed a lease for a smaller Horror Boodega outpost at Wunderkammer at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, according to the Times.
Part of a Bigger Horror Scene on Magnolia Boulevard
The Horror Boodega is one entry in what locals call Horror Row, a stretch of Magnolia Boulevard where shops sell spooky-themed items year-round, according to LA Weekly. The strip brings several horror-themed shops together in a walkable district within Burbank's Magnolia Park neighborhood, and these businesses operate year-round rather than just during October.
Burbank's horror-business scene has deep roots. Dark Delicacies was founded in 1994 by Del and Sue Howison and quickly became a cornerstone of the horror community, per LA Weekly, while Halloween Town opened its doors in 2007 as the city's first year-round Halloween store. Over the years, more horror stores have opened near the Mystic Museum, turning Magnolia Park into what myBurbank describes as a unique destination for fans of the macabre.
For those craving a bigger scare this season, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood runs select nights through November 1, 2026, according to Visit Burbank. But for a quieter, candy-aisle version of horror culture, the Horror Boodega is open noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, offering gummy snakes, Franken Berry cereal and a retro TV looping horror clips for anyone who wanders in looking for a snack with a bit of a scream attached.
