We’ve all seen those mystery boxes offered up by various companies on the interwebs. You know, the ones that cater to a specific genre that you pay an x amount of dollars for a month to either end up super pumped on this month’s purchase or completely disappointed. More than half the time, it’s a hit or miss situation. I myself have fallen into that mystery box rabbit hole, and while I don’t regret the money I’ve spent, I also feel like sometimes- it just wasn’t worth it. That is until I came across Fright Crate via social media. They offered no bullshit, looks at previous months loot (which blew me away mind you), and honest and open communication.
Here’s the deal: I pick and choose what I would like to cover and help spread the word about. I get zero kickbacks, and I don’t ask for any. I do this purely out of geeked-out passion. That’s pretty much what we’re all about here at Nightmare Nostalgia! Much like this little, albeit growing company that oozes with fierce zealousness for the genre, I HAVE to let you guys know about because well, that’s what these guys are all about. Also holy snopes do they offer a KILLER DEAL on these blind horror boxes. Let’s talk with co-owner Jay Stephens about the fantastic Fright Crate.
NN: Ok, so the Fright Crate looks like it’s made by horror fans, for horror fans. Looking at previous crates, every treasure inside just looks like a winner. How long has Fright Crate been live and what inspired you to begin it?
JS: We’ve existed for a little while (laughs). We’ve been around since September 2016. We sent promo boxes to a few Youtubers to get our name out there. We are and always have been self-funded, we are not a conglomerate or part of any corporate entity. That’s why we feature lesser known films in our service as well as popular ones.
What inspired us is our love for the horror genre and everything that spawned it. There isn’t really a lot of merchandise out there for horror fans compared to let’s say, sci-fi or comic book characters. A lot of what we do are exclusive products that you can’t find anywhere else. Typically, what we specialize in are figures, shirts, and pins. We also feature celebrity autographs most months along with prop replicas, crafts, customs, and prints. We work with indie companies that provide content for the box along with quite a few companies that produce exclusive products for us. For only $30 a month plus shipping, we deliver 4-6 items mailed straight to your door.
Fright Crate is for all types of horror fans. From the casual to more serious ones. Also, everyone involved in Fright Crate is a horror fan.
NN: It seems you have a particular fondness for the ’80s genre, which I can totally appreciate! Will we see any more genre boxes like that in the future?
JS: My opinion, as far as films are concerned, there hasn’t been a more exciting decade for horror since the 1980’s. We’ve seen the birth of many horror icons along with many cult classics and the full-on mastery of practical effects shots. As far as themed boxes are concerned, we’ve kind of danced around with the idea of doing a strictly ’90s box which I believe is everyone’s second favorite decade for horror (myself included).
NN: What is the estimated shipping time on each crate, (So new customers know what to expect)?
JS: Fright Crate is a monthly service, we take orders from the 1st-20th of each month on Frightcrate.net and we ship at the very end of each month. We welcome everyone to have fun with us and at least try us out. I know there are other horror boxes out there but we are one of the highest rated ones, we don’t attempt to hide our ratings like some of the others do or give anyone a bad service each month to increase our profit margins, we are a very transparent company. Our service costs $30. Value wise, you can’t get any better than Fright Crate, our figures sell for $30 in itself, custom figures usually run around $50 on Instagram and Etsy. We do fan sculpted figures as well as public domain licenses (Night of the Living Dead and Little Shop of Horrors which we used the 1960 license but made the figure looking closer to its 1986 counterpart).
We have the best shirts of any subscription box out there, usually digital paintings similar to the ones you can get from high-end horror shops for $30. Our pins go for $10, if there’s an autograph, they are usually $20 or more and we put other goodies in the box as well. You’ll get at least double on what you paid for. If you look at the fair market value and the quality speaks for itself.
NN: And lastly, anything else in the works you’d like to promote or announcements you’d want to add?
JS: There are several things in the works but nothing really to announce at this time, we are just glad to get featured on your site and would love to have the opportunity again in the future. Also for anyone that would like to follow us on social media, we would love to hear from you and we are usually very prompt in getting back to everyone!
As an obvious horror and geeky retro fan, I don’t think I could be any happier than what subscription box company Fright Crate is offering beginning March 1st- an I Love the 80’s Horror Box!
Good God, just look (below) at the glorious, nostalgic films themed out in this mysterious soon-to-be-declared national treasure! Featuring themed loot from Tales From the Crypt, Little Monsters, Cujo, and The Lost Boys, this sure as shit to go quick retro horror box will be available to order directly from FrightCrate.Net March 1st! Also, be sure to keep up with future announcements with the company by giving them a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Be sure to follow Fright Crate on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
