How one man plans to keep Savannah Creepy

Lila Miller, A&E Editor

Graveface Records and Curiosities is a shop and home to records, cassettes, CDs and all things odd. Customers that wander into the 5 W. 40th St. Savannah, Ga. location in Savannah’s Starland District will often enter the shop not knowing what to expect. Graveface Records is no ordinary record store. 

Ryan Graveface is the man behind the store and record label and vows to keep Savannah creepy with the opening of a curious, oddity-filled museum exhibiting items of the macabre and strange variety. 

Graveface moved to Savannah from Chicago nearly a decade ago to escape the bland but pervasive plague of gentrification in neighborhoods he loved. As Graveface watches Savannah be taken over by over-priced eateries and niche stores and bars, he feels compelled to keep Savannah creepy with the addition of the Graveface Museum.

As an avid collector of curiosities, Graveface has been compiling objects of the strange and unusual genre for most of his life. Paintings by infamous serial killer John Wayne Gacy adorn several walls of the record shop along with taxidermied rodents, Furby toys, Magic Troll and Garbage Pail Kids trading cards and records of course. 

Graveface’s mission for the museum goes well beyond curating weird fixtures for exhibits–to offer something “deeper and more impactful” than what Savannah currently offers.

“My hope with the museum is to get people talking or at least thinking about larger topics like morality, life, death, problems we still face with the criminal justice system, experiencing things of the past and appreciating history to help reflect on today’s culture,” he explained. 

His other ventures have been entirely self-funded, including the record store, pop-up shops, a second location in Charleston, S.C., the Graveface Records independent label, the brief videotape rental next-door and the recent Fright Fest at the Lucas Theatre. Unlike previously, Graveface needs the community’s help to make the museum a reality.

To help raise funds, an indiegogo page has been formed to help get financial backing for the museum. The costs are broken down on the page as follows:

What We Need & What You Get:

The barebones: $18,500

There are many expenses when you’re trying to build a museum out of a giant, historic warehouse. The barebones goal is what we need to completely finish the build-out. The goal with this build-out is to actually keep the aesthetic and all the original components of the building; we’re fixing several components to make sure it’s safe and installing a few things to appease the city. 

Outfitting and Displays: $29,000

So once the build-out is done all the fun stuff can start going into homes but wait– what homes? This next goal will go toward building displays, framing artwork, and overall preparing to open and ensuring the experience is as next level as possible. 

Opening: $47,500

The overall goal is $47,500 to open the museum. 

We are trying to open the museum on/around Halloween and with your help, we can make it happen. If the goal is not met whatever funds are raised will still go toward the eventual opening of the museum.

For more information and how to donate, please go to the campaign’s website at www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-build-the-graveface-museum#/ We need a shorter URL for the print version of this story. At press time, the museum has received $2,443 to the construction. The fundraiser will continue throughout the month of October and hopefully culminate in an opening celebration around Halloween. To follow along the museum’s journey and Graveface’s other works, check out the following Instagram handles: @graveface_sav @graveface_recs and @_terror_vision_.