A few months ago, I stopped by Auto Zone to do a little research on different types of car motor oil. I know, I can’t believe those words actually came from me, and my mother won’t believe it. But stay with me here.
During the visit, I ran into a guy who told me all about an upcoming hearse show. I thought he was kidding. He was not. And he invited me to attend. It was the fifth annual event at Screamer’s Costumes shop in Clinton Township on the first Sunday in August, and I was all in.
For the record, the 1971 cult classic “Harold and Maude” is my favorite movie of all time. Harold, when he’s not going to funerals for fun, drives two hearses, a 1959 Cadillac Superior and a 1971 Jaguar. So there was a time I coveted a hearse. But I digress.
On Sunday, a morning sprinkled with raindrops, I was part of a small but mighty crowd that began gathering outside Screamer’s to scope out hearses on display. A few of the vehicles contained caskets.
This wasn’t part of a funeral procession. No one was headed to the cemetery.
Everyone was smiling.
OK, so this wasn’t your typical car show.
“Everybody’s got Trans Ams, Mustangs and Muscle Cars,” said Jacob Duke, 26, an auto mechanic from Mount Morris.
“A hearse is like a luxury station wagon with low mileage. They’re always in nice condition because they’re used sparingly,” he said. “This has been my whole life, with my uncle and dad.”
Collecting hearses is definitely a thing these days.
“I was going to be a passenger princess but when we went to pick up a car, I fell in love with it,” said Maggie Duke, 42, an ophthalmic technician from Milford who owns a Ford Flex as a daily driver. “The hearse is a good grocery getter, too.”
Hearse collectors display their vehicles at street shows with skeletons and grave markers and other decorations that inspire picture taking by onlookers.
“There’s always been a love of macabre, people drawn to it,” said Josh Faulk, 35, an auto parts salesman from Port Huron. “I like the weirdness of the cars — but they haul like a truck. They’re practical and cool.”
These cars, most of the dozen on display at the show, are mostly Lincolns and Cadillacs.
Many have curtains.
“Muscle meets macabre,” said Faulk, standing in front of his hearse.
“People always ask if it’s haunted. I think it might be. We hear weird noises in the back that aren’t car noises,” he said. “My wife and I were driving and noticed a rattling sound while we were standing still on the road. We stared at each other and pretended nothing happened. Like, ‘I didn’t hear anything. Did you hear anything?’ In horror movies, when people go investigate, they usually die.”
Hearse owners brought their kids and grandkids. There were second and third- generation collectors. This event on Sunday offered a tiny preview of what’s to expect on Saturday, Sept. 19. That’s the date of HearseFest in Fowlerville, with this year’s 25th anniversary show billed as a “morbidly fun” event that is expected to attract hundreds of hearse collectors and thousands of fans.
The event, with a $2 admission price, will run from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Fowlerville Fairgrounds, 8800 W. Grand River.
Sean Gullett, 36, an auto mechanic from Ortonville, plans to go to Fowlerville for the big celebration. But he doesn’t want to miss anything anywhere between then and now. This past Sunday, he stood watching families pose for pictures beside the casket falling out of his hearse.
He said he loves the people his hobby attracts.
“The car is definitely a head-turner. I always wanted one,” he said. “I grew up in the hot rod community. I like big cars, and I’m a Halloween freak.”
Hearse owners told me they get a lot of questions that begin with, simply, “Why?”
“They ride like a boat, a land yacht. And they’re so reliable,” said Gullett, who had just shown his hearse at a show in Grand Rapids. “These people are very laid back and relaxed. This is their own thing. A lot of people ask how many bodies have been in it. I have no idea.”
Hailey Garza, 25, a behavioral therapist from Mount Morris, said she likes the feeling of driving a huge “couch” because it’s just so comfortable. “I married into this world. It’s all new and interesting and cool. It’s such a diverse crowd — older, younger, all different types.”
Eric Stout, 47, a marina service manager from Fremont, Ohio, said he likes being different. And now he owns four hearses. He hosts Deadwood Garage on YouTube.
His fiancée Rachel Fontes, 30, a banquet chef, said this was her first hearse event. They get a lot of questions when dropping 2-year-old David Stout off at daycare.
Tom Marshall, 77, a retired Ford transmission plant worker from Westland, had never been to a hearse fest until his granddaughter Emily invited him along. “It’s awesome. I think it’s different, cool and so unique. I remember seeing hearses at Autorama in Detroit.”
His son, Tom Marshall, 51, a machine operator from Troy, said, “I like all things horror. This is my first time to a hearse car show.”
Where does one find a hearse for sale? Collectors told me they shop Facebook marketplace.
When scrolling various websites, I discovered affordable hearses at WeSellLimos.com and AutoBuy.com — including a black 2006 Cadillac Hearse with 79,000 miles for $4,900, a gray 2011 Cadillac DTS Funeral Hearse with 84,983 miles for $7,900, and a white 1995 Cadillac Fleetwood Hearse with 81,960 miles for $3,900.
Considering the new and used car sticker shock voiced by 20-somethings and 30-somethings, it’s no surprise the hearse community is thriving.
The whole vibe in Clinton Township felt like a movie set. And families pulled out chairs to spend the day swapping stories.
Junko Bailey arrived on the scene and sat in a few hearses to snap pics and greet visitors.
Bailey, a director and actor from Japan now based in Winnipeg, Canada, visits the U.S. to attend horror events. Fans at the hearse show said she has earned a huge fan base as the creepy girl in “The Grudge.” It’s a Hollywood remake of the Japanese horror franchise “Ju-on” about violent death creating a powerful curse that passes from person to person.
After Michigan, Bailey planned to go on to events in Las Vegas, Maine and Pennsylvania.
Actors from “Wishmaster” and “House of 1000 Corpses” were also scheduled to stop in Clinton Township for a day that ended with a pinup contest and the naming of Miss Macabre.
The big event in September is hosted by Just Hearse’N Around, a car club founded in 2001 in Michigan that now has 12,000 followers on its Facebook page. Including me.
Phoebe Wall Howard’s car culture column runs every other week in The Detroit News. She also writes a weekly “Shifting Gears” column on Substack at phoebewallhoward.substack.com. Contact her at phoebe@phoebehoward.com.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Howard: These collectors live for the cars that transport the dead
Reporting by Phoebe Wall Howard, Special to The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Phoebe Wall Howard, Special to The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
