Sfanthor! House of Wax

You don’t even have to go inside to know this place is awesome. It’s a miniature castle!
But of course, you do have to go inside. They’ve got tons of horror shirts created by local artists. I picked up a rad Abominable Dr. Phibes shirt. Dig around for a bit and then go through the wax museum. It’s mostly beautifully rendered wax replicas of the Universal monsters you know and love. If you don’t know who Lon Chaney is, you’re gonna get schooled. This is a total labor of love and it makes Austin and the world a better place.

Knowledgeable and passionate staff working here. I enjoyed chit chatting it up about scary movies/​history of old films. Lots of cool, unique merchandise made only in Texas in the store. Buy a shirt and the entrance is free into the wax museum. Or pay $ 8 bucks. We got to go inside with the lights off and carrying flash lights. It’s super creepy inside and they look so life like. Then we got to go in again with the lights on. It was really fun to do but it’s so short. Not really worth the $ 8 but ehh I’m a tourist so why not!

Beautifully done wax museum. Well researched and curated with very fine exhibits. We had a great time.

I was totally ready to love this place. I’m a sci-​fi and horror nerd from way back and I always devoured any issue of «Famous Monsters of Filmland» I could get my hands on. I also love cheezy museums, tourist traps and waxy tableaux. So why two stars? It’s basic math: eight bucks equals two stars. Yeah, the dummies are fun, and the paragraphs mounted on the walls are nicely displayed, but eight bucks? No way. Should have been three bucks, maybe. My advice is to check out the fun gift shop but skip the exhibit. WAAAY overpriced.

It was cool, had old pics and info up around figures giving the history of the character. If you don’t stop to read them the tour could easily take 5 minutes. Might be a little expensive for such few exhibits.

Even though we had the museum to ourselves, the attendant, Sean, let us go through with the lights off and a flashlight. It really set the atmosphere and provided a truely horrific and intense experience for viewing all those classic monsters!

You haft to do the tour in the dark then go back through in the light. Sean did a good job he showed great customer service it was suggestion that we go in with just flash lights first

This being my second time in Austin i was very much looking forward to getting to see the sights and the little hide a way attractions. This place was a very disappointing 10 minutes of my life. Its was $ 8.00 per person. So we expected to see something exciting. Now $ 8.00 isn’t that bad in the grand scheme of things. But remember when i said 10 minutes. Its pretty much a dollar per was statue. Everything looks like it was made 40 year ago (except the last statue). The last exhibit was pretty cool. Its the only saving grace, but since its behind glass and super dark its impossible to take fun photos with. It was disappointing to say the least. Just not something i would recommend you spending your money on.

My husband and I just happened to stumble upon this place walking down Congress today. We went inside with our two little ones and were greeted by a guy named Sauna (sorry if I spelled your name wrong dude) we admired the gift shop for a bit and then decided to move forward into the little museum. The wax figures themselves were pretty cool, but what I admired the most was all of the background on all of the different horror movies. It was really interesting to learn about some of the first horror movies ever made, and how controversial some of them were at the time when they first came out. I havent actually seen any of them before lol but after going there today I am definitely going to check out a few that really caught my eye in there. Its like a horror film history display which I personally thought was pretty rad. After we were done checking out the museum we eneded up back in the gift shop where we looked around and chatted with Sauna for a bit. We had a nice conversation with him. He told us about the expansion they are planning on doing, and alot about some of the different horror films we were more curious about. He also told us about the museum shutting down because the owners of the property want to build a parking garage. THAT BLOWS KEEP AUSTIN WIERD man ! Isnt that the motto here? Its small businesses and awesome places like this that make Austin such a cool place. I really hope that you all find a new spot and expand the exhibits ! I really believe that this place has so much potential! It has such a cool concept already. I really enjoyed my time there today, and my family and I felt very welcomed when we were there. Im an amateur artist/​photographer. If you guys ever need anything I wouldnt mind volunteering some of my skills and time to help out! Hope everything works out, we will be back again and look forward to checking out the other museum as well.

Fathom this, all yeah who dare to enter!
You know about fan fiction? Think of this as a fan fiction version of Madam Tussauds. It is a tiny museum with a few exhibits. The whole museum takes a half hour to tour. Maybe less. The exhibits aren’t 100% life like. If you expect to spend hours through long corridors oohing and ahhhing at thousands of life like celebrity statues (look it’s Gwyneth Paltrow!) this isn’t it. You want a museum? Go, to the Texas Memorial Museum where they have shrunken heads.
However, Sfanthor! is a labor of love, and that shows through. It is oblivious that the proprietor loves science fiction, fantasy, and horror — especially of the 1936 to 1950s era. For me, it was completely worth the eight bucks to see such a beautiful and carefully crafted exhibit — especially since I didn’t even have to pay eight bucks.
If you buy a t-​shirt in the gift shop, you get to tour the museum Free of Charge! Maybe the same goes for comic books and other items. And, this place has thousands of classic old comics and a wonderful gift shop. That itself is worth a visit.
So, do this: Go by and browse through the gift shop. It’s on South Congress, so you’re probably there anyway doing something touristy. If you’re a comic book fan, the gift shop is definitely worth a visit. Then, if you buy something, go see the museum as a special additional treat.
Good for older kids who like horror and science fiction. You can «Dad» to them on all the exhibits on how wonderful these movies are and how they’re classics and they should watch them rather than constantly texting their friends. Are you listening to me! Put down that damn phone, and maybe you’ll learn something!

Excellent local experience. For the naysayers wanting a bigger attraction, this isn’t Madame Tussads. This is a local artist showcasing what he loves, horror movies. We bought the combo ticket but admission is free of you buy a t-​shirt and they have a great selection. I took a few pics inside before I saw I sign I wasn’t supposed to so, my bad, but awesome sculptures. There are around a dozen and they are pretty good replicas. Take the time and read the information outside each display, you might learn something new and fun!

Went today for Father’s Day. The shop was ok. The museum was disappointing. Took around 10 minutes (maybe) to walk through. Felt robbed when I left. It cost $ 27 for 3 people (that included an 11 year old child) I think it has potential but charging $ 9 for an unfinished «museum», no photos allowed (even though there are signs saying there is a photo area) which I did not see, unless I over passed it. Some of the figures were just brought over from Museum of the Weird, from the room the sideshow performers do their show (which is great & I think suprisingly owned by the same folks) it should be like $ 5 right now lol. The girl at the counter was nice but seemed bored as hell or miserable to be there. The folks behind us felt the same as we walked out. I suggest to pass on this until it gets bigger if ever. Should have read the other reviews & listened to my friends who said the same thing about feeling robbed.

Holy crap! I was pretty excited about this when I first heard about it. Horror? Oh yeah! Right up my alley.
When you walk in, there is a gift shop to the left where you pay the $ 9 admission. The gift shop is pretty cool and they have a wide variety of antique toys, figurines and reprinted horror movie shirts — this is the only reason they received 2 stars from me.
After paying admission, we began the self guided tour. The tour itself was very short, even though we read most of the printed articles regarding the wax figures. However, the wax figures were cheap. Paint was peeling away in different areas, body parts were unproportionate and some of them looked nothing like the characters they were supposed to represent. On top of that, there was no sound and no photography allowed.
All in all the tour lasted about 15 minutes. Three weeks lster and I still feel completely ripped off.
*I recommend that you let patrons take pictures for this price.
Best.

Cool shop, terrible «house», wish I had not supported.
I was going to give this place a slightly higher rating to reflect the shop portion and overall concept, but after reading the owner’s reply to another cheated customer’s review, I thought otherwise. Let me share my experience before I address this.
I explored the shop which contained a nice collection of comics and collectibles. «What a cool place», I thought. I excitedly purchased my ticket to what I was told is a museum of horror and sci-​fi; I was elated. The employee stated that I could spend as much time in there as I wanted, and added that no pictures are allowed except for at the final exhibit. I smiled and furiously nodded because I wanted to go in already. I hurriedly proceeded into the attraction and after about five minutes of looking at all of the exhibits and noticing a restroom (how considerate?), I abruptly found myself back into the shop where I had started. What? I went back in to see if I had missed anything. Nope. Okay bye, I guess?
I left pondering how much each of the wax figures cost to justify the $ 9 I just spent for walking around a dark hallway for five minutes (seven minutes if you count when I turned around at the end and carefully walked the entire length of said hallway and back just to check if I had missed something). I thought that maybe this place is still in the works and eventually, it will be the museum they claim it to be. The contents were pretty cool, but I still felt deceived. Since when did one hallway with a couple of wax figures and a bathroom qualify to be called a house or a museum? I soon realized that, «Spend as much time as you want» and «no pictures allowed until the final exhibit» we’re codes for: «This is way shorter than you ever expected, so move at a glacial pace so that it seems worth the price and use the restroom we have strategically placed in there» and «Only take a picture of the last exhibit so everyone you share it with thinks this place is worthwhile, and then we can scam them too». There would be no reason for him to say those things if the admission price were justifiable.
I logged on to Unilocal to check out what everyone else had to say. Four stars, eh? Maybe I did miss something. Nope, just that the owner is a jerk.
Owner states below, «.if you are looking for a large attraction with lots of corporate backing, than I suggest you take a trip to Disney or Universal Studios, because Sfanthor House of Wax is not for you.» Really, dude? If she wanted a large attraction with corporate backing, she would not have come and have supported your local business in Austin. You call your establishment «House of Wax» which implies the opposite of what you provide. Consider the more appropriate name, «Hallway of Some Wax».
While I admire the work you and your wife have endured to create this place, your ramble is irrelevant. You say that you spent most of your life savings on a BUSINESS knowing that you’ll never get it back? You are playing the martyr while customers are being told to take as much time and they want to justify your inflated admission price. The last exhibit photo rule is enforced to lure others to your «house». Please. You know that you are deceiving people. You have managed to make me feel worse about my experience. The amount of time you spend invalidating reviewer”s critiques of both your businesses could be much better spent on improvements.

We went to Sfanthor today and totally loved it. If you are a Sci Fi or Horror geek it is worth a stop by. They had a nice collection of figures from various horror movies from various decades, and it is growing. They are adding even more figures soon.
The owner was a blast to talk to, as he really loves old horror movies and is happy to discuss it with you. He also took our picture in front of the Alien figure. We plan on going back in a few months to see the additions. He mentioned a Ray Harryhausen that is in the works, which I’m personally psyched to see.
I recommend it for a couple of reasons. One, it is fun. Two, they are a small business that is just getting started, and doing something unique in Austin, and I would love to see them stick around and grow. So, if you are a nerd in Austin, or just visiting from out of town, give them a bit of business. I’m glad to see that someone is still keeping some of the weird in Austin.

Definitely don’t recommend spending $ 9 to see the wax museum. It’s a short hallway of about 8 encased not-​so-​impressive waxed figures.

It’s not living up to its potential yet, but when the wax museum goes on-​line, this place will find its place in the pantheon. I still like Museum of the Weird better. Would like to see more of a selection of collectibles. Currently, it feels more like somebody with a sizable personal collection of sci-​fi and horror stuff emptied their back room into the castle. Nothing wrong with that per se, but I was expecting a mini-​con level of paraphernalia to rifle through and it fell short of that. I wonder if this place could benefit from a dash of Toy Joy to add some zest to its offerings. But, it was still cool anyway. Tip of the hat to the owners for bringing such a wonderfully different shop to S. Congress. Anything that will help inoculate against the perpetual hipster outbreak is a welcome direction to the neighborhood. If for every new condo built, Austin could get a Sfanthor type place in trade, Austin just might stay weird. Sadly, that ratio is not realistic. Our city council is hell-​bent on destroying the town that was all under the guise of supporting growth. Growth is fine so long as we have plenty of water and room on the highways to support increased population. We have plenty of both, right? Oh, wait…

Sci-​fi, FANTasy, HORror. The store is evolving in to a nerd heaven. Place is too cool. Don’t be afraid to go in, the guy there was very welcoming. He knew «ALOT». I now know more about BARRY WINDSOR SMITH than when I walked in.
Its a fantasy land of toys from my childhood and comics from the past. They have a Good selection of Masks and T-​shirts as well (Got me a Mask). They also run the Weird Museum… I think that’s what its called. Been there too, very cool. and SFANTHOR will be opening a wax museum… soon.

SFANTHOR may sound like a pissed-​off Viking or a half-​dragon-​half-​troll, but it actually stands for the theme of this store: Sci-​fi, Fantasy, and Horror. Sfanthor carries vintage comics, collectible toys, T-​shirts, novelty items, jewelry and more — and eventually they’ll have a wax museum dedicated to sci-​fi and horror movies in the back area (still being constructed, but hopefully open in June 2014). I wish it had been open while we were there!
You’ll recognize the building immediately because it looks like a big white castle. Inside, it’s a dark, black-​and-​green geek haven. The owners (who also run the Museum of the Weird) are friendly and chatty, happy to take you around the store and talk about their plans for the space. There’s a large, free parking lot around back and street parking out front.
Even if you’re not so much into the sci-​fi and fantasy, they had some of the best Austin T-​shirts I saw during my trip, including an excellent glow-​in-​the-​dark bats-​of-​Congress-​Bridge kids’ shirt (sadly, no adult sizes).
Sci-​fi lovers and movie buffs should definitely pop in for a visit… or risk the wrath of SFANTHOR.