R.L. Stine’s ‘Fear Street’ turning North DeKalb Mall into a 1990’s era mall with Musicland, B. Dalton, Gadzooks

Originally posted Friday, May 3, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog

Casual Corner. Software Etc., B. Dalton Bookseller. Musicland. Gadzooks.

What do these five defunct retailers have in common? They’re coming back to life in a sense at North DeKalb Mall, the dying mall where film crews are building out stores for an upcoming R.L. Stine film “Fear Street.”

Musicland, Casual Corner and Gadzooks all died in 2005. B. Dalton shuttered in 2013. Software Etc. was long gone before the dotcom crash of 2000. TonetoAtl.com broke the news about the build out last week.

Based on what's "for sale" at B. Dalton (John Grisham's "The Chamber" and Stephen King's "Insomnia"), the movie scenes will be set around 1994.

The story is based in the fictionalized city of Shadyside, Ohio and revolves around teens battling evil, possibly paranormal enemies. North DeKalb is being called Stony Hill Mall.

Production of what is supposed to be a trilogy of films began in March in metro Atlanta.

The 54-year-old mall is now so empty, it's become a magnet for at least seven films and TV shows in the past year including HBO's "Watchmen" and "Zombieland 2," according to the DeKalb Entertainment Commission. Nearly half the mall is empty and a big redevelopment project on the land recently fell through. Its biggest anchors are Marshall's, Burlington and AMC Theatres. Macy's left in 2016.

Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com

Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com

Last year, “Stranger Things” shot extensively at another “ghost” mall Gwinnett Place, turning it into the fictional Starcourt Mall for season three, featuring everything from Wicks n Sticks to Chess King. The show returns on Netflix in July 4.

Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com

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Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com

About the Author

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Rodney Ho

Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.

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