America's Weirdest Homes

"Most times, people put [old] shoes in the garbage, but I put 'em on sticks," says L.V. Hull, a Mississippi matron also known as "The Shoe Lady." L.V.'s "shoe garden," sporting a crop of freshly painted shoes, is just one of over 35 creatively built or decorated domiciles covered in the 4-volume America's Weirdest Homes. Hosted by the humorous Arthur Black, the opening tape, Trash to Treasures, visits "The Undertaker's Dream House" (built out of...gulp...empty embalming fluid bottles) in British Columbia, travels to Texas to check out "The Beer Can House" (the architect's widow points out the beer can chimes, beer can surrounded mailbox, and beer can wallpaper, which her husband--now gone on to that great kegger in the sky--one day envisioned and set about cracking open cold ones to achieve), and hops on over to the thanks-a lot-neighbor-for-seriously-depreciating-my-property's-value "Junk Castle" (made from such common landfill items as car doors, washing machines hulls and range tops). But none of these top the eerie finale: "Rice's Cross Garden" in Alabama, where W. C. Rice's trailer park features a whole slew of crosses (a remarkable number of which make reference to hell as a place which is both "hot, hot, hot" and notably lacking in "ice water.") None of these homes will be making the centerfold of House Beautiful anytime soon, but they are fascinating to see. The three other volumes in the series are: Incredible Collections, Living in Paradise and Weird Art. Recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)