By LEAH WEATHERSBY

In the weeks following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast, video and DVD sales and rentals increased sharply as more consumers opted for stay-at-home entertainment, according to national reports.

But what about video and DVD sales and rentals in North Seattle?

Several local video stores contacted by the Jet City Maven reported increased business, but not necessarily because of the attacks.

"We've been having a record year," said Norman Hill, marketing manager for Scarecrow Video in the U-District. "(Rentals) have been up generally for the year but what's interesting is that they are staying up since Sept. 11."

Hill didn't attribute to Scarecrow's increased sales to the terrorist attacks, however, saying that publicity from widely-reported news about the store, such as the former owner's battle with brain cancer, had likely drawn more people in.

Stuart McDowell, co-owner of the Rain City Video chain which has three stores in North Seattle, said his sales were also up lately, but not because of Sept. 11.

"Video trends are affected by a lot of things," said McDowell. "Having it slightly rainier than the year before will cause 10 percent more revenue than last year."

McDowell did say, however, that more people have come in looking for films from the Middle East and documentaries about the region.

"That stuff's flying off the shelves," he said.

Other video stores reported a slight increase in rentals since Sept. 11 as well.

Elthea Farr, an employee at Reckless Video in Maple Leaf, said generally rentals have been up, with an increased interest in light-hearted movies and movies about Islam.

Heather Howlett, manager of Video Theater in Lake City, said that "Not Without My Daughter," a dramatic film starring Sally Field set in Iran, had experienced a recent surge in popularity.

"Some even rented 'Ishtar,'" Howlett joked, referring to the Dustin Hoffman-Warren Beatty comedy set in the Middle East that is ranked among the all-time leading box office duds. (