Little Shop of Horrors

Second only to Thanksgiving, Halloween is my favorite holiday. And, my wife seems to share in that feeling as well. However, on a negative note, that does mean she makes me do outside Halloween lights and decorations. Believe it or not, I also have to do Christmas lights too. Actually, I think there should be a universal marriage rule…”you can only make your husband hang lights on one holiday per year.” But, I digress. My home has the usual Halloween lights and decorative stuff, acquired at any local, big box store. But, if you really want to get into the Halloween spirit, you must go beyond the big box stores. You need to go dark. That is, you need to find that remote, lesser known….Little Shop of Horrors.

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So, this Little Shop of Horrors goes by the name of The Secret Chamber House of Artwork and Oddities. The shop is located in the small town of Fairborn, Ohio. Yes, this shop sells some questionable merchandise, including Wiccan/occult items, spell components, human parts and all sorts of mutated taxidermy. But, that does not mean it was an unsafe or unfriendly shop. When I entered, I was greeted by a very pleasant and helpful young lady that fancied herself a witch. She made sure that I wore my Covid mask and asked me to use their hand sanitizer station before perusing their goods. You would think any witch worth her salt could cast a spell to ward off Covid from her shop. But again, I digress. The shop has everything you need to take your Halloween efforts to the next level.

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Not surprisingly, the shop had an Altar for the Dead. Thus, you can make a monetary offering for a loved one to help pay their passage on the ferry to the next life. Thankfully, the altar is secured with chicken wire to prevent offering thefts. Of course, there was the usual satanic paraphernalia. Actually, there was a small area in the shop dedicated to Christian and other non-satanic denominations as well. I flirted with the idea of buying up all the Jesus stuff just to get him out of there. But, that would have been more money than PugsleyTonks was willing spend. Anyway, it was not all religiously edgy crap. Some of the merchandise just fell into the “oddity” category.

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Like I said, they have oddities for all your Halloween needs. The chupacabra head was appealing to me. Certainly, the reported sitings of chupacabras have always been of interest to me. No doubt, the head would have looked nice on my bourbon bar. But again, at $100, PugsleyTonks does not spend that kind of money. Now, if I am going to be perfectly honest, the only thing that really bothered me about the artwork and oddities was….Curious George. Why was Curious George there? I will end this post on this most troubling of thought…Curious George….unfortunate prisoner held against his will?…or occult leader?

There you have it. My visit to The Secret Chamber House of Artwork and Oddities. This particular shop was in Fairborn, Ohio. But, these shops can be found sprinkled throughout our nation. Be careful, if you look close enough, you may discover that your own neighborhood has its own Little Shop of Horrors. PT

p.s. Just to raise your spirits after that post, enjoy this picture of Carol Merrill in all her Halloween glory…planning her socially distanced beggars night.

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Thank you for reading “Little Shop of Horrors” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks

If you need further creepiness, try reading this past post… https://travelingwithpt.com/gates-of-hell