The Oddities & Curiosities Expo is a travelling oddities event. Vendors showcase wet specimens, taxidermy, animal bones, antiques, weird jewelry, unusual art, and all-around bizarre items. Local artisans and entertainers can be found at each event – no two events are the same!
Taxidermy classes are also offered at each event for an additional $200 fee.
The Oddities & Curiosities Expo is a travelling oddities event. Vendors showcase wet specimens, taxidermy, animal bones, antiques, weird jewelry, unusual art, and all-around bizarre items. Local artisans and entertainers can be found at each event – no two events are the same!
Taxidermy classes are also offered at each event for an additional $200 fee.
The Oddities & Curiosities Expo is a travelling oddities event. Vendors showcase wet specimens, taxidermy, animal bones, antiques, weird jewelry, unusual art, and all-around bizarre items. Local artisans and entertainers can be found at each event – no two events are the same!
Taxidermy classes are also offered at each event for an additional $200 fee.
The Oddities & Curiosities Expo is a travelling oddities event. Vendors showcase wet specimens, taxidermy, animal bones, antiques, weird jewelry, unusual art, and all-around bizarre items. Local artisans and entertainers can be found at each event – no two events are the same!
Taxidermy classes are also offered at each event for an additional $200 fee.
The Oddities & Curiosities Expo is a travelling oddities event. Vendors showcase wet specimens, taxidermy, animal bones, antiques, weird jewelry, unusual art, and all-around bizarre items. Local artisans and entertainers can be found at each event – no two events are the same!
Taxidermy classes are also offered at each event for an additional $200 fee.
The Oddities & Curiosities Expo is a travelling oddities event. Vendors showcase wet specimens, taxidermy, animal bones, antiques, weird jewelry, unusual art, and all-around bizarre items. Local artisans and entertainers can be found at each event – no two events are the same!
Taxidermy classes are also offered at each event for an additional $200 fee.
The Oddities & Curiosities Expo is a travelling oddities event. Vendors showcase wet specimens, taxidermy, animal bones, antiques, weird jewelry, unusual art, and all-around bizarre items. Local artisans and entertainers can be found at each event – no two events are the same!
Taxidermy classes are also offered at each event for an additional $200 fee.
The Oddities Flea Market features artisans and vendors who specialize in medical history ephemera, anatomical curiosities, natural history items, osteological specimens, taxidermy, home décor, jewelry, one of a kind art, bizarre flair, and more. The event does an amazing job highlighting its artists and vendors. Be sure to check out their Instagram (@OdditiesFleaMarket) for a glimpse of the event’s offerings!
Since mid-July, Halloween fans have been anxiously awaiting the Halloween collections from our favorite brands for the 2020 Halloween shopping season. From big box retailers to “boo-tiques”, an increasing number of places offer special merchandise for the Halloween & autumn season starting in late July/early August.
Here is my list of the best new products hitting shelves this fall. I hope you enjoy your Halloween shopping this year and find something fun to add to your collection!
These 11″ high Champaign glasses will add an elegant eeriness to your dining room this Halloween. They are made of glass and zinc alloy and are phthalate, BPA, lead, and latex free. They are hand wash only, but their sleek design makes them worth the effort.
Home Goods has been selling similar-looking products (in the L.A. area, at least), for about $10 each but those do not seem to be very high quality. Specifically, the areas where the metal and glass connect seemed to be a little flimsy on the glasses I saw on the shelf. I think that in this case, it may be worth it to spring for these more expensive alternatives as the pictures look like they are a more durable product.
Grandin Road’s Halloween party line for 2020 is raven-themed. This beautiful glass punch bowl is the centerpiece of the collection. It has a 160 ounce capacity. It measures 13 3/4″ in diameter and weighs 9 pounds (unfilled). The glass bowl can be removed from the resin base for easy hand washing.
It is certainly too pricey for my Halloween activities this year, but for those who would like to splurge, this is a well-crafted piece.
Every year I can find a Haunted House Wallflower plug at Bath & Body Works. This year they have added a projector to the standard nightlight. We can now have a bright green witch illuminated on the wall above the nightlight plug!
Once plugged in, this will illuminate continuously. Bath & Body Works claims the plug should last for at least two years. My previous experience with these types of items is consistent with that claim – the first one I purchased lasted for over 3 years.
Combine this with some of their autumn scents – like “Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin”, “Leaves”, “The Perfect Autumn”, and “Sweater Weather” to keep your home smelling spooky all year round!
Fabric Prints. Images from Joann.com
I love sewing and fabric crafts – even though I am not the most skilled at them! Joann Fabrics always has an amazing selection of fabrics for all your creative needs. They offer prints on cotton and fleece and have a selection of spiderweb lace perfect for quilts or costumes. Be sure to visit their website as well, as they do have a few patterns that are online only. Additionally, online they have a few prints you can customize to find that extra special color for your project.
Target’s Mini Mantel Halloween Decor from the Hyde & EEK! Boutique™. Images from Target.com
It wasn’t until day-after-Halloween shopping that I came across these cute Mini Mantle Halloween items. These are durable little painted wooden displays. They are marketed as mantle decorations, but I think they are great toys as well.
The 2020 collection includes new locales and characters, including a fun house, castle, and pirate ship. Each setting has a matching set of characters to purchase (separately). I especially love the skeleton knight and helmet-clad octopus. At only $8 per set, I did pre-order 11 of the different sets this time around. I highly recommend these and expect them to fly off the shelves again this year.
Having a Halloween-themed kitchen year-round means that I am constantly buying new hand towels to replace worn-out ones throughout the year. This animal skeleton print from Williams Sonoma will allow me to add a bit of morbid whimsy to my decor. The towels are 100% cotton and machine-washable. They are standard hand towel size – measuring 20″ x 30″.
ModCloth, while expensive, has many sophisticated and unique offerings for this Halloween season. This nightgown with their “A Ghastly Scene” ghost print immediately caught my eye. The fabric is semi-sheer and made up of 60% Cotton, 20% Viscose, 14% Polyester, and 6% Elastane. It has crossing adjustable straps in the back.
If the nightgown is not your preferred type of sleepwear, ModCloth also carries a standard pajama set with a button up top and shorts in the same patterned fabric.
You’ll sleep like the dead in this spirited nighttime ensemble!
As I stand only slightly taller than 5′ 1″, this 12′ tall giant skeleton is an impressive sight to behold in one’s yard. Home Depot is increasingly becoming the place to go for creative Halloween yard decorations.
The skeleton is 12′ high and requires a 6.4′ area for the base. Four C batteries power the LED eyes, creating a spooky life-like effect. The legs are fixed, but the arms can be moved to different positions (ex. reaching out, at the sides, etc.).
If you get this monstrosity, be sure to persuade a friend to help with setup. The instructions estimate that it takes two people about twenty minutes to complete the 24 steps in the assembly process.
Halloween Book-Shaped Gift Boxes (4 Designs). Images from DollarTree.com
Dollar Tree is often a nice place to find goodies for trick-or-treaters. Every once in a while, I can find something there for my personal Halloween shopping. This year I found these Halloween Book-Shaped Gift Boxes. Available in four designs and five different sizes, they are spooky vessels to dole out your Halloween party favors to friends.
Sizes include: XL (7.12×4.92×3.19-in.), L (6.5×4.5×2.9-in.), M (5.9×3.94×2.6-in.), S (5.3×3.35×2.28-in.), and XS (4.8×2.75×2-in.). The designs feature “Witches Spell Book”, “Love Potions”, “Tales of Halloween”, and “Scary Stories”. You can buy them individually at a Dollar Tree location or you can buy them in a case online. A case contains 32 pieces, which will be a mixture of designs and sizes.
Each year I see more and more people putting up Halloween trees in October. Treetopia offers this vibrant and full artificial tree with built-in LED lights. The PVC needles are fire-retardant, making this just as safe as your standard Christmas tree. It is available in 5′, 6′, 7.5′, and 9′ heights, so you can find the right fit for your space.
This tree would also be perfect for a more spooky Christmas and holiday celebration. Pair it with some Horror Ornaments and you will be ready to celebrate any holiday!
Want to see what I’ve loved in past years? Check out previous shopping guides below:
Happy Halloween shopping 2024! For over two decades now, the Halloween shopping season has been my main time for household and clothing purchases. Each year, I love to shop around
TransWorld’s Halloween & Attractions Show 2024 is the premiere haunt industry trade show. For over four decades, it has been the place where haunt industry members gather to network, learn,
Take part in a spirited séance aboard the historic – and haunted – Queen Mary with 57 Ghosts. From Master Magician and Apparitionist Aiden Sinclair, this 90-minute immersive experience takes
Every year we get out Halloween shopping fix earlier and earlier. this August is no exception. The 2019 Halloween shopping season is already off to a strong start with stores across the nation offering new and exciting faire for lovers of the holiday and all its scary trappings. From major chains to specialty “Boo-tiques”, let’s take a look at the best new items for the Halloween 2019 shopping season:
Michael’s has an incredibly strong selection of decor this year. They invested heavily in creating a vintage Halloween collection. Their Wheel-Of-Fortune wall sign has a spinner for guests to see what their future may hold on Halloween. This is a beautiful recreation of the holiday divination games of yore and certainly adds an element of fun to your party or room set-up. Fortunes include “Something Lost Will Come Back to You”, “Now Is the Time to Try Something New”, and “You Will Live a Long and Happy Life”. Although this piece could have benefited from more varied fortunes and clever new phrases for a modern audience, its authentic feel makes it one of the hottest items on my shopping list this year.
This product may have been on the market for a couple years now, but it is one of the most over-looked and under-rated Halloween props I have come across. This spooky battery-powered radio has four hours of listening content across its 19-channels, including selections from vintage horror radio classics like the 1938 Dracula or a reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven. The sound quality is decent – it certainly gets across the spooky old radio feel, while still allowing you to clearly hear the recordings. It is also nice to have something else to listen to instead of playing “Monster Mash” on repeat.
Sometimes just a small touch of whimsy for your table is all you need, and this Halloween Mist Maker from Sur La Table fits that purpose. This compact ultrasonic mist maker with color-changing LED lights is easy to use and creates a nice effect when placed in a pumpkin, cauldron, or bowl. This seems like a perfect alternative to a traditional fogger, which may be too big or bulky for your purposes.
Want that perfect accessory for the entire Halloween season and beyond? Check out Etsy seller, NovelCreations, for beautifully crafted recycled book purses. I love the above Legend of Sleepy Hallow purse, but they have other chilling titles such as Frankenstein, Dracula, The Handbook for the Recently Deceased, Classic Ghost Stories, Hocus Pocus Spell Book, and more. You can also add custom accents, credit card holders, and more (for additional fees).
If by this point you still have any wall space left in your home, Etsy seller, ReflectionsWallArt, has a variety of ghoulishly unique prints. These old Halloween sheet music covers add fanciful frights to your walls – and would work very well if you have a music room. Now, if only they came with the sheet music as well! I’d love to learn some of these pieces, like the “Ghost Dance“.
For fans of inflatable yard decor, this Grim Reaper Globe Halloween Inflatable is certainly a wonderful addition to your collection. The globe acts as a projection screen for the compact projector included with the kit. The projector includes five scenes and four transitions with sounds. If you are technologically savvy, you can upload your own scenes to the projector for a customized display.
The projector does look small and may not have enough lumens to give a theater-quality projection, but this is an exciting addition to the market and hopefully means that we can expect even more advanced consumer-friendly projection-mapping technology in the years to come.
Finding quality resin tombstones for your graveyard display can be difficult – the majority of stores only carry foam tombstones. Lowe’s is offering this over 2′ high tombstone for 2019. The durability and added weight from resin props means that it will stand up to the elements for a display meant to last longer than a few hours on Halloween night. I especially love that the design is creepy, yet not corny – it does have the morbid look of real old-time gravestones.
As stated previously, Michael’s Halloween selections are top notch this season. Aside from the vintage Halloween collection, they also have a variety of Fortune Telling themed decor. This box wall art may only be 7.87″ x 5.91″ x 1.38″, but the design has a big impact. The moth’s skull and eyes pattern makes a beautiful addition to one’s wall and can remain up all year to accent a goth decor.
This fall marks the return of one of my favorite scents from a few years ago, Twilight Woods. The fragrance is described on the Bath & Body Works website as “an enticing blend of apricot nectar, mimosa petals, and Tuscan cypress”. The scent is also available as a shower gel, body cream, body gel, body wash, body butter, and shimmer mist. Get this and smell great while you do all your Halloween shopping!
This eerie black cat banner from the Martha Stewart Collection creates a fun photo op for your Halloween party. The poleyester banner measures 72.57″ high by 43.75″ wide and has eyelets to hang with ease. This product appears to be on clearance, so get yours before they disappear!
Happy Halloween shopping 2024! For over two decades now, the Halloween shopping season has been my main time for household and clothing purchases. Each year, I love to shop around
TransWorld’s Halloween & Attractions Show 2024 is the premiere haunt industry trade show. For over four decades, it has been the place where haunt industry members gather to network, learn,
Take part in a spirited séance aboard the historic – and haunted – Queen Mary with 57 Ghosts. From Master Magician and Apparitionist Aiden Sinclair, this 90-minute immersive experience takes
Welcome to my home of all things horror & Halloween! The Horror of Being Emily showcases resources, creative projects, small businesses, and more related to my weird and wonderful Halloween & horror obsession.
