Getting Dark
By Lisa Arnett
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It’s spooky season all year around at these three shops
Ghoulish Mortals Monster & Horror Store
228 W. Main St., St. Charles
Dove Thistelton and her husband, Warwick Price, are lifelong fans of the horror genre. “As a child, I loved monsters and just couldn’t get enough of them,” Thiselton says. While living in Los Angeles years ago, they enjoyed visiting horror stores and often traveled to horror conventions to purchase art. “We thought, what if we had a store that was like the artist alley at these conventions, but year-round?” When they opened their store in 2018, they envisioned it as an immersive, destination-worthy showcase of horror-oriented artwork and collectibles. The main floor is more family friendly, with a large section dedicated to Pokémon, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. “There’s no blood upstairs, even in sticker form,” Thiselton says. “We try to keep things here creepy-cute.” Downstairs, the inventory gets decidedly darker and is arranged in vignettes, from a scary carnival to Halloween with a Michael Myers mannequin lurking. During the month of October, the shop puts out its signature Halloween decorations: a trio of inflatable tentacles appearing to burst from the building’s second-story windows.
Good to know: Thiselton, a professional photographer, offers holiday sessions that routinely sell out, including Easter portraits with fanged Peter Rottentail and a “Season’s Beatings” event with folkloric Christmas creature Krampus.
Hoof + Horn
14 W. Downer Place, Aurora
“We define ourselves on social media as ‘where the witches shop,’ but when people come in for the first time and ask us what that means, we like to elaborate by saying we are an occult boutique and a spiritual apothecary,” says Jarrod Johnson, who co-owns the shop with Adrian Frost. They previously operated in Yorkville and relocated to this Aurora storefront after a pandemic-fueled boom necessitated more space for inventory and events. “During COVID, a lot of people were looking for answers or peace and also had a lot of free time…and started getting into reading tarot or witchcraft or Wicca in general,” Johnson says. Whether you’re seriously interested in divination (tarot decks, amethyst runes, scrying mirrors) or just looking to pick up a housewarming gift that brings the good vibes (candles, potted plants, smudge sticks), you can find what you need here. “We have handmade brooms from an artist in the city…a curated cabinet of curiosities, and some spiritually focused antiques, like statuary, rosaries, and old occult books,” Johnson says. “We also have a really amazing line of botanical products we make—herbal incense blends, organic teas, essential oil sprays.”
Good to know: Before your visit, check the shop’s online events calendar (hoofandhornshop.com) to see what ticketed events are on tap. In October, you can sign up for a Haunted Aurora walking tour led by paranormal researcher Tracy Duran, the all-day Autumn Tarot Retreat, or classes such as “Crystal Balls, Mirrors & More: Intro to Scrying.”
DeviousFX Oddities Shop
19 W. St. Charles Road, Lombard
Longtime professional magician Bob James operated his own magic and curiosities shop in Elmhurst for decades before moving to this Lombard storefront seven years ago. He’s joined forces with Nikki, an artist and the owner of Blackbird Creative Designs, who has reenvisioned the store as a mecca for the goth community, stocking all things strange and sinister. Browse shelves of skulls, skeletons, taxidermied creatures, and creepy wet specimens (the jarred octopus tentacle is the signature offering) as well as glass cases filled with crystals, bat-wing rings, and guillotine earrings. Curious customers can continue window shopping behind a hidden door. “You go through a bookcase and on the other side is an art gallery with stone lithographs and some really unusual things like bone art,” James says.
Good to know: Especially popular are prints from Nikki’s “Sad Soulmates” series, featuring a sweet skeleton and ghost doing all the things besties do together, from sharing a diner milkshake to playing backgammon. “We’ve literally sold thousands of them,” James says. “There are over 60 in the series.”
Photos: Jen Banowetz (Ghoulish Mortals); Hoof + Horn; DeviousFX
