In the coming months, I’ll be dividing the focus of Weird Wanderings between locales that are haunted and ones that are just downright peculiar. But while chain-rattling spirits are the primary draw for a haunted sight, what exactly makes an offbeat attraction?
Over the years, I’ve found there are various factors that go into declaring a place–with all due respect–weird, but certain characteristics are more tried and true. So here’s my quick guide for what to anticipate in an offbeat attraction. Check your usual expectations at the door.
Kitsch. Some people think kitsch is just a smattering of garish trinkets, but that’s underestimating the power of over-the-top gaudy. In fact, my husband and I opted to marry at the Trees of Mystery, a place renowned for its giant Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, so that gives you an idea of my reverence for all things offbeat.
With so-called tourist traps, you might not immediately think “weird” as much as “outdated”. However, in an era where most roadside attractions have been vanquished by major theme parks, these places are most definitely unusual by today’s standards. Not everywhere has its own colossal folkloric figures greeting visitors, but America is still awash with paint-peeling landmarks like giant coffeepots or oversized flying saucers, all parked in random yet conspicuous places. Your visit to some of these sights might be no more than brief stopovers, but the grand photo opportunities prove endless.
(Maybe) Macabre. You don’t need ghosts to showcase a bit of the ghastly.
Pittsburgh’s Trundle Manor advertises itself as a modern wunderkammer, or cabinet of wonder, and features taxidermy as one of its major lures to visitors, even offering the occasional workshop for the curious and untrained. And if that’s not enough morbid for you, the purveyors have an entire section devoted to extraneous body parts, including a giant singing tumor.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia’s Mutter Museum is a large-scale house of wonder. With the preserved liver of conjoined twins Chang and Eng as a longtime claim to fame, the Mutter has all types of things that would never feel at home in an average museum. If the shrunken head doesn’t give you shivers, then the wall of skulls will.
And though many weird locales don’t advertise they’re haunted, you’ll probably leave thinking the places conceal a few in-house ghosts anyhow.
History… without pretension. Weird places put on no airs. That’s not to say other kinds of attractions are by default pretentious. On the contrary, plenty of mainstream museums are fun and approachable too. But if somewhere specializes in an offbeat topic like, say, Halloween, then you can rest assured nobody’s going to expect you to wear a suit and tie whilst enjoying the exhibits. These weird attractions are places you can often take the whole family, especially if your little ones tend to be on the peculiar side themselves. You get to learn about history without feeling like you should refer back to that art history textbook from college. So whenever someone says they don’t enjoy museums, I always counter with “You just haven’t visited the right ones yet.” Oftentimes weird feels so right.
Happy haunting!