Baltimore's Eclectic Marketplace Is A Fun Gift Shop With Unique Finds And Vintage Treasures

Maryland is a state with plenty of beauty to offer, featuring the cozy beach town of Annapolis with old-town European vibes and the hidden gem of Assateague Island with beaches, dunes, and forests. If you're someone who finds beauty in the unusual, the state's largest city, Baltimore, may be the destination for you. Beyond its famed seafood scene, historic landmarks, and the TikTok-approved George Peabody Library, the city has a treasure trove of places that celebrate the strange and grotesque.

In Baltimore, you can visit the grave of Edgar Allan Poe, explore mystical museums like the Witch Board Museum, and shop for curiosities to take home at the macabre marketplace, Bazaar. Opened in 2013 by locals Greg Hatem and Brian Henry, who have a passion for the peculiar, Bazaar is full of wonderfully weird items, ranging from taxidermy animals to funerary antiques. If you find beauty in the bizarre, pay a visit to Bazaar.

Tucked into the famous Hampden neighborhood in Baltimore, Bazaar is a brick-and-mortar store filled with oddities. Inside, you'll find walls blanketed in taxidermy animal heads, framed butterflies, and quirky artwork (among many other things). The display cases are stuffed with even more macabre odds and ends, including skulls and antique medical devices. With an endlessly rotating selection of unique items, there's something new to discover with each visit. If you're not in town, the shop also has an online store with an impressive inventory, where you can fill your cart with anything from creepy enamel pins to authentic animal skeletons.

If you're curious about creating some peculiar items of your own, the shop offers taxidermy workshops. All the materials are provided, including animals that would have otherwise been discarded (none are harmed in preparation for the classes). For more information on upcoming workshops, you can visit their website. If you'd rather admire the creations, you can visit Bazaar any day except Tuesday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

While you're in Baltimore, there are plenty of other bizarre spots worth checking out. Located above Bazaar is the Witch Board Museum, which celebrates the invention of the Ouija board in Baltimore. After perusing antique "talking boards" displayed in glass cases, pay a visit to inventor Elijah Bond's grave at the Green Mount Cemetery. His headstone is in the shape of a Ouija board, providing the perfect opportunity to reach out to him in the beyond — if you dare.

If you're a fan of Gothic 19th-century literature, you can visit a couple of sites connected to "The Raven" author Edgar Allan Poe, including his former Baltimore residence. As a historic landmark, the Poe House and Museum offers tours Wednesday through Sunday between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. in the tiny red-brick home where Poe wrote some of his earliest tales. Afterward, you can visit his gravesite at the Westminster Burying Ground.