Halloween is a great time to explore the stranger side of the San Francisco Bay Area. I have seen a lot of strange stuff in the city, but what we are talking about here is all the weird and spooky shops that you can find if you look hard enough. You might see some random psychics or tarot card readers with a table set up on the sidewalk in busy neighborhoods, but there are actually a lot fo cool, little shops all over the place that embrace the odd. The San Francisco Bay Area has occult shops, crystal stores, herbal apothecaries, tarot readers and stores filled with preserved insects, animal skulls and all kinds of random stuff. Some places are serious spiritual businesses. Others feel more like small museums where nearly everything happens to be for sale.
You do not need to practice witchcraft or believe that tarot cards can predict the future to enjoy these stores. A visit can be about finding an unusual Halloween decoration, buying your first tarot deck, learning about local spiritual traditions or simply seeing objects that would never appear in an ordinary gift shop. Even a tarot card reading done by a talented reader can be a fun experience. I don’t really believe in all of this stuff, however I did enjoy both psychic reading and tarot the few times I participated. It is actually pretty amazing how good some of these people are at picking up on cues. Or maybe it actually is real. Who knows?
October makes the experience especially fun. Halloween is coming up at the end of the month a room filled with candles, old books, crystals or preserved specimens feels right for the season. Several shops also offer readings, workshops and classes, although appointments may be harder to secure close to October 31.
Table of Contents
Occult Stores in the Bay Area
San Francisco
Paxton Gate…