Explore 179 Magic Collections - Atlas Obscura
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outsider art

8 Supernatural Spots You Can Only Find in Northern Kentucky

Indulge your proclivity for the paranormal and explore the mystifying side of the Bluegrass State.
Victorian séances led to spook shows, which led to <em>Rocky Horror.</em>
horror

Rocky Horror Has Surprising Roots in Victorian Seances

'Time Warp' all the way back to 1800s spiritualism, magic performances, and spook shows.
Victoria Linchong October 11, 2023
witchcraft

In Early Modern Russia, Witches Were Men and Belief in Magic Was Universal

Terrifying love spells and protective "spells to power" offered the chance for control in a fiercely hierarchical society.
Valerie Kivelson October 2, 2023
Paris, France

Étienne-Gaspard Robertson's Tomb

A phantasmagoric tomb honors a Belgian artist-scientist's contributions to the world of spooky entertainment.
Caerphilly, Wales

Tommy Cooper Statue

Enthusiasts of the mid-20th century magician and comedian erected this statue in the small Welsh town in which he was born, even though the comedian only lived there for three years.
Wyoming's Casper Mountain is home to witches who appear once a year, on Midsummer's Eve, thanks to the rich imagination of writer and artist Neal Forsling.
witchcraft

On Wyoming's Casper Mountain, the Crimson Dawn Witches Appear Every Midsummer's Eve

Nearly a century ago, writer and artist Neal Forsling's magical tales began a local legacy that celebrates family, nature, and imagination.
Michelle Harris June 19, 2023
San Francisco, California

Showgirl Magic Museum

In the basement of a San Francisco performing arts center, a small museum dedicated to the history of showgirls.
The replacement tree that stands today.
Carmarthen, Wales

Merlin's Oak

Associated with the famous wizard, it is said that when this oak tree falls, so will the town.
The higher branches of this snazzy old cedar protect the lower branches' many wishes from sun and rain.
Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk Wishing Tree

The branches of this sprawling cedar tree are laden with wishes big and small.
cemeteries

Podcast: Houdini's Grave

Searching for the great beyond in Queens, New York.
The Podcast Team October 25, 2022
witchcraft

What the Scent of a Witch Revealed About the Ancient World

Antiquity’s perfumed sorceresses still influence ideas about magic today.
Britta Ager October 24, 2022
Reading tea leaves.
witchcraft

The Ancient Art of Kitchen Divination

How to try tasseography, cromniomancy, and other mystical gastronomic arts.
Diana Hubbell October 17, 2022
These eggs see all.
witchcraft

The Long, Extremely Witchy History of Telling the Future With Eggs

From ancient Greece to the Salem Witch Trials.
Diana Hubbell October 13, 2022
List

6 Legendary Hollywood Hangouts

Where the stars are in real life and the afterlife.
Taxidermied bears in the main hall.
Degersheim, Switzerland

Dreamfactory's World of Wonders

A Swiss magician's vault of oddities.
libraries

The Famous Fight Over the Turn-of-the-Century Trend of Spirit Photography

In one corner: Harry Houdini. And in the other: Arthur Conan Doyle.
April White October 29, 2021
A ghoulish 1915 poster from Jay's collection advertising a seance with the magician Howard Thurston.
rare books

For Sale: Ricky Jay's One-of-a-Kind Collection of Magic, Mystery, and Masterpieces

The late, legendary magician and actor always followed his curiosity.
Matthew Taub October 14, 2021
A close-up of the newly discovered folio fragments reveals the handwriting of two different scribes.
king arthur

Found: An Early Merlin Tale, Hidden for Centuries

The fragments tell a new version of the magician's encounter with the enchantress Viviane.
Sarah Durn September 16, 2021