Appalachian Oddities and The Odd Lands
We opened Appalachian Oddities on May 14, 2021, in downtown Weston, West Virginia, just down the road from the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. It started as a small retail shop filled with books, crystals, artwork, and unusual objects we had collected or sourced from artists, antique stores, and independent makers.
From the beginning, the shop was meant to be something people could explore. Most of what we carry is one-of-a-kind or made in small quantities, so the space is always changing depending on what we find and bring in. People come to browse, to talk, and to spend time in an environment that feels different from a typical store.
Later on in our journey we began to offer tarot and energy clearing as a service. Tarot has become a steady part of what we do, giving people a more personal way to engage with the space. Some visitors come specifically for a reading, while others discover it after spending time in the shop.
In 2021, we built an escape room called Gabriel’s Feast in the middle section of the building. It operated through 2023, but rising insurance costs and the need to restructure made it impossible to continue running it safely. Rather than abandon the space, we made the decision to rebuild it into something new.
During the summer of 2025, our family worked together to transform that section of the shop into The Odd Lands.
We built everything ourselves. We designed the environments, installed the lighting and sound, and created the characters and moving elements by hand. We worked within the structure that was already there and reshaped it into something people could physically walk through and experience.
The Odd Lands is an immersive walk-through environment made up of connected spaces. Visitors move through at their own pace, noticing details, objects, and figures that suggest a larger story.
They’ll meet Dr. E. Gadds, whose experiments tend to raise questions about the good doctor’s sanity. Or Braxxie Sutton, a very out-of-town waitress who spends her nights serving spirits to the creatures who frequent the Cryptid Club. Eartha is an Appalachian mountain witch with a penchant for mischievous magic, and Lilly is a tormented young girl whose condition leaves visitors wondering whether it’s mental illness, possession, or something else entirely.
We don’t explain everything. People notice what they notice, and the story reveals itself differently each time someone walks through.
We opened The Odd Lands on October 1, 2025, and it has quickly become the center of Appalachian Oddities. Some people visit specifically to see it. Others find it unexpectedly while browsing the shop. Almost all of them leave talking about when they’ll come back.
As we approach our five-year anniversary this May, Appalachian Oddities continues to operate as a retail shop, tarot reading space, and immersive experience. Everything exists together under one roof, built by our family and shaped over time.
The Odd Lands continues to grow alongside Appalachian Oddities. We add to it, adjust it, and let it evolve over time, so no two visits are exactly alike. Most people don’t see everything the first time. The story continues to unfold for us and anyone willing to step inside.
*This article was written by Katy Perrine, Owner of Appalachian Oddities.
About the Author: Guest Post
