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The Maryland Curiosity Bureau

What is Dr. Gloom’s Crypt of Curiosities?

Chris LaMartina is the proprietor of Dr. Gloom's Crypt of Curiosities (photo credit Aaron Henkin / WYPR)
Chris LaMartina is the proprietor of Dr. Gloom's Crypt of Curiosities (photo credit Aaron Henkin / WYPR)

Listener Stacy Gilbert wandered into a shop called Protean Books & Records, and she found a weird little room in the back. A sign read, Dr. Gloom’s Crypt of Curiosities. She pulled aside the curtain, and when she stepped inside, she was fascinated by the otherworldly oddities on display. This week, we introduce Stacy to the crypt’s proprietor, we remember Baltimore’s now-shuttered American Dime Museum, and we head up to Havre de Grace to check out a mysterious soon-to-open spot called, First Call Paranormal and Oddities Museum.

In this episode, we hear from:

Chris LaMartina of Dr. Gloom’s Crypt of Curiosities

Dick Horne of The American Dime Museum

James Taylor of the forthcoming First Call Paranormal and Oddities Museum

James Taylor will open First Call Paranormal and Oddities Museum in Havre de Grace during the summer of 2022 (Photo credit Aaron Henkin / WYPR)
James Taylor will open First Call Paranormal and Oddities Museum in Havre de Grace during the summer of 2022 (Photo credit Aaron Henkin / WYPR)

Aaron creates and produces original radio programs and podcasts for WYPR. His current project is The Maryland Curiosity Bureau. Aaron's neighborhood documentary series, Out of the Blocks, earned the 2018 national Edward R Murrow Award. His past work includes the long-running weekly cultural program, The Signal, and the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings series, Tapestry of the Times. Aaron's stories have aired nationally on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered.