Illustration by Sophia Ren
G reater Cincinnati has its share of stores selling magical wares, enchanting decor, or weird odds and ends. While each is decidedly unique in its offerings and stylings, they provide a space where wonder thrives.
This year marks a decade of Hail Records & Oddities in Covington’s MainStrasse, and co-owner Neil Higginbotham says that he’s always evolving to meet what he calls his customer’s “weirdo” needs. Scan Hail’s space and you’ll see wet specimens in jars, taxidermized critters, skulls, collectible VHS tapes, fringe art, and more. Over the years, Higginbotham says people come in just to have a safe place to express their interests.
“That’s what I wanted when we opened: A place where people could congregate—not have to buy anything, but it certainly helps—and bring their friends in. Show them what you like.”
Another longstanding magical shop is Enchanted Moments in Milford, which first opened in 2004. Take a walk through Northside and you’ll find both Beardo’s Curiosities and Poppets & Potions. And while not explicitly a magic shop, Newport is home to Monmouth St. Mercantile, which co-owners Wendy Braun and Tatum Davis describe as
“Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls.” On a rainy December evening, MSM welcomed a small group into its storefront for Tea & Tarot.
Gathered around a table, attendees reached for homemade cookies and lavender-frosted doughnuts. A large crescent moon hangs above the space. Later in the evening, Braun circled around the table to do mini tarot readings. The event captures one of the store’s goals: Bringing enchantment to people’s lives.
The boutique opened in September 2024 in the former Baker’s Table Bakery space at 1001 Monmouth St. (The store still sells sourdough bread on Saturdays.) You can find everything from tarot decks to stationary with woodland creatures to apothecary goods to an array of books.
“There are people who get really freaked out by tarot and witchy things,” says Braun. “We understand that. You can ignore that. There are other things [at the shop] for you. If your whimsy threshold is watercoloring, awesome. But if you want to talk about the other things, we’re here for that, too. It gives people the space of feeling hints of magic that are comfortable for them.”
As far as the decor, Braun and Davis say it’s an extension of their own homes. The store functions as an authentic look at not only their interests, but their tastes, lives, and friendship, too.
Located on Pike Street in Covington, Hierophany & Hedge’s shopkeepers operate under the monikers Coil & Augur—and the meticulously stylized shop also functions as an extension of themselves, down to its two feline inhabitants, Lt. Cmdr. Atramenta Murderpaws and Barones Belladonna Nightshade. When the store first opened in 2021, Augur says that it was an effort to remind people that magic can be found wherever they look.
“We live in a world of social media. We live in a world of mortgages, health insurance, and everything feels like it is of the material world, and there’s no cause for hope,” says Augur. “For us, the world feels like it should be more than that. We have the opportunity to create any sort of fantasy world that we live in.”
Once the shop opened, Coil adds that they just hoped someone came. Since then, they have met hundreds of people, gained lots of friends, and played a lot of Dungeons & Dragons.
“The discovery that [Hierophany & Hedge] was not just the magic shop we had been looking for, but was the magic shop a lot of people were looking for, was a lot of fun,” says Augur, adding that most of the people who come into the store are also people they would invite to sit and have tea with them.
A Midwestern metro like Greater Cincinnati may not seem like the ideal market for such magic, spellbooks, and oddities. Yet, the rise of the area’s metaphysical and magic shops shows that there’s nothing wrong with having a little whimsy in your life.
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