The Witch's Door: Oddities and Tales from the Esoteric to the Extreme is part behind-the-scenes look at the Oddities Flea Market/oddities collecting business and part memoir.

Based on the description for this book, I thought this would be more focused on the business side of the Oddities Flea Market and the objects themselves, and less of a personal memoir focused on the personalities behind the shop/television series. I think it leans pretty heavily toward being about the personal histories of the authors. I was unfamiliar with the TV show and shop, so I didn’t go in with previous interest/being part of a fandom, and so I don’t know if I was the intended audience for this, and that may be part of why it didn’t land well with me. I will say, if you are a fan of them, I do think you will find this interesting, and I thought that their sections were cohesive even though they were written by two authors.

I enjoyed some of the informational aspects of the book, specifically around the histories of certain objects or types of artifacts, how the authors authenticate pieces, finessing reluctant sellers, ethical issues in the trade, et cetera. I would have liked to see the entire book structured more heavily around core issues in collecting and selling. You will also find some interesting images. But, I will say, there were a few issues covered that I think could have been addressed with more care and consideration. Some topics were just handled in ways that felt off-putting.

I also found the writing style to be a bit simplistic. It felt like a casual conversation with a friend, especially when the authors were relaying stories and conversations they had. Overall, I think this book might have tried to be too many things at once. I feel like the authors could have made distinct works that covered the inside workings of the collecting and selling, and then also a separate memoir, and then maybe also a coffee table book with visual interest pieces. This work just felt a bit unfocused to me, and I don’t know that it delivered on what the description promised.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!*

While I have never seen an episode of Ryan’s
Show ‘Oddities’, I do follow him and Regina on Instagram, so I was excited to see they had written a book.

If you have ever been fascinated by the strange and odd in a museum or flea market, this book is for you. If you have thought about buying such items, then this book is for you. The book goes into depth about how certain items in their collections came into their possession. It also tells about their background and how they connected.

A delightful look behind the curtain and one of the most fascinating collecting couple out there.

Thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the digital copy in exchange for my review.

This book was amazing. I loved the stories behind each item. You can tell a lot of time and research has been put into each item that has been added to the collection. The book also gives you a lot of back story of the lives of the collectors themselves.

I rate non-fiction/biographies differently than I do fiction. It is not up to me to rate other people’s actual life experiences. This book was charming, intriguing and different than my usual reads. When rating true story experiences I judge more on the ability to write and use correct grammar versus the storyline. This was a good read but not something I was able to read in one sitting. I found myself picking it up and putting it back down.

This is a highly entertaining account of the lives and careers of Ryan Matthew Cohn and Regina M. Rossi, the authors and experts in all things odd and macabre. I'd have liked more writing from Rossi, who is overshadowed by Cohn throughout the book, and some terms could have been better explained--or explained at all. That said, if you've ever poked around at the stranger finds in antique shops, watched the Oddities TV show, or been fascinated with medical specimens, this is the book for you.

This is a collection of anecdotes from the authors about their weird collections and weird lives. They're both collectors of oddities and antiques, a lot of which are human artifacts. Some of the history of these unique cultural practices was interesting. A lot of this just felt like the authors bragging about how super cool their lives are. Those bits were boring.

In *The Witch’s Door*, Regina and Ryan Cohn invite readers into an exquisitely curated realm of the macabre and mysterious, offering a spellbinding tour through their extraordinary collection of oddities. As the founders of Oddities Flea Market, the Cohns have built a reputation for curating the unusual and the eerie, and this memoir serves as a captivating showcase of their expertise and passion for the bizarre.

The book is a treasure trove of the strange and unsettling. Each chapter reveals a different facet of their collection, from taxidermied curios like Mr. Peepers to the haunting allure of Charlie McCarthy dolls that may harbor ghostly presences. The Cohns have an eye for the bizarre and the beautiful, turning what might seem grotesque or unsettling into an art form. They reveal the backstory of each artifact with engaging narratives that blend historical facts with eerie anecdotes, providing a rich tapestry of the object’s origins and significance.

What makes *The Witch’s Door* particularly enthralling is its combination of vivid photography and captivating storytelling. The book features jaw-dropping images that capture the intricate details of their macabre treasures, each one carefully selected to evoke wonder and curiosity. The photographs complement the stories, allowing readers to visualize the haunting beauty of the artifacts as they are introduced to the peculiarities and histories behind them.

Regina and Ryan Cohn’s dual perspectives add depth to the narrative. Regina’s background in fashion brings an aesthetic sensibility to the curation process, while Ryan’s experience with the reality show *Oddities* offers insider knowledge of the artifact collecting world. Together, they provide a comprehensive look at how they source and select these unusual pieces, offering readers an insider’s glimpse into the world of collecting and selling the strange and unusual.

The memoir also serves as a celebration of the Cohns' role as trendsetters in the realm of oddities. They have not only reinvented the market for collectors but have also brought a new level of appreciation and respect for the art of curating the strange. Their book is a testament to their dedication to preserving and showcasing artifacts that might otherwise be lost to obscurity.

*The Witch’s Door* is a delightful read for fans of *Oddities*, *Atlas Obscura*, and anyone with a penchant for the darker side of life. It’s a visual and narrative feast that delves into the allure of the macabre with a blend of humor, reverence, and genuine fascination. Whether as a gift or a personal indulgence, this book is a must-have for those who revel in the unusual and the unsettling. Regina and Ryan Cohn’s memoir is a journey into the heart of the bizarre and a celebration of the art of curating the strange.

As a fan of the TV show Oddities - I was drawn immediately to this offering. ( Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for a chance to review this book.) This is the memoir of a sorts written by Ryan Cohn - documenting his passion for "oddities" and his rise in the field as creator, collector, and authority.

I was fascinated by his early career, apprenticed to a jeweler, and learning traditional fabrication techniques. I can see how that diverse technical skill base held him in great stead as he began work with trephinated skulls - which he is an authority in during the show. The tales of his youth starting his personal collection were intense! The book goes on to cover the experiences related to filming the show - and then on to his meeting and courtship with Regina. I found it compelling as it continued up until 2020, and related their struggles starting a fledgling business during a global pandemic.

One thing I was struck by was the desire for and joy in finding community. As an artist and a member of the Mythic Arts community - it is a homecoming to find the peers that work in the same motif and share the same passions. I found myself relating to Ryan's experiences among the circuit of collectors and clients... although this isn't my genre, the sense of finding community was so relatable!

I found the book to be a fast and easy read, it is very conversational in tone. It contains many illustrations - which I think are essential to telling its tale. ( Although I wished for more.) I think it would be a great gift, or "coffee table" book for collectors, fans of the macabre, collectors of natural history...

Do you love all things dark and witchy? Do you love trinkets? Antiques? This book is for you! Creators of the Oddities Flea Market reveal their distinctly curated collection. This is so cool!

A fun trip through the world of collecting oddities and curiosities.

This was enjoyable, though I think it’s best as a book you pick up and put down at leisure, reading bits at a time, rather than something to be read straight through.

There’s a lot of personal anecdotes and personal stories included, and though some of that is both expected and welcome, I wish there had been less of that and more detail on history and background of the objects. The authors are interesting enough people, but I wasn’t interested so much in them as in their knowledge of these sorts of art and collectible objects.

The section on cabinets of curiosities was probably my favorite, though there are lots of interesting treasures to be found throughout the book. I much appreciated that many photos were included, and I thought that both the selection and the quality of the photography was good.

As I've done in the past with other primary or autobiographical sources, I'm not going to "rate" this book in the traditional way. I don't believe in giving a social media "star rating" to someone's life experience as they saw fit to tell it. However, I would like to say that I found this work incredibly charming.

I never watched the Science Channel show "Oddities," so here I was greeted by Ryan and Regina for the first time. I am a natural history fan, so the idea of collecting bones, morbid ephemera, and other curiosities doesn't bother me. One of my favorite shops is The Weeping Glass here in Pittsburgh! That being said, I can only aspire and admire these two for pursuing what they clearly enjoy.

It was refreshing to learn of the respect and dignity that Ryan has achieved for his collection. From self-taught tinkering to museum-worthy pieces. But when making a purchase, the reader finds out how slippery the slope can be. Ryan warns that thorough research, data, and photographs are necessary; assuring all laws are obeyed and with respectable sellers. In the Oddities trade, stolen items and fakes are a constant threat. Along the way, the reader will learn about the misconceptions of shrunken heads, the history of "exploded" skulls, cabinets of curiosities, reliquaries, anatomical wax sculptures, and more!

But what the reader also comes to learn about is the true fondness that Ryan and Regina have for each other. It was a quick courtship, but then again you get the impression that these two don't play by traditional rules. How refreshing it is to see two business partners, lovers, and hosts, work with such heart! In the end, it is a memoir of two people, their happiness, their passions, their struggles, and their friendships! It's a beautiful book inside and out, perfect for the witchy readers, collectors, Oddities Flea Market fans, or simply the curious!

I'll be sure to attend the Oddities Expo someday and thank you Chronicle Books for approving "The Witch's Door" for me on Netgalley!

This was such a weird and entertaining book! I loved learning about all the different oddities they showcased. There was also quite a bit about their personal lives included, which sometimes made sense (like how they came to acquire a certain collection) but other times just kind of felt like space filler.

I’ve been a fan of both Ryan and Regina for many years now and was so excited to receive an early copy of their book. As a collector of antiques and oddities myself I loved hearing stories of how they came to acquire some of their most interesting finds as well as some of the ways they have impacted the community. Because I’m a fan I loved the inside look into their personal lives that is mixed in. I had a lot of fun with this book and I think anyone into the macabre and strange will also have a good time. Thanks again NetGally and the publishers for the ARC!

It is not often that I decide to pick up a book that is nonfiction, I however decided to take a chance on this one. The cover and the blurb really peaked my interest to the point I wanted to give this a go. To say that this book was a let down is being nice. Rather than this being mostly about oddities and the stories behind them, it seemed that it was mostly a memoir about the author and his wife. If the two focuses of this book could be separated that would be awesome.

1.5/5

This was a very interesting book. The book is filled with different stories in the world of oddities. It talks about what made the author interested in the different odd items listed in the book. Definitely a book different than anything I’ve ever read.

This book is a great example of how a person can be a storyteller, but not...a writer. (That feels like I'm being judgmental.) (But I am! I'm judging a book on the book-judging place!) Which is to say that the prose was sometimes - not even infrequently - so boring that it actually got in the way of how potentially interesting the stories were. The chapters had the quality of very long Instagram captions, stories that must be great when you're sitting with the authors in some velvet and skull-fest of a room, moodily lit to highlight their fancy outfits while you drink expensive cocktails and they tell you all about their lives. There's dry ice smoke coming from somewhere, but you can't tell exactly where. In the distance a wolf howls, which is weird because you're in Brooklyn.

I was not familiar with either of the authors before this, but I can absolutely see how it was a gimme for them to put together a book. But their story is a visual one - from the obvious fact that they're collectors of neat-looking curiosities, to the way that they likely would not have gotten this level of fame and TV exposure if they weren't a good-looking and well-dressed couple of professional goths. It was frustrating reading about all of these cool objects they were tracking down while not getting to see all that many of them; the photos are few and far between in this book compared to the volume of prose.

I don't know why this book in particular makes me feel like I shouldn't be mean, but I'm going to try and say this delicately: although I get why the couple thing is a big selling point, I think the inclusion of some of Regina's sections should have been reconsidered given that the totality of them ends up being kind of a bunch of complaining. (Ugh, our TV wedding might have looked cool but filming it sucked. Ugh, our honeymoon was ruined by Ryan working on a wax doll deal the whole time. Ugh, the pandemic interrupted our plans. Ugh, where are we going to put all this stuff Ryan just bought?!) Like, all the complaints are fair! Just...you know, not all that interesting to hear about.

This book will likely be interesting for fans and fellow collectors (I'm a vintage dealer myself, so I did connect to the passion here!), but if what you really want is an in-depth peek inside a cabinet of curiosities, I gotta say this ain't it.

My thanks to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

I got about 40% of the way through this and DNF'd it, although I did skim through the last half. From the synopsis, it seemed like the oddities that Ryan and Regina collected and dealt with would be a more prominent part of the book. It was described as "packed with jaw-dropping photographs," but I would say roughly half of the photos were of Ryan and Regina themselves or of people they knew/met along their collecting journey. This is definitely more a memoir of how Ryan was interested in curious items from a child and the story of his life than it is a look at the oddities and curiosities that they gathered along the way. I think this book should be more prominently marketed as a memoir than as "Oddities and Tales from the Esoteric to the Extreme." From the description, I definitely expected more about the items they collected and the stories or "tales" behind those items. Also, of the items that were included, many were about the exploding skulls and jewelry that Ryan himself made or altered and so it seemed less focused on interesting pieces and more of a "hey look at what I can do, you should check out my stuff."

The Witch’s Door is primarily the memoir of Ryan Cohn, who became a collector at a very early age and turned that passion into profit to become one of the foremost collectors of oddities in the world. It is also in part written by his wife Regina, who brought her business sense to the endeavor and pioneered the Oddities Flea Market.

I loved their tales of collecting and the people they encountered along the way. This book definitely focuses more on their personal experiences and while their favorite artifacts are talked about at length and pictured on the page, this isn’t just a book of photographs.

Some of the pieces in their collection gave me weird vibes for sure, but on the whole was fascinated by their lives. I appreciate the lengths they go to ensure the legality of their collecting, but I did also feel some type of way about the tribal artifacts they have collected, and while it was always mentioned that the collection was legal, there was less mention of their ethics.

On the whole I think this book would be the best fit for a reader that likes memoir, and/or has a particular interest in antiques, oddities, art, or curation.

I hate writing negative reviews. I want to start by saying I love all things dark, witchy, and strange. I thought this book was going to be like that. I wasn't aware it was from the show Oddities and I was excited when I found out. Which is why it is so hard to write this negative review. I had to DNF it at about 100 pages. It was just so frustrating. The book starts by talking about the things they collected and while I understand that just because I see the sacredness of items doesn't mean others do. This book just felt so icky. The way they discuss the items felt so disrespectful. While talking about Kapala's there are pictures of the two of them making out in a photo booth and they talk about how they found it at a flea market like it was an old vase. But what really caused me to abandon the book was the completely disrespectful way they talked about the time they accidentally sold a stolen shrunken head. I was so disappointed. Sacred items should not be a centerpiece to show how edgy you are.

1 star

This book was amazing! Its been at least a decade since I have read a full length non fiction book and of all the books in the world I'm so glad that this one made its way to me. There is not a chapter in this book that is not absolutely fascinating. I have so many things floating around in my head that i never thought I would have the know how of. I now know how exploded skulls are made and work, I could in theory make my own shrunken head. A skill I will keep under wraps until the Apocalypse of course. I have an extremely profound new respect for these collections and their respected collectors. I have always had a keen fascination for oddities and tend to lean towards the darker end of the spectrum. I just honestly don't know what else to say. I loved this book so so much and I cannot wait to get my hands on a hard copy for my collection!!