Whimsical cookie-themed plaques mark the birthplace of the Fig Newton.

Tiki luxury on Nob Hill.

A shop full of natural curiosities, carnivorous plants, and costumed taxidermied mice.

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

Carnivorous plants, medieval aphrodisiacs, and the largest original wood structure glass conservatory in the western hemisphere.

A 140-year-old castle with underground caves hidden in San Francisco.

A psychedelic labyrinth on the San Francisco bay.

This Czar-funded, onion-domed, lavishly muraled Orthodox Church played a starring role in "The Deer Hunter."

An old church full of restored Catholic statues is a makeup artist's labor of love.

Instead of fruit, the branches of this tree are brimming with hopes and dreams.

Entering this curiosity shop is like stepping into a mad scientist's lab.

The magic's in the hole!

A beautiful 62-acre Catholic shrine and botanical garden.

Private collection of art inspired by cabinets of curiosity.

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.

This shop specializes in oddities and Victorian-inspired wonders.

Crammed into a Baltimore row house is an oddities shop that sells everything from skulls to dead insects.

Eighteen miniature death-scene dioramas.

This beloved Baltimore spot features caged dolls, a giant Pez collection, and many, many mannequins.

Fiji mermaids, mummified remains, and recreated cryptids are among the morbid oddities at this Maryland museum.

Tucked in a nondescript downtown Brooklyn mall is a bar containing a remarkable turn of the century anatomical wax collection last seen in 1920s Berlin.

If Hello Kitty were Mickey Mouse, this would be Disneyland.

A magical place that lets you play in and explore the world of Studio Ghibli.

A Japanese concept restaurant that feels like a party thrown by the monsters in your closet.