There are two types of antique shoppers: the kind who buy cool stuff no matter what, and the kind who won’t buy certain things because they could be haunted. Admittedly, I love the idea of ghosts, but I don’t let their potential existence stop me from getting something really cool at a great price.
As an avid vintage and antique shopper, I have strong opinions on the antique stores around Oklahoma City. And my love of a good deal may mean there are some questionable spirits attached to my treasured items. Each local antique store has its own personality, so naturally, each one sends you home with a different kind of otherworldly entity.
So, I created this guide to help you find your new favorite antique store—along with the perfect ghost to haunt/complement your home.
The Ghost of Someone's Fancy Grandma: Antique Co-Op
My friend and I call this place the antique labyrinth because it just keeps going and winding around and it’s impossible to browse through the collection of stuff in under two hours. It’s a truly exhausting place, simply because it’s so big and there is so much to look at. I purchased a rain lamp featuring a naked lady amongst some faux greenery from this place, and it is one of my favorite things in my home.
I could spend literal months going through the Antique Co-Op jewelry carousels. That’s why the ghost you get at this place is someone’s grandma who’s pissed that strangers are touching her fine costume jewelry. She paid good money to the Avon lady for those pieces seventy years ago, and now unkempt youths are fondling her fineries!
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A Throuple of Ghosts Reliving Their Glory Days: Room 3 Vintage
On many occasions I’ve warned my husband that I’m trying to decorate our home like a very ‘70s swinger pleasure palace. Except for the dining room. I want that to look like the witch of the woods opened up a Wisconsin supper club. So, naturally, I spend a lot of time and money at Room 3 Vintage. I can find something I absolutely need in every single booth of this place, so I can't go there often for the sake of my budget.
Whether you’re looking for clothing, furniture, books, Dungeons & Dragons stuff, décor, or old Playboy magazines, you can usually find it at Room 3. And that’s why you don’t get just one ghost when you shop here. It’s a range of spirits. There’s a trucker named Leroy who died in 1983 in the pearl snap flannel you picked up, a coked-up disco dancer in the gold-veined mirror you plan to hang over your mantel, and a midwestern mom in the spring blossom green Pyrex bowl that’s going to sit on your kitchen island to hold fruit. Who knows if they'll get along once they come home with you? Finding out is part of the fun!
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The Ghost of Someone Bored to Death by HGTV: 3 Strands Vintage Antique Mall
I really want to like this place, but the majority of the booths aren’t for folks like me. This place has some good clothing and furniture vendor booths, but there’s also a lot of shabby chic stuff. Though, one vendor had some great He-Man toys from the ‘80s, and I snatched them up for my husband.
While there are many different kinds of vendors here, there are a lot of modern farmhouse and modern farmhouse-adjacent sellers. And that can mean that some of the items aren’t actually old because they’re recent reproductions. Which means we can safely assume that the ghost you’d most likely get here is someone who died from boredom while watching Fixer Upper on HGTV.
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The Ghost of a Multilevel-Marketing Casualty: Feathered Nest Market
Perhaps the worst thing that’s happened to the antique and vintage vendor spaces is the rise of MLM product booths in those shops. I get it. Everyone needs to make money, but if I’m at a store looking for old stuff, I don’t need scented wax melts or the like. Feathered Nest Market is not immune to this issue.
So, the next time you’re looking at some midcentury coffee trays or old paperbacks here, just know that you’re probably going to bring home the ghost of a woman who died penniless after purchasing the Scentsy starter kit. She would’ve haunted the Scentsy products, but soulless junk can’t hold spirit matter.
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The Ghost of Hezekiah, Dead of Consumption: Dead People’s Stuff
Listen. I get the appeal of this place. If I had an old house that I was going to completely redo, I would be at Dead People’s Stuff every single day, looking for new doors or stained glass or whatever the hell to make my home perfect. But I live in a house built in the 1980s, and I regret nothing, because I like walk-in closets and double sinks in both bathrooms.
But if you’ve got some time and you like really old and dirty stuff, you can find yourself some treasures here. Though, keep in mind that the ghost you bring home will likely have a name like Hezekiah or Bessie, and they probably died of consumption.
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The Ghost of an Ancient Cosmic Evil: Apple Tree Antique Gallery
Look. If you want old stuff, you gotta go where the olds are. And that means Bethany! And if you want to see what the internet looked like 25 years ago, you gotta go to the Apple Tree Antiques website. If you want old motor oil cans or handmade quilts or terrifying toys from bygone eras, Apple Tree is the place to be.
I’m not entirely sure why, but as you walk through the different vendor booths here, you get a very Stephen King sort of feeling. Like maybe there’s something malevolent about the place, even though no one is talking about it and just trying to go about their business. If you told me this store was a little piece of Derry, Maine, I’d believe you. And that’s why I think if you buy something from this place, you should be ready to deal with a cosmic entity that’s older than our universe, and whatever you do, don’t stare into its deadlights.
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The Ghost of a Restless Oklahoma Matriarch: The Rink
When you talk about vintage shopping in Oklahoma City, The Rink is the place that most people are familiar with. It’s a huge space full of furniture, décor, and clothes, and the vendors are so eclectic that there’s something for everyone. Though, that name recognition tends to mean that stuff is generally more expensive here.
When you shop at The Rink, you’re going to find genuinely nice old stuff, as well as stuff that’s been “flipped.” So, you’re either coming home with an old item haunted by someone’s memaw who has a kind heart even if she says really problematic shit, or a piece of teal-painted solid wood furniture that carries the spirit of a Piedmont mom who wanted a fun, creative side hustle but died from accidentally ingesting chalk paint.
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I don’t think I’ve brought home any ghosts with items purchased at these locations, but An Occasional Sale in Shawnee probably sold me some spirits. If you know of other antique stores with fun otherworldly entities, drop them in the comments.
