Sideshow Gallery — Attraction in West Chicago Township

the two women running the shop were abusive to me, especialy the older one with grey long hair. i felt really singled out as every single customer beside me was recieving kindness, and when i asked a question i would be shoed away and when i first came in, im a very friendly bubbly personality i was so excited to be in that space it looked beautiful and i asked for their names, trying to connect. instead the women with gray hair got a very agressive tone with me and told me to go away and shop and maybe then we can get to know eachother. i kinda feel pathetic that i didnt just walk out or stand up for myself the first she was rude to me but i was just in shock. the other lady with platiunum blonde hari was just pasive, and in retrospect nothing compared the the woman with gray hair i dont know her name but i would love to get in contact tomorow when they are open to let them know personally that that is not how you treat customers. when i was finishing checking out, i was asking a few more questions and i got all excited again and proceeded to initiate a little chit chat and mind you, at this point i am the only person in the store beside a couple looking at necklaces or somthing, so its not like thye are occupired and cannot tlak to me because they are talking the entire time to one another about whatever gossip, but as soon as i initiate chit chat she hushes me and just asks " okay so is this all ur getting?" i have never felt so unwelmcomed and disrepsected in a store. and they completely overcharge for nearly everything, it was thirty dollars for five sticks of palo santo there, i made a comment about it saying wow prices have really gone up, and she enforced that those have always been her prices for palo santo for years now which is really.... concerning. if you shop her eyou are getting robbed, theres some reasonably priced items but all in all the abuse that i just experienced really truamatized me and made me afraid of talking to anyone else in any other store that day, and it was my errand day too lol. this is probably one of the only metaphyiscal shops ive yet to ever go to in chicago, ive been everywhere else and ive been to so many others in different states. i have NEVER been treated with such blatant disrespect, i think i only stayed there because i already forced myslf to leave the house that day and i drove a good twenty minutes there and i felt like i would of wasted alll that time and energy for nothing if i just left but ahhh i really should have left or said something to her face. please just like be wary of the fact that these people or specifically this woman can be incredibly demeaning and hurtful. happy with the items i got, will never be going back again due to how horribly i was treated. i hope no customer ever gets treated like i did again, and i am genuinely one of the sweetest people you can approach. im still in shock about what happened because it...

The store itself was beautiful, a small space packed with oddities and trinkets for all ends of the occult and pagan spectrum. Despite the small space it’s easy enough to move around.

Unfortunately, I do have a couple of problems with this store. The first is the customer service. From the time my partner and I walked in (there was one other person in the store), we were neither greeted nor addressed in any way. As two other people came in, one was greeted while the other was not. I do not think it was anything personal, but it still made me feel tense and uncomfortable. The staff members gossiping about someone in their personal lives only added to that feeling. I was ready to buy more than what I did, but I decided against it due to the atmosphere.

I’m also not fond of white sage being sold, but understand it’s in high demand and a touchy subject. I find using other herbs or species of sage (which they do offer) as an alternative is less invasive to closed Native American practices.

I’d like to visit again, but I’m not sure. The experience left me...

I wasn’t expecting to be so blown away, but this place seriously delivered. The shop itself is packed with high-quality items—beautiful pieces, thoughtful selections—you can tell someone really put intention into curating the space. I was honestly just walking around in awe for a bit.

But my main reason for going was to get a reading from Michelle—and wow. She’s incredibly knowledgeable, grounded, and you can tell she doesn’t just read cards, she lives this work. What really got me was that she’s actually developed her own spreads. She used one called the Joan of Arc Spread for me, and it hit so directly that I left speechless (in the best way). It was exactly what I needed to hear—like it unlocked something I didn’t even realize was stuck.

I'll absolutely be back—for both the shop and another session with Michelle....