The Black Cat Shoppe — Local services in New Bern

This little shop offers haunted walking tours that are really worth the walk and even braving the colder weather for. My husband and I visited the Black Cat Shoppe before heading out on the tour last night.

The staff was extremely friendly and knowledgeable about the area, as well as cognizant of the wide variation of guests walking along the tour and their ability to travel to each stop on the route. Our guide was very consistent as we walked, letting us know at each stop where we could take photos, when we needed to be courteous of the house guests/owners inside, when to watch for a pothole/puddle ahead, and how we could make it through the tour without an extra spooky friend to bring home to haunt!

The tour was 90 minutes that rushed by faster than I thought possible, me being under the impression I would have trouble completing the long walk after already walking all day long. Both my husband and I were full to bursting with some excellent local food and drink, but the walk was soothing and attention grabbing!

We will be interested in visiting again as well as taking a second ghost tour in hopes of new stories and sightings! We only wish the Black Cat hadn’t closed as we made our way back to the store front, at the exact time the tour was scheduled to end (kind of defeating the point of our discount for the rest of the night after claiming our tickets). The shoppe is a prankster’s dream, making real every mischievous plan, and even...

Cute stuff. My favorite item they sold here were the magnets and pencils. I say pencils because they had horoscope pencils for each of the 12 astrological signs (Aries, Taurus, gemini, cancer, Leo, virgo, libra, scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces). They weren’t very accurate in my opinion but cancer, virgo, Sagittarius, and Aries were pretty good! Lots of random stuff sold here, so be sure to look at it all or you might miss something you like. Only downside- they sold “authentic dresses.” These were actually recycled saris. This seemed a bit culturally insensitive to me. As the material and ways you wear the dress are “trendy” or “comfortable,” that doesn’t make it culturally correct. The rest of the store was great, though. Just a side note...

To the incredible human working on 12.20, YOU’RE AMAZING! Before checking out, she saw me being suspicious, trying to hide a lighter I was buying as a gift for my husband that was WITH ME (we live an hour away, so I had no time to come back alone to get it) I gave her a look and motioned my eyes to my husband next to me when I put it on the counter under an awesome tea towel, she gave me a nod and kept it hidden! He opened it today and was so happy, and confused because he had ZERO idea how I did it!

All in all, this shop is awesome! I always stop by when I’m in New Bern and pick up so many goodies. They have all the fun things, and always have the best people working there.

Thank you again for helping add a little magic to our...