If you have been following this series of articles, I hope you’ve enjoyed our previous seven stories: Part 1: The Collector, Part 2: The Dead-End Road, Part 3: The Collapsing Barn, Part 4: The Cat Lady House, Part 5: The Garage Sale, Part 6: The Root Cellar, and Part 7: The Parade of Chairs. These stories are all about the shopping adventures that my family and I have had while out sourcing vintage treasures for our shop.
Join us on yet another vintage treasure hunting adventure in Part 8 of this series of articles…
The Followers
Have you ever felt like you were in a horror movie?
We have. Once upon a time, our team of vintage experts were out scouting for new and exciting sources for finding vintage treasures, when we stumbled upon an old two-story building just off the dusty main street in a rustic, almost village-like town. Intrigued by the sign outside advertising vintage and antiques, we decided to take a look for ourselves – and hopefully make a few more contacts in the area.
The first thing we noticed upon entering the old wood doors of the building was the lighting – just a moody dim glow. Once our eyes adjusted from the bright sunlight outside, we were confronted by a staircase that led both up and down. We went up to the top level, which was surprisingly better-lit, and there we found an older woman behind her counter. She acknowledged us with a smile and a wave. Waving in return, we took a look around the various shelves filled with merchandise. There were shelves of dainty china plates and glass cups, linens, china cabinets, figurines, and much more. As we walked through the area, the woman started following us everywhere we went, never saying anything. Every time I would look back at her, she quickly turned her head and pretended to straighten something on a shelf. It was quite unnerving. Seeing nothing of interest for our shop, we made our way to the staircase and were ready to leave. The woman then said in an ominous voice, that they had more stock “down stairs”, as she gestured towards the staircase with a slooow sweep of her hand. Gulp!
We noticed we were the only people there shopping, and we really just wanted to leave and go search for other locations. But no… Instead, we took her advice and headed “down stairs”. As soon as we entered this lower level, we felt what can best be described as a presence in the room with us. Looking around, we noticed an older gentleman was also in the room, seemingly trying to keep a low profile, almost hiding from us. He was watching us the entire time as we walked through the area. It was really creepy! When I turned around to look at him, he would quickly look down, pretending to be inspecting the same set of wooden figurines he had been holding since we arrived. It was really uncomfortable! Having only a few shelves left to check, we decided to stick it out and explore a few more interesting finds while the unnamed gentleman began to follow us around, staying just far enough back to avoid direct eye contact. By this point, we were almost certain the basement of this old building must be staged to be the opening scene in a horror movie – you know the kind – where movie teenagers lack common sense, and inevitably they have extremely short lives on screen because of it. I’m telling you, this was one weird shopping experience!
After being followed the entire time we were shopping, both upstairs and downstairs, we went to the counter to purchase our few finds. We quickly paid for our items, said hasty goodbyes, and hustled through the old front door. Needless to say, we sprinted to the truck and high-tailed it out of there faster than Wile E. Coyote has ever chased the Road Runner!
This was, without a doubt, one of the most strange and unnerving situations our team has ever experienced while out in the field. It was very creepy and we for sure won’t be headed back there anytime soon.
Have you ever had an experience that made the hair on your neck stand up, your skin crawl, or your sixth sense trigger? We certainly hope not, and wish you the sunny side of vintage exploration!
The Lesson? While I am sure in our situation, this old man and woman were most likely not trying to make us uncomfortable intentionally. And with all respect, they may have been the nicest people on the planet. But that wasn’t the vibe we were getting. While I never felt it wasn’t safe being there, it just felt a bit “off”. If you ever find yourself in an uncomfortable shopping situation where you don’t feel safe, trust your instincts. If your instinct tells you to leave – leave!
There you have it! Another shopping adventure with my family. Check back for more stories in this series of articles!
Do you have a favorite vintage shopping adventure story? We’d love to hear it! Share the details in a comment below.
Sounds really creepy! Good advice to keep moving and not hang around!
My parents got thrown out of a basement sale one time! They aren’t normally like this, but there was some sort of design flaw that was so bad that my dad said something about it, and I guess it gave mom license to criticize something else. They didn’t know anyone was around the corner, until the lady of the house chewed them out and said “I think you should leave!!”
That was years ago and I only get the story secondhand, to hear them tell it their comments weren’t that bad, but the lady’s father had built the house so maybe she was extra sensitive. So I try to be mindful that anyone could be listening to anything I say anywhere.
I’m sure my parents regretted telling me because I ribbed them about it for years.