Freakybuttrue Peculiarium

If you have time and are in the area, this place is great and very unusual. The haunted dollhouse was my favorite! I also very much enjoyed the interesting and hilarious paintings on the walls, everywhere! The gift shop is also very cool and has some pretty odd and unique souvenirs. There is a confessions box to submit your «darkest secrets». The best thing about these confessions is they are posted (anonymously) on their Facebook page. They are very enjoyable to read! Visit this place if you enjoy weird stuff!

Pretty cool place to stop by. It’s a store with some pretty unique and freaky things.

Is this an actual business, money laundering setup or vanity project? Throughout June, I hoped to bring friends to your shop but on several weekends it has been closed and you’re only scheduled to be open from Thursday to Sunday anyway. You might see more profit if your store is open from time to time. Closing up shop on your ice cream operation during a heatwave is pretty peculiar business practice.
Peculiar is a fitting word for sure. It takes a peculiar sort of business acumen to solicit donations through a donation box and Indiegogo campaign when you can’t be bothered to open for business or, as described in another review, can’t be bothered to follow through on a catering gig for a kid’s birthday party. But maybe it just doesn’t matter. Do you have an investor with a peculiar idea of financial return?

KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD?
HOW ABOUT: MAKE PORTLAND PROFESSIONAL
Dear Lisa @ The Peculiarium:
When I approached you three months in advance to host my daughter’s 15^th birthday party – a PDX-​style Quinceañera – you were so sweet. So eager to please. I had such a good feeling about you that I asked you to provide catering and party favors as well. You were even going to bake the birthday cake and make crazy-​weird jello molds. We had a concept. It would have been so cool. Of course, we promptly paid you our deposit and were prepared to write you out a nice fat check upon delivery.
Then, FIVE DAYS before the party, you canceled on us, due to a «reduction in staff.» So, instead of using that five days to find new help (hell, I would’ve pitched in; I even offered!), you forced us to rush to secure a new location (and alert our guests) and find a new caterer, a new baker and a whole new concept.
Who does that?!
Since we got nothing from you, I would prefer to give you no stars. Just because you’re weird doesn’t mean you get to be flaky.
Sincerely,
A deeply disappointed father, birthday girl and her friends.

Was so disappointed: (
I was really excited to explore the weirder side of Portland and was expecting more of a museum type venue like a Ripley’s Believe It or Not type thing. This place shouldn’t be called a museum, it is just a store full of junk. It is very small and doesn’t have exhibits, just weird stuff on shelves, some of which you can buy if you don’t mind getting overcharged for things. It took us maybe 10 minutes to look around, and that included taking pictures on the famed «alien autopsy table» which was awkard to pose with and smelled weird. Thank goodness it was free because it was a real let down. I really don’t understand how this place has such great reviews…

LMAO. If you have time and are in the area, just go here. You’ll thank us Unilocalers later.
It’s hilarious, it’s spooky, and they have ice cream.
I really wanted to buy their book on modern demon possessions but I chickened out.
Give the Peculiarium a try, you won’t regret it.

So this place was recommended to me when I created a talk topic on «Weird & Wonderful» places in Portland. Located in the Alphabet district within walking distance of the hostel we stayed at, it sounded like such an intriguing concept that I felt I had to stop by. And also, the fact that it was free to enter was pretty cool too. I like the idea of visiting places off-​the-​beaten path, and I think going all out with mythic lore (of the bigfoot variety, not the Greek mythology kind) is just a fun, goofy experience.
I didn’t see any bug ice cream, but I DID see some buggy snacks – scorpion lollipops, chocolate ants, other weird/​gaggy gifts. There are also a few «touristy» things to purchase, like some neat homemade jewelry or postcards.
The lady at the front said they were putting together a kind of traveling van show that would travel around, I imagine with some of their best pieces, to various cities in the U.S. I love the idea, and I’d probably find my way out for a visit if they came to my city. If you want to support the campaign you can do so here:
PROS:
Lots of weird things for any taste – bigfoot, monsters, zombies.
There are a ton of props that were created, with a lot of time and effort put into them.
Very nice lady at the front register.
Odd, wacky, weird, amusing, these exhibits put a smile on my face.
CONS:
I would love to see more, but I understand the space constraints.
More interactive exhibits would be awesome. While they have a few, it’d be cool to do more!
THE VERDICT:
It’s not a big place, and we were in and out in around 20 – 30 minutes. BUT there are some really neat things to gaze at here that really tickled me! You’ll find bigfoot, aliens, monsters of both land and sea, creepy toys, buggy things, zombies, and even an old safe from Al Capone to bring you back into reality. I was laughing for the majority of the time, sort of like a delighted kid. It’s a hard place to accurately describe, but it was well worth the visit. I don’t think it’s the kind of place I’d go often if I lived in Portland, because I kind of feel like if you go once, you’ve seen it all, BUT I would bring out of town friends here. The bottom line is that we had fun, and if you’ve got a wacky sense of humor and find things like alien abductions and bigfoot interesting or funny, I imagine you’d enjoy this place.
TIP:
Be nice and tip a few dollars for being entertained by the wacky and silly things here. It is, after all, the polite thing to do. Keep small businesses doing what they love.

We had so much fun here — absolutely our cup of tea with the perfect combination of «outsider art» + carnivalesque, silly humour. The people who put this place together are are all ’round awesome :) We spent waaay more than the 15 minutes some other reviewer suggested for this place, so anyone with a dark sense of humour and appreciation for delightfully weird creativity will surely have a blast, as well. It’s all in
the details :)
And for the record, it’s free admission in the sense that they don’t charge set admission rates at the door, but really, come on… if you went in and did any more than turn around and walk out immediately, buy something or make a donation. There isn’t anything I wanted to buy, so I dropped a few dollars into the designated box. The hard work that goes into creating and maintaining this entertaining place should not be overlooked :)

An interesting art gallery and store that reflects Portland weird quite nicely! As soon as you drive by you notice you have came upon the Freakybuttrue Peculiarium. There are odd lights that instantly attract you.
Going inside you are greeted by large props of some creature in a chair and a very large Bigfoot. This area is more where the shop is where you can get all kinds of vintage candy and other oddities. At the checkout stand they also have a small case of ice cream for sale of various flavors.
As you go farther in you see an alien dissection table with of course aliens nearby and a human body being taken apart and examined. You can stick your face in through an opening and the body on the table suddenly gets a head!
There is also other very fascinating things to see like a diagram of a zombie brain presentation, a haunted doll house (which was amazing!)as well as art pieces for sale of the macabre and freaky variety of course.
The Freakybuttrue Peculiarium reflects the weird essence of Portland wonderfully and is well worth a peak!

Far out! Freak out! Freaky-​deaky! Haunting! Geeky! Funny! Fu-​Fu! Flipping out! Funky! Bizarre, wacky, off-​the-​wall and bedazzling! Into your wild and zany zone discover this crazy shop. Feelin like I’m on another planet! Browse and check it out while you go nutty with all the razz-​ma-​tazz! Warning, dare you go in, you may leave with a one-​of-​a-​kind peculiar, weird or unexplainable thing — or you become lost there in the Freakybuttrue Peculiarium Twilight Zone! Or bear-​hugged by Big Foot!

This is my happy place. I am a total weirdo, so maybe that’s why. The Freakybuttrue Crew has the best rotating gallery, yummy sundaes (add some bugs if you wish), and my favorite shop including but not limited to scorpion lolipops (for my 4 y/​o niece), comics, other yummy treats and great gag gifts. Visit here​.Now​.Do it.

Alien autopsy photo-​op. How could you not give this place five stars?

We read about this place in the AAA Via magazine and since we were in the neighborhood thought we’d check it out. It was exactly as expected — strange creepy tacky. Full of conspiracy theories and homemade exhibits. Like one of those old roadside attractions from the 50s or 60s. Kinda smelled like it too.
Definitely unique. Keep an open mind and hum the x-​files to yourself to get in the mood.

«We promise nothing!»
They have these signs posted all over the place. So yeah, no clue why there are people taking it way too seriously, especially when they didn’t have to surrender one red cent to visit.
We heard about the place through one of the many roadside attraction websites I religiously check when we visit another area.
The Peculiarium was worth the detour, even just for the chance to play a theremin and eat some ice cream from a waffle cone packed with rice crispy treats and chocolate. And the guy behind the counter was pretty cool too.
The front end is more of a joke/​novelty shop with all the silly things you can pick up, with the back filled with random staged areas. The most famous, of which, would probably be the alien abduction photo op.
Other spots within include «Al Capone’s Real Safe,» a living room with severed feet in front of the scorched armchair, a series of stereoscopic pictures, peepholes to kaleidoscopes, and many other things.
As mentioned our highlight was probably the ice cream, which we got perched atop a Cone de Lisa. It probably would have been better had we let the ice cream melt further into the cone and cover the rice cake, but it was good either way.

I am spoiled, I admit, and perhaps I had high expectations because Portland really is a magical place and my friends brought me here knowing that totally weird is up my alley. Everyone should visit this nifty place and support it! I am a collector of oddities so I think that added to my high expectations so for others it will be best place ever, even if I was a lil let down.
It is FREE to see the exhibits! Yay! And they are plenty weird. I love the local art selection and that I could wow my friend’s on their Theremin with the Star Trek theme. (disclosure, I am a Theremin collector and teacher so I can actually play the thing) They had books written by Jeff Davis, a local authour on Portland hauntings, which I quickly snapped up (He co wrote Weird Oregon too which they also carry.
They had ice cream you can put bugs on which makes it unique. Unfortunately it was a bad day for Ice Cream, maybe a visit on a warmer day and I can update this review.
So why the 2 stars? To be honest, I have experienced more unique/​unusual items and displays stores in this vein and I think that The Pecularium could even be better when I dare to compare it to the Louisville Stigmatorium (Louisville, Ky) or Loved to Death (San Francisco, Ca) in my previous hometowns. It had a lot of kitchy product stuff you can find at Powell’s Bookstore in the downtown area so that was kinda part of the letdown for me.
I guess I was expecting more real oddites, however it does have a chair in which a person spontaneously combusted in which did make me very dizzy and a really cool dollhouse.
It was also freezing in there, literally, and I saw a few folks leave because it was so cold. The very nice cashier was bundled up and not complaining one bit with the doors wide open (he was supposed to keep them open, management rules) but it was very uncomfortable there for our group who would have kept on shopping for stocking stuffers had the cold not hurried them back to their car.
Perhaps a frozen Cashier will be the next oddity on display? I really felt bad for him. Couldn’t a sign outside let people know they are still open?
I will be back for more Jeff Davis books and to try Ice Cream when it warms up. The customer service was awesome. If you go during winter keep your coat on!

This is a def. must see in Portland if in the alphabet district.
REASON #1: IT’S FREE!!!
REASON #2: You’re in PDX… «Keep Portland Weird!»
REASON #3: IT’S FREE!!!
They have cool, vintage gadgets to look at and different types of treats. Children, love this place. (Gummy worm ice cream, zombies greet you at the door while Sasquatch watches your every move.)
I’m super scared of haunted houses however, they currently have one a haunted hall… I really enjoyed reading about Al Capone and his safe that they currently hold there. :)

«A store dedicated to learning and terror.» How had I not been here before? Freakybuttrue Peculiarium is a great place to while away some spare time or take an adventurous out of town guest.
There is a gallery with some of the most creepy-​awesome artwork I’ve ever seen. The current show is by Mike Wellins: «Found Paintings I have Painted On.» My favorite depicted a monster-​like alien baby wearing a frilly white dress, in a magnificent ornate gold frame. I believe it was titled Our Little Snowflake. This was not for sale. Indeed, a keeper; I could see why the artist would not want to part with it. I had to be content with a photo.
Things you can buy there include: Ghost Chili Candies and Habanero Suckers. Hello Lazy Ramen («almost cooks itself»). Slippers that look like zombie feet. Plastic eyeballs to float in your drinks. Dog Ate My Homework Fake Poop. I purchased a somewhat realistic looking self propelled mouse for my kitties. Oh, and you can purchase little packages of dried insects, perfect for snacking, right? The museum has an Insectarian Club, and inductees are photographed enthusiastically downing bug-​sprinkled ice cream and chili dogs. Which you can eat at one of the tables next to the life-​sized Alien Autopsy display. I was especially intrigued by the Sundae Bloody Sundae, and had it not been 30 degrees when I was there with the front doors wide open, I would have ordered one. It’s almost like a regular ice cream sundae, except for the bright red candy blood topping. Next visit.
All this entertainment, for free! Yep, zero admission fee, but there is a tip jar for the attendant which I noticed was sadly empty. Hopefully I started a started a trend by throwing a little something in. Note: Open Thurs. through Sun.

Trust the ghoul outside that promises «nothing.» The actual exhibit is very brief, and very free. Features include a gory dollhouse, Al Capone’s «real» safe, and an alien autopsy photo op. I also saw the chair that was featured in a book I read as a child about spontaneous human combustion (SHC). That was the freakiest thing for me! Personal rocking chair story: As a child, my father told me about how his father had witnessed SHC while lining up Nazi POWs on a dock when one of them exploded. There was no mortar fire, no planes overhead, and the guy had already been searched for weapons/​grenade. His cause of death was officially ruled as SHC, and I had read up on the subject quite a bit as a kid.
There you have it. I felt like I had to regale tales of my childhood just to personalize this review, ‘cuz there’s nothing more I can add that others haven’t already said: Fun, quirky, and the gift shop is worth a gander. I would almost go as far as to say this place isn’t worth going out of your way to get to, but there’s tons of cool stuff within walking distance from this place.

For those that enjoy the unusual, this is a good stop. Though it’s smaller than expected (The ‘museum’ portion is really only one room, with shopping taking up most of the rest of the building), my friends and I still managed to burn at least an hour here.
First of all, it’s free. You can’t complain about that. The items in the museum are amusing, and the artwork wonderful. There’s also a glow in the dark room with a ton of graffiti on the walls. Though the pens they provided for writing were dead, we thankfully had brought our own. Considering the fact that it was an area that you could draw on, there was a surprising lack of genitalia.
There’s also a small ice cream shop inside. My friends decided that they needed some ice cream with meal worms on top. The lady working (who was friendly, but not OVERLY friendly) gladly served it up.
Overall, the Peculiarium was pretty great.

If I were participating in an adult scavenger hunt in Portland and one of the items was ‘Have your photo taken with Big Foot’, then I’d know exactly where to go.
I enjoy taking my kids to a variety of museums and galleries and make it a point to seek out the oddities around our area. The Freakybuttrue Peculiarium hit my radar as an off-​beat place to visit with the kids. More about that later.
It was far smaller than I expected, but it has some good points:
1) It is FREE
2) Parking is easy since it is on the outskirts of the Alphabet district.
3) Probably the best Sasquatch in town — great photo op
4) There is an ice cream counter and they offer a bug sundae on the menu. Eat it and you can join their Insectarian Club.
5) Surprise, surprise, there’s Al Capone’s ‘real’ safe. You snooze, you lose, Geraldo Rivera.
Downsides? I found an old Oregonian article with the title, «Move Over Velveteria, There’s a New Strange Place in Town.» And, well, this place is no Velveteria (which I’ve dearly missed since it closed last year). Where the Museum of Velveteria was an in depth exploration (dare I say obsession) of one couple’s specific passion, this place is certainly strange, but it also seems scattered.
Is it a museum, a retail store, candy shop or just here for the sake of being weird? In my opinion, all of the above. For me, it just doesn’t have the same impact as some of the other ‘strange places’ in town.
Now about the kiddos… Each parent needs to make their own call about whether this place is appropriate for their kid. They have a general PG-​10 recommendation, but this is what I would suggest. It is a very small museum, so before taking your child inside, just preview it for yourself. The most shocking exhibit is probably the alien autopsy, but as was so beautifully portrayed in Monsters, Inc., we each imagine something different lurking in our bedroom closet at night.
Too bad they aren’t open late at night, because the black light room and other exhibits would make this place the perfect stop as part of a late night bar crawl. So it is worth a visit, but I wouldn’t put it at the top of any tourist or locals must visit list. I guess I have high standards for strange.