secret Saskatoon
Glitchy’s Unbelievable Oddity Museum Text by Naomi Zurevinski Photos by Paul Miazga Located in the back of Glitch Gifts and Novelties is no ordinary museum. Filled with weird and wonderful paraphernalia, the Believe It Or Don’t Oddity Museum has become home to treasures and trinkets to provoke wonder and curiosity in the beholder. One such item is Sophie, a supposedly haunted doll, with a backstory as interesting as her intriguing appearance. Legend has it that at the turn of the last century, a young girl died in the South Saskatchewan River and left her doll behind. Owner Mike Erman calls Sophie one of their most popular attractions.
“It’s a throwback to dime store museums and the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum (...). When you take road trips through the US, there are all these little museums and weird attractions all over the place.” – Mike Erman
Glitch Gifts and Novelties Then there’s the human Zoltar machine. Erman originally wanted to buy a Zoltar fortune-telling machine but, given the price, he opted to build one instead. Once a month, Erman has an actor come in and play Zoltar, and for just a loonie, guests can have their fortunes told by the legendary fortune-teller. Erman says the inspiration for the museum stems from his own lifelong affinity for quirky stuff. “I’ve been collecting weird stuff most of my life, so most of the items are mine,” he says. “It’s a throwback to dime store museums and the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum, hence the name. It’s sort of a fun, little parody museum. When you take road trips through the US, there are all these little museums and weird little attractions (all over the place), and we’ve never really had anything like that here, so I thought I’d try and give Saskatoon something to compare.” Other interesting features include shrunken heads obtained in 1970s New Orleans, a Fijian mermaid, and an original first-generation cast of a Bigfoot footprint from B.C., on loan from local artist Dave Geary. Other local museum co-curators include Joanne Brothwell, Zoë Elise, Elyse Jensen and Tyler Danyluk.
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Main photo: one of two shrunken heads sourced from New Orleans. At right: the original cast of a Bigfoot footprint from British Columbia. Since opening in October 2018, Erman said they’ve had a great response, and he plans to continue adding to the collection in the future. “The general theme is that it’s a little bit on the creepy side of things, but it’s there to add a bit of fun, wonder and excitement.” The Oddity Museum is free and open during the same hours as Glitch Gifts and Novelties (510 33rd Street West). Visit glitchgifts.ca for more information.
