Haunted Attic offers hauntingly beautiful memorials, taxidermy
Looking to bring something new to Sussex County by selling things that are a little odd, Millsboro-based husband-and-wife team Noah and Jane Joseph have opened Haunted Attic, an online oddities retail store.
It all started by accident about 18 months ago, said Jane.
The Josephs are Delaware natives – Jane is from Milford, while Noah was born upstate, but has spent a good portion of his life in Sussex County. They both worked in the restaurant industry for years, and after struggling through the pandemic, Jane said they were both burned out and needed to do something new. Needing money to pay the bills, Jane started scouring the internet for oddities and things that were weird, and then reselling them.
“You never know what you’re going to find out there,” said Jane. For example, the day of the interview, there were vintage X-rays, animal bones and skulls, coffin-shaped crystals and mortuary toe tags for sale.
Noah said they also scour auctions, estate sales and markets.
“It’s kind of like a treasure hunt,” he said.
The couple got married on Halloween. “It’s the best day of the year,” said Jane.
On their honeymoon, they were inspired to preserve in liquid a small snake they found while on a walk. It was something they saw while patronizing an oddities store in the city they were visiting. They thought they could do the same thing with the snake, said Noah.
Now, 18 months later, the Josephs have a thriving online business. The couple specializes in the liquid preservation of animals, also known as wet specimens, and the taxidermy of small animals, mostly reptiles.
The Josephs have made contacts with breeders who have animals that die during the breeding and growing process. Those animals arrive frozen; the Josephs preserve them. Depending on the animal, the preservation process can take months.
Noah said they don’t always know what kind of animal is coming their way.
The Josephs also preserve pets. It’s very important to get the personality of the pet correct so it reminds the client of their pet when it was alive, said Noah.
“Preserving pets is the most enjoyable thing to do,” he said.
While the business is named Haunted Attic Resale, Jane said they’re going to drop resale soon.
“That’s not what we’re doing, and we don’t want to give off the vibe that we don’t make our own stuff,” said Jane. “We add a little bit of something to everything.”
Right now, all of the Josephs’ goods are for sale on Etsy. Looking forward, the Josephs said they have plans for a brick-and-mortar store.
“We’re looking for the right space,” said Jane. “There’s one other shop in northern Delaware, but we’d be the only ones in Sussex County.”
While the Josephs search for that appropriate location, they offer butterfly-pinning classes at Stone & Sage in Milford, and some of their items are for sale at Finding Avalon in Camden.
For more information on Haunted Attic, go to hauntedatticresale.com or email jane@hauntedatticresale.com.
