TOLEDO – Bookstores offer a place where readers can explore new ideas, as well as a place to find community. But for some, the average bookstore may not cut it. Readers looking for a haven to explore their love of the occult, spirituality, and other unusual content need look no further than The Glass Wheel.
Last month, Toledo natives Lizzie Arden, 38, and Benjamin Peregoy, 45, opened The Glass Wheel opened on Adams Street, presenting an eccentric spot where visitors will find books on witchcraft, spirituality, tarot, herbalism, and more. Guests can also buy candles, tarot cards, and other merchandise, and even attend events like Witchin’ and Stichin’ (a book-and-craft club) and tarot card readings, all while being surrounded by spooky decorations, taxidermy-mounted animals, and old church pews.
Peregoy and Arden were driven to open the store because of their love of books, but also because there were no bookstores for weirdos in Toledo.
“We love the macabre,” Arden explained. “We don’t shy away from the darker things in life, and we both have magical practices ourselves. We felt like there was no place for us to shop for books on magic, witchcraft, and the occult. So we just decided to open it.”
Arden says she and Peregoy, who is also her fiancé, have been interested in witchcraft and occult themes since they were teenagers. She could not offer an explanation as to why people become drawn to it; instead, she claims that it chooses you instead of the other way around.
Running a bookstore with only two hands on deck comes with several challenges. Arden says she often has to choose between processing used books and taking the time to make social media content. For her, getting to make those decisions is the best part of running the store.
She said, “When I decide, ‘Hey, I want to decorate the front window, and I want it to be spooky, and this is what I want it to look like.’ I don’t have to ask someone. I think the best part is not having to ask permission, to be honest. It’s just doing it.”
While the two felt it was important to open this bookstore for a niche market, Arden considers bookstores in general to be a vital community resource. Finding the perfect book, sharing that find with friends, and spending time together in a third space are all reasons to support local bookstores like theirs.
If you have a book that you are willing to part ways with, the store will buy it if the owners believe it is a good fit. If you are looking for a specific book or topic and cannot find it, Arden says they will help you find something similar or try to order it for you.
“No matter what kind of book you’re looking for, we’ve got something similar, or we will scour the Earth to find it for you,” Arden said.
The Glass Wheel, 1505 Adams St., is open Wednesday through Saturday from noon–7 p.m. and Sunday from noon–5 p.m.
