Curoporium is a curiosity shop that opened in Hartford, Connecticut in September 2018. It was…read morefounded by entrepreneur Nathan Nunez. Although raised Catholic, Nunez was interested in the mysticism aspect of other religions, such as Buddhism, Wicca, Paganism, etc. He had an idea to open a curiosity shop where he could give customers an interactive and immersive haunted "shop-sperience". Opening at a mixed use building in the Parkville section of Hartford, Curioporium became host to a variety of special events, such as musical performances, séances, magic shows, and even photos with Krampus at Christmas time. In March 2025, Nunez relocated Curioporium to Factory Square in Southington.
My older son and I recently stopped at Curioporium while we were visiting Factory Square. We were about to head to GameCraft down the hall when we suddenly noticed some spooky sounds emanating from Curioporium. We decided to enter and investigate. The shelves of the shop were lined with all sorts of creepy objects, such as occult books, shrunken heads, skulls, bugs, torture devices, laboratory equipment, magic wands, potions & elixirs, healing crystals, talismans, and lots of other creepy items. An Oddity & Curiosity Bar at the back of the space gives customers a chance to craft a very different sort of cocktail (or shall I say "wet specimen") that may contain a sheep eye, pig heart, or some other putrid ingredient. One of the creepiest items we saw on display was the "Mirror of Hades": a noisy mirror that seemed to be possessed by evil spirits. My son refused to go anywhere near it. After spending a good amount of time in the shop, my son decided that he had his fill of frightening things for quite some time and asked if we could leave. Although our visit was brief, there's a very good chance that I'll be making a solo return trip so I can explore Curioporium and all that it has to offer in greater detail.