Hello, Good Day, and Welcome

Imagine, if you will, a door in a wall.

Go on. Close your eyes. You can trust us.

Now, imagine that the wall is made of crumbling brick. It is part of a building set low on the side of a seldom traveled road, and that road lies at the edge of a wood you cannot enter unless you know the way. The door is weathered. Its peeling paint bears the prints of many a desperate hand, a dangerous hand, an innocent hand, and all of them curious. The knob is brass, worn dark; the threshold smells of spices, of candlelight and old things. The latch will open for no key. It will, however, open for the curious at heart.

Are you one of those curious souls?

If so, welcome. You have found the Cabinet of Curiosities.

Inside the Cabinet, you will find many rooms -- tiny ones and cavernous ones, rooms lined with shelves of trinkets and rooms that contain only what you bring inside them (so be mindful of what you carry). You will find many treasures in these rooms -- relics and remnants, secrets and stories. Some of them may be beautiful, and some of them may be ugly, but rest assured, you curious visitors, they will all be strange -- and sometimes even frightening. But you are brave, aren't you?

Take heart: Four Curators are here to guide you, to help you find the particular bit of oddity you seek, and to share with you the stories of our curiosities. How did we obtain this one-eyed doll, or that dainty bird skeleton? What fills those jars labeled in an undecipherable language? Who once wore this jewelry that whispers of murder, what child sat at this shivering desk, what pirate used this glass eye -- and why, when you look into it, do you see glimpses of your past?

Join us, every Wednesday, when one of we Curators will share with you a story sure to entertain and entrance. And, as we are Curators -- and therefore more organized than your average eccentric -- do note that each month of stories will fall under a different theme. This month, the theme is cake, to celebrate the beginning of our adventures together.

Come. Close your eyes and step through the tired old door into our world of strangeness and dark delights.

We, your Curators -- Stefan Bachmann, Katherine Catmull, Claire Legrand, and Emma Trevayne -- are so glad to see you.

Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.