LITTLETON — The Cryptozoology & Paranormal Museum is moving down the street to a larger building that will offer more space for the strange and unusual.
Whether it is taking a ghost tour of a haunted dollhouse or investigating encounters of sightings of Bigfoot in the area, the museum has been an anchor in the community that attracts enthusiasts seeking answers to the supernatural or just for the entertainment value. Since its opening nearly five years ago at 328 Mosby Ave., the curious artifacts inside the museum are moving inside its new home at 200 N. Main St.
With 3,700 square feet available inside the building, Owner Stephen Barcelo of the supernatural museum said the new location will add more exhibits than the limited space available at the other location. Barcelo said there is more room for additional cryptoid prints and paranormal artifacts but also expanding more into the UFO side of things. There is also more room for visitors to sit in the pews to watch videos, along with another room that will be used for guest speakers, he said.
“I never was in a position where if you are a book author, you want to come in and talk, I wouldn’t be able to accommodate you — there was just no room,” Barcelo said. “So, now we’ll have the room to do things like that.”
Another area of the building will be for Barcelo’s daughter to hold tarot card readings, as well as his office and a room for researchers in a respective field to gather.
The interest in the museum has grown with people not just locally visiting but from other counties, states and around the world. The museum has garnered 233 Google reviews and a 4.7-star rating as of Monday.
The new location has more parking space outside for events and parking available for visitors, Barcelo said. One other change is that visitors will be charged $5 for entry while children 12 and under are free to cover additional expenses such as rent and utilities, he said. Barcelo said he has wanted to move to a new location for years, but the COVID-19 pandemic put all of it on pause.
“I mean, of course, everything slowed down — we were literally shut for quite a while, so thank God I didn’t have a place and paying rent for absolutely, you know, nothing,” he said. “But thank God this place works.”
Barcelo said the museum’s new location will be up and running by Jan. 2, when it is 90% complete.
