Entry No. 47 — the Des Moines file — filed under: witchy

The Haunted Bookshop

Iowa's largest used bookshop, 40,000+ rare and out-of-print titles crammed floor-to-ceiling into an atmospheric 1847 Victorian mansion, complete with a dedicated Occult & Magic section and resident shop cats.

The move: Split up and each hunt the cramped Occult & Magic room for the weirdest grimoire you can find, then trade discoveries in a corner chair while a cat decides whose lap to claim.

📍 Before you go This one is a road trip: the shop sits in Iowa City's Northside neighborhood, roughly two hours east of Des Moines straight down I-80, so build the day around it. It fills the native-stone 1847 Jacob Wentz House at 219 N. Gilbert St. — on the National Register, one of the oldest buildings in town — and inside it's a creaky maze of roughly ten rooms on two floors, with the staircase to the upstairs warren right inside the front door. Street-park on the surrounding Northside blocks; Pagliai's Pizza, Hamburg Inn, and John's Grocery are all within a couple blocks for the before-or-after. Comfy donated chairs are scattered everywhere, so plan to linger, not dash.

• 📍 Iowa City
• 💸 $$
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Indoors

Hours: Added 2026-06-09 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3

last checked: 2026-06-09