Our Town: Dr. Gloom’s Crypt of Curiosities

Chris LaMartina ’07 is the oddities museum’s creator and curator.

Hidden in the back of Protean Books and Records in Baltimore’s Federal Hill neighborhood is one of the city’s creepiest—and most delightful—attractions. Chris LaMartina ’07 opened the oddities museum Dr. Gloom’s Crypt of Curiosities in 2016 after years of collecting horror-based folklore artifacts from around the world. It fits with LaMartina’s fascination with the genre—he’s directed eight frightful films, including WNUF Halloween Special. When he’s not trying to scare other people, he works as the creative director at Abel Communications and teaches broadcast and screenwriting at TU. The Crypt is open when the store is, and it’s free to check out the mummy, see the mermaid or have your picture taken with Frisco the Killer Ape.