About Paranormal Books & Curiosities and The Paranormal Museum
America’s First Paranormal Museum | Est. 2008 | Asbury Park, NJ

Located in the heart of Asbury Park’s vibrant downtown, Paranormal Books & Curiosities and The Paranormal Museum have been welcoming the curious, the skeptical, and the believers since 2008. Founded by historian Kathy Kelly, we are proud to be America’s first museum dedicated exclusively to the paranormal — and a beloved institution in Asbury Park.

Our space combines a curated bookstore specializing in paranormal literature, folklore, and local history with an immersive museum experience that explores ghost stories, legends, unexplained phenomena, and spiritual traditions from around the world — all with a strong connection to Asbury Park’s own haunted past.

In addition to our shop and museum, we offer award-winning walking tours, including:

• The Original Asbury Park Ghost Tour

• Shipwrecks, Sharks & Storms: A History Tour

• Hidden History: LGBTQ+ in Asbury Park

• The Haunted Pub Tour

We also host special events, lectures, gallery nights, and rotating exhibits designed to entertain, educate, and spark conversation about the mysterious and unexplained.

At our core, we are committed to the preservation and sharing of Asbury Park’s rich history, especially the overlooked and forgotten chapters. Our work has been featured in national media, but our heart is always here — rooted in community, storytelling, and the spirits (both historical and spectral) that define this city by the sea.

Come visit us — whether you’re looking for a ghost, a good book, or a great story, you’ll find it here.

Kathy Kelly
Founder, Historian, Paranormal Expert
Paranormal Books & Curiosities | The Paranormal Museum | Sanctum Paranormal | Curious Explorers Podcast

Kathy Kelly is a historian, speaker, and one of the leading voices in paranormal tourism. She founded Paranormal Books & Curiosities and The Paranormal Museum in Asbury Park, NJ, in 2008 — the first museum in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to the paranormal. She holds a master’s degree in history and lectures nationally on cultural tourism, supernatural folklore, and historical storytelling.

In 2023, Kathy partnered with television personality Adam Berry to co-found Sanctum Paranormal in Provincetown, MA, an immersive destination offering ghost tours and a rotating museum exhibit on global and local paranormal history.

She is also the co-host of the hit podcast Curious Explorers with Dr. Traci Stein and has appeared in numerous national media features. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kathy co-founded Asbury Park Dinner Table, raising nearly $1 million and delivering over 350,000 meals to food-insecure residents while supporting local restaurants.

Kathy splits her time between New Jersey and Massachusetts and remains a passionate advocate for community-based tourism, historical preservation, and paranormal research.