08/31/2026
Story Time
If you've been around for a while, you know that the lore of Labyrinth Walking doesn't actually start in Myrtle Beach, in fact, it doesn't even start in South Carolina. The first glimpse of this wild dream was born in Massachusetts and later moved to Ohio with us.
This picture was taken outside of the home of The Labyrinth in Middletown, Ohio in (approximately) 2001, before the time when digital cameras would take over the world and film would nearly disappear. It wasn't uncommon for my family to gather here, my grandmother owned the building and an apartment inside it. After one of our family gatherings, this picture was randomly taken to finish off a roll of film. When we developed this roll, we tried repeatedly to reproduce and debunk the glowing light that appeared to moving through the image, but we were never able to. To the naked eye, none of us saw anything, but when you look at the expressions, postures, and stances of my family members, it becomes clear that everyone felt something in that moment.
In the years that we occupied this space, many of our regulars had experiences when they visited, so frequently that we once suspended a microphone from the ceiling of our tarot room and recorded audio for 90 minutes when we knew the building would be completely empty. When we reviewed the audio the next day, the sounds that could be heard were fascinating.
We heard the muffled voices of men talking, what sounded like cards being shuffled, chairs being slid across the old tile flooring, glasses clinking together, bits of jazz music. To be clear, this wasn't all at once, it was bits and pieces amidst a sea of knocks, taps, and ambient staticky noise. The most shocking part of this recording, however, was the last few seconds of it, a clear male voice whispered "Shhh....they're listening!" then it sounded like the whole room collapsed on itself.
We tried a few times to capture audio again, but we never captured something like this. We would still capture knocks, taps, the occasional sound of a door closing, or air from the central air vents rushing past the microphone, but no voices, no shuffling cards, or clinking of glasses.
Women that frequented the shop would sometimes smell the overpowering scent of roses, even though there weren't any flowers around. One of our regulars experienced this often, and one day came up to us laughing, like she'd been let in on a joke, to tell us she found the roses in the window. When we went to look at what she said she found, the window was empty. This entity only ever presented to women who were in need of some extra love and support, often those in challenging marriages that they felt trapped in. We came to call this entity Tori, even though we were never formally given a name. Tori traveled with us when we came here, frequently making herself known in our Socastee location.
While we don't know what or who created the light in this image, we do know that spirits have always been around us, protecting us, lighting the way through challenging times, and offering support to those in need.
Even our current location is incredibly active and alive, even setting the alarm off from time to time when they want our attention. Not all spirits are harmful, dangerous, spiteful, or mean. Some are just visiting this plane of existing seeking connection. Others anchor themselves to a person or place for a reason, sometimes known, and sometimes not.
Have you ever encountered one of our shop spirits or had an experience when visiting us? We'd love to hear about it. ♥
PS - the lovely white-haired lady in this photo is my grandmother (AKA Gigi) she's now 93 and pops into the shop with my aunt from time to time. If you happen to see her, feel free to sit and talk with her, she loves to gossip, tell stories, and share moments from the amazing life she's lived.
