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Great Southern Gothic: It’s Not Just A Shop, It’s An Experience

Zeea Jones, owner of Great Southern Gothic, poses during a photoshoot for shop promo. Photo by Cassondra G Photography.

By Harley Nefe

When strolling the streets of downtown West Jefferson, there’s a hidden gem of a business that visitors may miss if they don’t look closely – a place where imaginations run wild and
paranormal beliefs are discovered.

Guests are encouraged to look for a purple building with a red awning because what is beyond
the entrance may just blow one’s mind. Ascending the red stairs, which have been painted with
descriptions like “oddities” and “curiosities,” folks are able to enter a different realm that sparks
wonder.

“Come up the red steps for a healthy dose of novelty and fun. I guarantee you have never seen
anything quite like it,” invited local business owner Zeea Jones.

Zeea is the creator of Great Southern Gothic, a curiosity shoppe and escape room which
“embraces everything southern, from the mysteries of the Appalachian Mountains all the way
to the genteel deep south.”

“I am an Ashe County native with a humble background just tryin’ to make a livin’ in a town I
grew up in,” Zeea said. “A lot of people leave, but I’m still here … and for good reason.”

According to the business’s description, this magical place meshes light and dark, raw and
refined, and natural and fantastical to create a unique experience. After all, its tagline is “It’s not
just a shop, it’s an experience.”

“From the decorations to the displays, the music selection, and the overall atmosphere, it is an
experience,” Zeea described.

And this experience is celebrating its eight-year anniversary as Great Southern Gothic emerged
from the shadows on April 4, 2015.

“In the summer of 2014, I decided I wanted to try opening a shop in West Jefferson,” Zeea
shared. “The shop would be based around the theme of southern gothic, and it would draw
from different influences of southern culture, from the haunted southern Appalachian
Mountains down to the voodoo of New Orleans. I wanted it to be kind of a mix of a general
store, curiosity shop, apothecary, and art gallery. It’s a strange and quirky blend of light and dark. It’s a place dedicated to history, alternative art, ghost stories, superstition, folk magic, and ‘old timey’ remedies – a purveyor of all things to satisfy the curious mind.”

Curiouser and Curiouser

The steps that lead up to the curiosity shop advertise the wide variety of local and U.S.
handcrafted novelty items and mystical gifts that can be found at Great Southern Gothic.

“I want to encourage people to at least come up and see what’s in here,” Zeea said. “I know
some people actually aren’t able to come up the stairs. I understand that, but some people see
the stairs and get discouraged or they see the name. They just don’t get it or understand what I
have. I try to write on the steps – this is what we have – to make it more friendly and inviting.”

Terms like herbs, tea, salve, candles, incense, crystals, jewelry, beard care, soap, bath bombs,
lotions, perfumes, posters, local art, t-shirts, and more decorate the path to the store.

“I do tend to cycle out the merchandise pretty frequently,” Zeea described. “I have a section of
bath and body care – soaps, lotions, and perfumes. Then I have a jewelry section, where I
made some of the earrings and necklaces. I also have different antiques and stuff I find that’s
interesting – old bottles, figurines. I create one-of-a-kind pieces too.”

Hand poured candles with a variety of scents can be found among the shelves. Photo courtesy of GSG.

The store specializes in handmade apothecary goods but has expanded to include books and divination tools among a plethora of other products. Zeea’s goal is to find and collect unique
objects that people don’t see elsewhere.

“People go to shops like this a lot or have similar stores in their areas, but they say I have the most unique selection,” she said. “I think it’s because I try to source from all different areas.”

Zeea also strives to keep her merchandise affordable.

“A lot of my customers are local teens who come in after school, and they get a few little things to make them happy,” Zeea shared. “I don’t have anything in here that’s too obscene. I keep it family friendly.”

She further said, “I want people to be more open-minded and look at what’s here before they
judge and to not take stuff so seriously. It’s not for everybody, even though I like to say that
there’s something here for everybody. Some people don’t get it or it’s not their thing, and that’s
okay. It’s a niche market. It’s a curiosity shop. I want people to come in with curious minds and
be open-minded.”

Parents are encouraged to stay with their children while in the store in order to give guidance.
The many different objects often spark the opportunity for conversations.

“I have all different styles of items available in the shop, not just gothic – that’s just more of
what the shop is named,” Zeea explained. “My mission with the shop is to help people have
fun and provide my customers with products to help them care for and express themselves.”

This is an appropriate mission as Great Southern Gothic is a compilation of Zeea’s life
experiences and is an example of one pursuing their passion and not being afraid to be their
authentic self.

Hand dipped incense is ready to be burned to release its fragrant smoke. Photo courtesy of GSG.

“I used to be really shy but wanted to talk to people,” Zeea said. “So, this has helped me really branch out. I don’t want it to be something that can be taken away from me easily. This is my passion, and I’m doing what I can to keep it going … With the business that I am in – the
entertainment business – I might as well be wacky and crazy and go all out to find my actual audience because that’s who is going to want the stuff.”

She further said, “I feel like it’s my life. Southern gothic encompasses me and my personality, so I called it Great Southern Gothic. And people were like, ‘You probably don’t want to call it that because of where you live. It’s a small town, and people won’t really understand,’ and I’m like, that’s just what it is – it has always been Great Southern Gothic.”

Zeea first learned about the genre of southern gothic in high school, and at that time, she had
already found interest in the gothic subculture.

“The concept of gothic can be summed up with the words dark, romantic, mysterious, and
supernatural with elements of horror,” Zeea stated. “And this concept can be used to describe
novels, movies, music, and fashion, etc. As far as southern gothic goes, it applies gothic to the
culture and landscape of various locations in the American South. People often tell me my
shop reminds them of some of the shops in New Orleans.”

Stunning mushroom suncatchers made with agate slices and crystals brighten up the space. Photo courtesy of GSG.

Zeea further shared that the concept of Great Southern Gothic came about when a few
different ideas, arising from various types of media, melded together at once.

“Season 3 of American Horror Story came out October 2013, and I loved it,” Zeea explained.
“It is about witches in New Orleans. I also had recently watched Practical Magic, and in the
movie, one of the witches has an herbal apothecary store where she sells her handmade creams, shampoos, and bubble baths. From a young age, I identified with the ‘witch’ archetype of being powerful, knowledgeable, and most of all, mysterious. I always liked mixing up potions.”

When she first started, Zeea called her business an apothecary to place focus on the herbal
goods and elixirs that exist. However, it has since grown to become a curiosity shop.

Zeea stated she knew she always wanted to be an artist as she has been interested in making
and selling items since the age of 18, and maybe even before then. Zeea, who also goes by the
artist name of “Darling,” began her journey as an entrepreneur by starting an Etsy account
where she sold handmade items in the past under various shop names and themes.

“I always tried to figure out ways to start little businesses,” Zeea said. “I always had ideas
when I was younger. I figured out how to get pictures from online and print them and make
them into iron ons, and I knew I could sell those.”

T-shirts with GSG branding are available for purchase in the shop. Photo by Harley Nefe.

She further shared, “I had different stuff I tried to sell or make and do when I was in my early 20s, and then I decided I wanted to open an actual business.”

Zeea knew the new business venture was meant to be just after she signed the lease because she happened to have purchased some skeleton keys from an antique dealer around the same time. Two of the keys that she bought unlocked doors to the space.

“I like the idea of keys because what do they go to? I like the mystery of it,” Zeea described. “I felt like this was destiny. I don’t feel like anything is a coincidence. Synchronicity – everything is connected. It felt like a very magical moment and that I was on the right path.”

Another neat revelation Zeea experienced relates to her name.

Beard care products await for any facial hair needs. Photo courtesy of GSG.

“I recently found out that my name translates to shine, light, and splendor in other languages,”
Zeea explained. “My mom didn’t know that when she named me. Life is magical to me.”

In relation to her name, the business has an overarching theme of light and dark as Zeea stated
she feels her purpose is to convert darkness to light.

“There’s a weird thing that when it says gothic, people don’t understand,” Zeea said. “It does
have to deal with death, but I feel like people who want to identify with gothic maybe want to
feel like they are closer to death so that they can understand it and accept it maybe and not be
so scared by it.”

She further explained, “It’s not necessarily being drawn to evil or anything. It’s accepting the
darkness as it is. For me, I feel like my personal journey in life is to transform darkness into
light. I have that balance in my shop too. I don’t go too dark with the theme. I have
lightheartedness and silliness – it’s funny.”

Throughout the store, customers can find novelty trick items, which are dear to Zeea’s heart
because her birthday is in April.

Zeea stands behind the counter eager to meet new customers with curious minds. Photo by Harley Nefe.

“I’m an April fool,” she declared.

Zeea further said, “I try to keep it lighthearted and silly and colorful. Southern gothic itself does
have dark subjects, and it sheds light on change. It also has a dark humor aspect. That’s very
important to me.”

Zeea’s purpose in life and the theme of her business venture are both symbolic of life – the
good and the bad. Over the years, Great Southern Gothic has evolved into what she
envisioned.

“When I start an art project, I don’t exactly know what it’s going to look like at the end,” she
described. “I’m always brainstorming ideas, and then I realize I have so many ideas that I just
need to write them down instead of trying to do each one I think of on a whim. That’s what I
have learned over the years – things don’t always pan out.”

It’s all about the artistic journey – the ups and the downs – and the different events and
associations that influence the final destination.

A perfume bar and a cabinet full of curiosities and oddities give guests much to explore. Photo by Harley Nefe.

“I’ve been trying to think about my inspirations and what led me to this,” Zeea said. “I’ve
always had different interests in funky, novelty things, and I think one of the things that led me
to that was Pee-wee Herman and the movie Pee-wee’s Big Adventure directed by Tim Burton.
I’m highly influenced by Tim Burton and his gothic style. I definitely have a wacky and novelty approach to life. I have very interesting tastes, as you can see.”

Apart from Tim Burton productions like Beetlejuice, other big influences include The Twilight Zone and the Harry Potter series.

“My generation grew up with that,” Zeea said. “Anything fantasy and witch, but in a positive
way, has inspired me. Some people were demonizing the Harry Potter books just for the fact that it was witchcraft. It’s a fantasy series. Obviously, we can’t really do those things, but in that book series, there was good and evil that was highlighted.”

When it comes to feedback, Zeea shared that it has been positive overall.

“People love it, and I’m glad because I want to build this to share it with other people,” she said. “I like to have a very visually interesting shopping experience. Setting an atmosphere to explore is important to me. Things to look at – color and texture.”

Some of the best sellers in the store include the array of crystals that are offered as well as
stickers, which act as little pieces of art people can personalize their belongings with.

Keychains and buttons also provide the opportunity for quick and easy expression.

“I’m glad people like it,” Zeea shared. “I have had a positive response. I rarely have anyone say
anything bad. If they think anything bad, they just keep it to themselves.”

An Escape from Reality

After the curiosity shop opened in the spring of 2015, Zeea’s first escape room debuted
months later in September of the same year.

“It’s funny because I never actually played an escape room anywhere,” Zeea shared. “I was just
pioneering it and was the only one in the area in the beginning. Of course, they weren’t all good
in the beginning, but that’s how I learn – by trial and error and asking people and listening to
criticisms of it. I’m getting better as I go along with it.”

Willow waits on the wall for photo opportunities with visitors. Photo by Harley Nefe.

The initial idea of an escape came about from a comment Zeea overheard from one of her
customers who was discussing a display in the store.

“Someone said it reminded them of a Nancy Drew game or an escape game that they played on the computer,” Zeea recalled. “I started hearing about escape rooms. That was really the beginning of when escape rooms were becoming popular and coming to the U.S. in 2015. A lot of people still haven’t even heard of escape rooms now.”

By definition, an escape room is a game in which a team of players discover clues, solve puzzles, and complete tasks in order to accomplish a specific goal in a limited amount of time. The goal is often to escape from the site of the game.

From an early age, Zeea has always been intrigued by puzzles.

“I would do stuff like draw out treasure maps for people and hide treasure for them to find,”
she described.

Ignatius P. Chromesprocket, the Martian, greets guests as they travel up the stairs to GSG. Photo by Harley Nefe.

These activities along with I Spy books and word puzzles, such as the ones that can be found
in Highlights magazines, piqued Zeea’s fascination with games and evolved into her hobby of
designing escape rooms.

“Some of the attractions I went to as a kid inspired me as well, like Tweetsie Railroad,
specifically the mine ride,” Zeea reflected. “I was also influenced by Mystery Hill.”

She further described, “The whole business – that’s why I call it a curiosity shop, because it
combines my interests together. And the escape room – it connects my interests in games. It
also gives the town something to do, like a tourist attraction within the town, because we don’t
really have too much activity like that, or we didn’t at the time, so I thought that it was a good
opportunity.”

Over the years, Zeea has witnessed just how much West Jefferson has grown.

“We’ve done pretty good getting tourism in the past few years that I’ve been here,” Zeea said. “When I first got here, there wasn’t too much going on downtown. But thankfully, I stuck it out until it started building up around me.”

Zeea changes the theme of the escape room from time to time to keep players coming back,
and the current escape room is aptly called Great Southern Gothic Tourist Trap.

She purposely chose to correspond the theme with the name of the business this time.

“I didn’t want to do the Southern Gothic theme right away,” Zeea explained. “I wanted time to
figure out how I really wanted to present it after I got established.”

A ouija board and other props helped bring previous escape rooms to life. Photo courtesy of GSG.

Previous escape room themes have included Space Cowboy Rescue Mission and Madame Belchere’s Haunted Parlour Escape Room.

“I was mainly inspired by music for the themes,” Zeea shared. “For Space Cowboy Rescue Mission – it was an alien theme. I was listening to retro futurism type of music, and it sounds like a sci-fi kind of movie type of music. That’s what inspired that one. Then the other was Madame Belchere’s Haunted Parlour, which was inspired by Jazz Age type of music and electro swing. That’s where they are mixing that old music with new techno beats.”

Another deciding factor that helps sway the concept of the escape room is current events. For example, when Zeea chose the alien theme, storming Area 51 was a trending topic.

“As a business owner, you have to see what is trending to be successful,” she said. “I personally don’t go with trends just because – it has to be something I like.”

There’s a lot of thought and hard work that takes place behind the scenes in order to develop
and build an escape room. However, Zeea wouldn’t be able to complete the challenge without
her support system including her close family and friends.

Zeea admires the many treasures she has
accumulated over the years. Photo by Harley Nefe.

“I’m close with my family, and they helped influence me,” Zeea shared. “My papaw would take me to flea markets and auctions, and he taught me how to get good deals and be smart with my money. My mama took me to yard sales and thrift stores, and we found lots of treasures and unusual things. They both taught me to be resourceful and use what I could find without much cost to me.”

Utilizing skills that she acquired throughout her life experiences, Zeea continues to visit antique stores and auctions to gather materials and resources. These special finds are then transformed into the creative plans her mind comes up with. She also uses sentimental memorabilia from her childhood to help bring the wonders to life.

One rarity that guests can find at Great Southern Gothic is an Appalachian Granny Witch, a Zoltar fortune teller machine that was custom built in Boulder City, Nevada. The machine came with 1,500 fortunes.

“I said I wanted the head they use for the granny in The Beverly Hillbillies,” Zeea explained. “I
wanted my character to be based on that.”

Zeea further described, “She’s also based on stuff my grandma used to say. She’s a granny
witch, and the granny witches of Appalachia were the midwives, the healers – that’s who you
had as a doctor in Appalachia. The real actual hospital was a long way away if there was one,
or there were no local doctors, so you had to have the granny witch help birth the babies or
give herbal solutions for any kind of sickness. They were just hard working – the wise women
of the Appalachians. They noticed weather signs or signs of animals around them. They were in
tune with nature and the stars. And they did fortune telling.”

Not only does the Granny Witch character in the escape room connect to the history of the
Appalachia area, it also relates to Zeea’s great grandma and Zeea’s personal interest in herbalism and being self-sufficient and in control of her health. The notion of family is a common theme that weaves throughout Great Southern Gothic.

An Appalachian Granny Witch Zoltar fortune teller machine was custom built in Boulder City, Nevada. Photos by Harley Nefe.

“It took a long time to install the escape room, and I had a lot of help with it,” Zeea shared.
“Thank you to all my friends, family, and customers for their help, support, and belief in me. They know who they are, and I wouldn’t be anywhere without them.”

It took Zeea and her support system about 10 months to complete the game. There are many details, like lighting, sounds, bubbles, and mist, that work together to create the extraordinary effects.

“I do things that are sneaky or mischievous,” Zeea described. “Nothing is at all what it seems.”

Some of the best sellers in the store include the array of crystals that are offered. Photo by Harley Nefe.

Zeea wants her visitors to feel like they were transported to an outdoor setting with an
outhouse in the escape room. The simple and bold features of the landscape materialize with
fake grass, trees, and even what seems like glowing lightning bugs.

The eclectic environment inspiration comes from the song “The Legend of Wooley Swamp” by Charlie Daniels, especially where the lyrics read, “Well, if you ever go back in the Wooley
Swamp, well, you better not go at night. There’s things out there in the middle of them woods
that make a strong man die from fright.”

“I tried to make it good enough to where they wouldn’t need too many hints, but at the same
time I know I will have to clarify what I’m meaning,” she said. “I have heard that this is pretty difficult, but people always have fun. They love it!”

An updated display showcases tea leaves and cups. Photo courtesy of GSG.

She further said, “I think I am a valuable asset to West Jefferson because I have created that
escape room. People love it, and they have so much fun in there.”

As for what the future holds, Zeea sees herself expanding her business.

“I have been open for eight years now, and I have had no idea what I am doing, though I know more than I did when I first started,” Zeea reflected. “It has been a learning process. I will continue to learn and grow through this process. I am happy to have created a place where I feel comfortable. Great Southern Gothic has become something more than its original idea. It is an ever-evolving art project that I am investing my heart and soul in, and I am committed to it. I want it to become a beloved amusement attraction where memories are made for years to come.”

For more information about Great Southern Gothic and to view hours of operation, visitors are encouraged to explore the website at greatsoutherngothic.com or social media platforms under the same name. The Curiosity Shoppe and Escape Room are located at 103 North Jefferson Avenue in West Jefferson.

As Zeea asked, “So, what are you waiting for? Come on up and sit a spell.”