Leonardo Bacarreza
June 16, 2026
Durham’s downtown is experiencing a high tide of Magick (*that’s how most witches spell it), with stores, events, and gatherings for anyone interested in witchcraft and esoteric spirituality.
Currently, there are two Magick stores in downtown Durham: Fate and Folklore (123 Market St., Bull City Plaza), owned by Diana Abreu, and Magick Craft – Bull City Magic (1916 Perry St., around the corner from Ninth Street, with a second store in Hillsborough), owned by Lynn MagickCraft Swain. A third influential group, Magick Makers, led by Erin Harker, gathers virtually and has an online store.
Durham is one of the most alternative cities in North Carolina, although recent gentrification is bringing some change. Most downtown businesses continue to emphasize their embrace of diversity, especially of the LGBTQ+ community.
“I love Durham because of the people. There is a multitude of different people, different spiritual practices, different ways of living. It is such an inclusive community. There’s no judgment here,” explains Diana Abreu in her introductory Fate and Folklore Instagram video.
Local and regional witches are served by these stores. They come from nearby cities and towns, where interest in Magick is growing. The stores sell cauldrons, ritual daggers, altar brooms, specialized candles, statuettes, crystals, herbs, pre-prepared potions, and Tarot card decks. Witchcraft-curious visitors can find jewelry, ornaments, amulets, stickers, and incense sticks.
The stores and the online Magick Makers community are active in organizing gatherings for witchcraft practitioners. Magick Makers started “Witches Brew” meetings three years ago, first at Fullsteam Brewery’s now closed Rigsbee Avenue location, and later at the Durham Beer Garden. Nowadays, they have their own virtual space, the Kindred Club. The organizer, founder, and workshop leader is High Witch Erin Harker.
There are also several recurrent events. Magick Makers organizes Faires (that’s how the organizing witches spell it) that coincide with major Pagan holidays, such as the winter and summer solstices. Past Faires have taken place at the Durham Central Park.
All three downtown-based Magick initiatives organize workshops and events, with topics such as Tarot reading, plant medicine, and crystal healing. Guest speakers and teachers come from the local area as well as from other cities and states.
The three businesses sell books. Not all of them are Magick-centered. Some are oriented to exploring alternative spiritual paths. Some of them are openly political, such as Queer Rites, which includes a “Pronoun Change Ritual.”
The “Magick boom” in Durham indicates a growing interest in spiritual matters in the area. This is not surprising. According to a 2023 study by the Pew Research Center, 22% of Americans consider themselves “spiritual but not religious.” The city’s culture of openness helps explain the concentration of practitioners of alternative beliefs. Locals would say it is part of the Bull City magic.
