AUBURN — The Spring Into the Weird Fair at the Auburn Mall drew about 6,000 fanatics of the bizarre and macabre by early afternoon Sunday.

From the crocheted to the soothsaid, oddities seekers were not disappointed by the selections at the two-day event that attracted more than 80 vendors. Tables included everything jewelry, crystals, paintings, prints, taxidermy, bone art, apparel, psychic readings and more.

Fair organizer Rebecca Emmons, owner of the Nerdcore mall shop, said the first iteration in October also drew an impressive crowd. It was no surprise, however, that with increasing signs of spring, people came out in big numbers to appreciate the art and curation of the weird.

“People do come out here and look for this stuff— they love it,” Emmons said. “Some people go to craft fairs just to find that one cool, weird table. Here, we have over 80 of them.”

Standing out as some of the strangest and most fascinating art at the fair were Lewiston artist Bec Showalter’s hand-tinted snake sheds. The framed, semitransparent skins sit against the light — almost like stained glass — and take on striking abstract shapes.

“They’re ball python skins I get from a friend who keeps snakes,” Showalter said.

Showalter said they have practiced the craft for about three years, and working with the unconventional medium took time. The skins tear and fall apart easily, which makes shaping and tinting them difficult.

Showalter also works with linoleum prints and, given the snake sheds unique look, stained glass. They said they take inspiration from the natural sciences and the strange.

“I’ve tried to sell in the more vanilla craft fairs, and it does not go well at all,” Showalter said. “I look out for the weird fairs specifically. For me, this is not weird at all. It’s totally normal.”

Sarah Di Lapio’s business, The Rotten Tooth, features oddities that can be considered curation, transfiguration or outright art. Her favorite piece makes elegance of a shark jaw and a beetle set upon a mirror.

Jawbones and bugs are not the only medium Di Lapio uses. Whatever she does not find at antique shops or gather from friends, she finds in the ground while working as a landscaper. Pelts, taxidermized and mummified animals, doll heads, bones, mirrors, frames and brake lights are among the mediums with which Di Lapio works. For her, nothing is off the table.

“I find a lot of interesting things, a little bit of everything,” Di Lapio said. “The kids will ask, ‘Are you making dead stuff again?’ It’s repurposing! People get to enjoy it a second time. It’s not for everybody, I’ll tell you that.”

Joshy Pellerin of Waterbury, Vermont, made the 200-mile trip with his puppy to showcase his watercolors-inspired apparel. His logo, a watercolor of Nicolas Cage from 1987’s “Raising Arizona,” is prominent in his art.

Pellerin said by the time he was 16 years old, he was able to draw lifelike subjects, but he pivoted to film and then went to college for it. After a traumatic brain injury, Pellerin said, he went back to drawing and then to watercolor painting. He has not looked back since.

Focusing most of his energy on apparel based on his paintings, he said he is also dabbling in graphic design to get the prints just right. Pellerin had shirts, jackets, backpacks, umbrellas and more featuring his signature Nicolas Cage, Danny Devito in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and many other characters and scenics.

“I like playing around with all sorts of stuff, doing these watercolors mixed in with these ’70s ads,” Pellerin said. “I bought a small sewing machine and kind of want to get into that part of it. I’ve got this New Kids on the Block sleeping bag I want to turn into a jacket, but that’s going to take some work.”

Missy Lathrop of Paranormal 5 and Jennifer Moreau of The Starting Point, both of southern Maine, said they have frequented weird fairs for the past three years, and had with them an array of oddities pushing the boundaries of curation and art.

“You can’t have one without the other,” Moreau said. “It’s more a lifestyle. We’ve been doing this for years, but have only started vending these past two to three years.”

“What’s my inspiration? Well, I love spooky stuff,” Lathrop said. “We’re paranormal investigators, so it kind of goes hand in hand. This kind of stuff just fits.”

Their business is in oddities for sure, Moreau said, “but it’s not odd for us.”

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