Wunderground Magic Shop

Some places you list because they’re excellent; others you list because they simply shouldn’t exist and gloriously do. Wunderground Magic is both. This working magic shop has been enchanting southeast Michigan since 1971 — it opened in Ferndale on April Fool’s Day, appropriately, and after a few moves (one location literally flooded) it settled into downtown Clawson. Inside, you pass through a hidden entrance behind a bookshelf into a superstore of illusions, card tricks, juggling gear, ventriloquist puppets, gags, and novelties, where the staff will happily perform a trick, sell it to you, then take you aside and teach you how it’s done.

It’s racked up a wall of “Best Toy & Hobby Store” awards, and it’s exactly the kind of hands-on, all-ages wonder that makes a downtown worth wandering. Bring the kids, bring your inner nine-year-old, and budget a little cash — the demonstrations are free, but you’ll want to take some magic home. We’ve got it on our list as one of the most delightfully unexpected stops in Clawson, and a genuine family-friendly gem.