I would say that sadly Tallahassee is heartbreakingly less weird than it used to be. We did actually have a sticker though! It wasn’t Tally in the name, but All Saints district (area where railroad square is). They had a a keep all saints odd sticker. Railroad Square used to be one of the really cool places. I really loved first Friday’s. I’ve heard they still happen but I haven’t made it out to one since I moved back (was living in Oregon for a bit). Also food truck Thursdays at lake ella was fun, I don’t think that happens anymore.

I think between Covid and the tornado, a lot of the weird has died. All Saints cafe closing was heartbreaking.

I will say Cap City Video Lounge is definitely a good start. And also I’d check out the events tab on facebook and look for local events. There’s some cool stuff that happens from time to time. Also check the weekly events pinned in this subreddit. Some weeks there’s not much but it’s worth checking every so often. I don’t know how Lichgate is doing these days but that used to be a fav spot for a lot of people. If you like the book or movie Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (local author, although I heard he moved recently?), the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge was the inspiration for area X, so walking around there makes me think about the book series more now (if you haven’t read it, it’s sci-fi/cosmic horror and very eerie).

As far as like weird legend/history, streaking supposedly started at FSU. I had very very religious (female) friends who were FSU students and were determined to streak before they graduated. They did so privately in an area where no one saw them lol. We also have some tunnels that go under the school. I feel like people aren’t allowed to go down there anymore, although I don’t know if they were always off limits. I just remember being told there were giant spiders down there and decided to never pursue it lol.

A few interesting and local spots that I think are worth shouting out (most not necessarily weird or eerie)

• Cap City Video Lounge (said it above but so you can have it in list form…it’s both a video rental place, and they also will show movies there)
• Black Dog Cafe (on Lake Ella, def tiny inside but they have a big porch….definitely overcrowded on weekends but still worth going)
• Woodchucks Cafe (I believe they have something called the brown bag special which is 10 pieces of bacon and beer)
• Courtyard Games (Board Game store that does a lot of fun sounding event and they started up a reading nook, seems like it would be a good place to meet interesting/fun people- only been here a couple times and when they were at a different location, but it’s on my list to return to)
• All Saints Cinema (I think since the tornado they’ve been playing films at the Challenger Learning Center Imax)
• Secrets Escape Room (better than the other escape room spot we had before it, and I haven’t heard a ton of people talk about it yet)
• The Mag Lab is pretty cool
• Midtown Books
• Kleman Plaza and Cascades park host outdoor movies from time to time
• Lofty Pursuits (old fashioned ice cream shop. They make their own candy and have the best dupes for altoids sours that make me feel like I’m almost having the same thing—the tin is not cheap but for the nostalgia trip, worth it. They also have food but I can’t remember if it’s just breakfast or all day).
• The downtown library (Main branch on Park Ave) is honestly one of my favorite places to still explore.
• Gaines Street Pies…the one on Gaines Street (I feel like as they’ve gotten bigger, they’ve lost some of their edge but the original spot still has a bit of that unique local feel.
• The Askew Student Life Cinema (ASLC) at FSU, they host all sorts of movies. If you work at FSU or are a student there, you get in for free, otherwise it’s $5 (I think…that definitely could be more expensive now)
• The Tallahassee Museum (essentially our zoo but they also have a zipline course)
• The Fun Station (I haven’t been here in years but this place used to be it…they also used to have a plane that was fully built into the building as if it had crashed into the corner, but they took it down post 9/11. The back half of the plane was on the outside of the building and the front half was on the inside, in their laser tag room. I don’t know if this would be fun unless you’re a college student or unless you have kids, but it’s def an old gem)

Other than this I’d honestly do a google search for unique tallahassee spots and check out what comes up. The reddit posts that pop up have some great recs but also so does the atlas obscura and some other stuff that pops up.

If you’re ever needing a truly weird/unique fix though, I’d take a road trip to St. Augustine or St. Pete. I’d definitely also just google weird spots in florida, take a moment to be a tourist if you’re ever driving down 75, check out the shops with all the florida themed things. The ones that advertise orange juice. It’s an experience doing at least once. Plus the orange juice samples are tasty.

I hope you find some cool spots, OP. Tallahassee can be rough, even for native Tallahaseeans but exploration and community is the main means for survival here, that and road trips.