One more. How can you resist?

You can’t. You’re absolutely compelled to have that single thing that will be your crown jewel, the object that takes your collection from a bunch of random bric-a-brac to a serious assemblage worthy of respect. Humans, they say, are born collectors and in the new book “The Witch’s Door” by Ryan Matthew Cohn & Regina M. Cohen, you might collect a few chills.

When Ryan Cohn was a pre-teen, he became obsessed with the human body, but not in the way most 12-year-old boys are: Cohn was fascinated by medical books, anatomy, and death, particularly in artwork known as Beauchêne (exploded) skulls. Fortunately, his parents indulged him, as did other adults working in museums, antique stores, and flea markets. They showed him how to collect, buy and sell for profit; he then polished his art skills by working for a man who taught like a real-life Mr. Miyagi.

This gave Cohn impressive knowledge and talent, which led to a popular cable TV show built around his work and his art. It was from there that a kapala, a Tibetan bowl made from a skull, brought Cohn to the woman he’d marry.

Regina was working for a British lingerie merchant when she saw Cohn’s posting of the kapala online, and her interest in the object helped forge a friendship with him. The friendship evolved and on a trip to the Catacombs of Paris, they became engaged.

Here, Cohn and Cohn explain what it’s like to make a living buying, selling, and promoting oddities and unique wares. People often ask them if their stuff is haunted. Some folks blanch at the prices; others are surprised at an object’s size or history. But collecting, as you might know, is fun and interesting; it can be a party, a hassle, a lifelong obsession, a frustration, and a legacy. Collecting oddities can be all of the above – and it can be creepy, too…

Your house may be decorated with skulls and tame-scary things this time of year, and you like it that way. So why not live like this year ’round? Check out “The Witch’s Door” and dream of the dark possibilities.

Just know this: The book isn’t really meant to scare you or give you nightmares. It’s also not an anthology of ghost stories. Nope, authors Ryan Matthew Cohn and Regina M. Cohn are serious about the objects they collect, which includes the provenance of each item and its future. You might still notice that there is a certain kind of macabre to their overall collection and to many individual objects, but the stories about these things are told with a fully historical and cultural tone that readers will find to be highly fascinating. Don’t be surprised, in fact, if this book sends you to a museum or online, to find the Cohns’past work.

If you’re Goth, you’re Halloween 24/7, or you’re a fellow collector, find “The Witch’s Door.” For oddity lovers looking for a good book, let this be your one thing.

— The Bookworm Sez