You thought you'd seen it all. Now look around the corner.

Whether it’s shoes or shovels or spooky sights you fancy, there is plenty to see and do south of Boston before the freezing weather arrives. And your options aren’t limited to leaf-peeping. Southeastern Massachusetts has its share of quirky attractions you can’t find elsewhere. There are kitschy roadside monuments begging to be photographed. There are specialized museums devoted to the seemingly mundane, like thermometers, shoes, and shovels. And there are places steeped in ghostly folklore, perfect destinations to visit during the Halloween season. These are some of our favorite spots.

Unique landmarks

Salty the Seahorse

North Street and Route 6, Mattapoisett

Mattapoisett residents love Salty the Seahorse. For more than a half-century, this 38-foot-tall bluish-green statue has stood beside Route 6, and it remains one of the most unique roadside attractions in the state. Bill Griffith, creator of the ``Zippy the Pinhead" comic strip, featured the seahorse in one of his nationally syndicated comic strips.

The seahorse was built by local businessman Henry Dunseith, who owned a souvenir shop at the corner of North Street and Route 6. Dunseith died in 1988, and willed his property to the Mattapoisett Land Trust.

His gift shop was demolished; landscaped gardens and a gazebo now occupy the site. When a proposal to move the seahorse came up, residents rallied to keep the weathered statue where it had always been.

Volunteers worked hard to restore the local landmark, and the seahorse was taken to a boatbuilding shop for repairs. The electrical wiring that powered the seahorse's single blue eye was removed and replaced with a solar energy device donated by NStar. Then the Mattapoisett Land Trust held a contest to give it a name.

On June 3, 2000, the newly refurbished mascot of Route 6 became known as Salty.

Offbeat museums

Museum of Bad Art

580 High St., Dedham

Monday-Friday, 2 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday, holidays, 1 to 10 p.m.

Admission: free

The Dedham Community Theater is home to ``the world's only museum dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition, and celebration of bad art in all its forms."

MOBA's permanent gallery is located in the basement of the theater, just outside the men's room. There are about 250 pieces in the collection, and about 25 are exhibited at one time. You can see some examples on its website, www.museumofbadart.org.

Impressive collections

Porter Thermometer Museum

Onset, Wareham

By appointment; contact 508-295-5504 or thermometerman@aol.com

Richard Porter is known as the ``Thermometer Man." He's amassed more than 4,000 thermometers and displays them in the basement of his home in Onset. You can see some of his collection on his website, members.aol.com/thermometerman.

Unique landmarks

Milk Bottle Restaurant

785 Broadway (Route 138), Raynham

508-822-6833

Monday-Saturday, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Milk Bottle Restaurant is ``one of the only businesses around without a sign," said owner Joe Losciuto. ``The bottle is the sign."

Photos of this 50-foot-tall milk bottle, which measures 20 feet in diameter, have appeared in newspapers, websites, and magazines like National Geographic.

``All the time, there's people taking pictures of this place," said Losciuto. ``It's kind of an odd building."

Losciuto said the milk bottle dates to 1926. A state-funded survey of Raynham landmarks says it was one of three oversized milk bottles in this area: A second bottle is in New Bedford, and the third was in Taunton until 1977, when it was purchased by H.P. Hood and moved to Congress Street in Boston, next to the Children's Museum.

But Raynham's milk bottle is the only one with a mascot: a live chicken named Henny Penny. On any given day, she can be found running around the restaurant parking lot.

On-I-Set Wigwam

9 Crescent Place, Wareham

The village of Onset started out in the 19th century as a summer retreat for spiritualists -- people who believe that the living can communicate with the dead through mediums. The On-I-Set Wigwam Spiritualist Camp's red, tepee-shaped building harks back to that Victorian age -- it was built in 1893 -- and continues to serve as a gathering place for spiritualists.

A plaque above the front door reads, ``Erected to the Memory of the Redmen." From June through September, the Wigwam offers services, drum-making classes, and workshops like ``Healing with your Angels in your Energy Field." Watch for next year's events on this Wigwam blog, http://wigwam.wordpress.com.

Offbeat museums

HoJo's History

Quincy Historical Society Museum

Adams Academy, 8 Adams St., Quincy

617-773-1144

Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission: $3 adults; $1.50 seniors

Quincy is the birthplace of two US presidents, as well as two famous chains, Howard Johnson's and Dunkin' Donuts. This museum has exhibits on the history of all of them.

A nostalgic video presentation shows old Howard Johnson television commercials, and there's even a Howard Johnson's ice-cream scoop on display. The museum also displays artifacts from Quincy's granite and shipbuilding industries, and memorabilia from John and Abigail Adams.

Maritime & Irish Mossing Museum

301 Driftway, Scituate

781-545-1083

Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission: $4 adults; $3 seniors; free for children

The Scituate Historical Society runs this museum out of a 1739 house that once was the home of Captain Benjamin James. As its name suggests, the museum is devoted to Scituate's maritime history, with exhibits on shipwrecks, lifesaving, shipbuilding, and the town's Irish mossing industry.

If you have no clue what Irish moss is, just ask any Scituate resident: It was once a big business in this South Shore town. For decades, laborers hauled the reddish seaweed from the ocean for its carrageenan -- a thickening agent used in a variety of foods, like pudding, chocolate milk, ice cream, and hygiene products like lipstick, hand cream, and facial masks.

The museum exhibits follow the history of Daniel Ward, known as ``the father of Irish Mossing in Scituate," and Lucien Rousseau, ``Scituate's last Irish moss king."

Robbins Museum of Archaeology

17 Jackson St., Middleborough

508-947-9005

Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Admission: Free (donations accepted)

Website: massarchaeology.org

The Robbins Museum is operated by the Massachusetts Archaeological Society, a nonprofit that bills itself as the oldest archaeological society in the country. Since 1939, the organization has accumulated some 70,000 artifacts; the museum features pottery, arrowheads, murals, a diorama of a prehistoric village, and a ``Walk through Time" exhibit that covers 10,000 years of history in Southeastern Massachusetts.

In celebration of Massachusetts Archaeology Month, the museum is hosting several special events in October. Evan Hadingham, a science editor for the PBS television series ``NOVA," will be a guest speaker today. His talk starts at 2 p.m.

``We have a treasure here, and a lot of people don't know about it," said Tonya Largy, president of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society.

Another quirky attraction is located just across the street, at 18 Jackson St. The Middleborough Historical Museum has so much Tom Thumb memorabilia that it's nicknamed the Tom Thumb Museum. But it is closed for the winter, and will reopen next year.

Impressive collections

The Shovel Collection

The Stonehill Industrial History Center at Stonehill College

Cushing-Martin Hall, 2d floor

320 Washington St. (Route 123), Easton

By appointment; contact 508-565-1774 or sihc@stonehill.edu

The Stonehill College website acknowledges that most people think all shovels are the same, but ``examination of our collection reveals that there is a far wider variety than most consider imaginable."

Indeed, the 755 shovels housed in the Stonehill Industrial History Center are considered to be the biggest shovel collection in the world. The center also has artifacts and records from the Ames family's successful shovel-making business, which started in Easton in 1803.

Brockton Shoe Museum

Brockton Historical Society Museums

216 North Pearl St. (Route 27)

By appointment; contact 508-583-1039

Billing itself as ``the only authentic shoe museum in America," the Brockton Shoe Museum features footwear exhibits that trace the history of American shoes from early Indian moccasins to the sneakers worn by today's marathon runners.

The celebrity collection includes shoes worn by President Clinton, Red Sox slugger Ted Williams, and Boston Pops conductor Arthur Fiedler; there's also a pair of slippers worn by US Representative Barney Frank, black Allen-Edmonds dress shoes (size 8) worn by Regis Philbin, and a pair of multicolored John Fluevog ankle boots that Steven Tyler wore in the music video for ``Walk This Way."

The Shoe Museum, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, is part of the Brockton Historical Society Museums, which houses a Fire Museum and exhibits on Thomas Edison and Rocky Marciano.

Spooky places

The Sun Tavern

500 Congress St. (Route 14), Duxbury

781-837-4100

Tuesday-Thursday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 5 to 10 p.m. ; Saturday, 4 to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The Sun Tavern is a cozy restaurant inside a farmhouse built before the Revolutionary War. The building was once home to Lysander Walker, known in the 1920s as the ``Last Duxbury Hermit." Previous owners have said the place is haunted by Walker's ghost. There have been reports of footsteps heard, and candles lighting by themselves.

You can read more about these reports and the tavern's history on the restaurant's website, thesuntavern.com.

Devil's Footprints

315 West Main St., Norton

Website: http://cs.wheatoncollege.edu/nhs

The devil made his mark in Norton when Major George Leonard died in 1716. At least, that's how the local legend goes.

In 18th-century Norton, the townspeople were suspicious of Leonard's wealth -- some accused him of selling his soul to the devil to achieve such riches. When he died, according to folklore, the devil appeared at Leonard's mansion to claim his body. The devil left the mansion by leaping out a window, and the impact supposedly left deep footprints in the rock below.

Today, the Leonard mansion is no longer there, but those ``devil's footprints" remain and they are among the sightseeing destinations listed on the Southeastern Massachusetts Convention & Visitors Bureau's website. Only thing is, the rock is now somewhat hidden by shrubs and trees near the J.C. Solmonese School.

``People would need to be careful. . . . They're overgrown with poison ivy," said Janice Burkhart, vice president of the Norton Historical Society. ``But they are there."

The Bridgewater Triangle

This 200-square-mile swath of land between Abington, Freetown, and Rehoboth covers parts of Norton, Easton, West Bridgewater, Bridgewater, Raynham, and Taunton and includes the Hockomock Swamp.

All sorts of spooky things -- apparitions, UFOs, demon dogs, and other mysterious creatures -- have supposedly been spotted here, earning it the ominous moniker ``The Bridgewater Triangle." It's in Loren Coleman's 1983 book, ``Mysterious America," as well as ``Haunted Massachusetts" by Cheri Revai and ``Suburban Legends: True Tales of Murder, Mayhem, and Minivans" by Sam Stall, not to mention many local newspaper articles.

Halloween events

Haunted Theatre

Orpheum Theatre

1 School St., Foxborough

508- 543-2787, ext. 4

Open until Oct. 30 (not recommended for children under 10)

Friday-Saturday, 7 to 11 p.m.; Sunday-Thursday, 7 to 10 p.m.

Website: foxborojaycees.org

Admission: $10

Barrett's Haunted Mansion

1235 Bedford St. (Route 18), Abington

781-871-4573

Open until Oct. 30

Daily, 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Website: bhmansion.com

Admission: $15 (discount coupons available on the website)

Lakeville Haunted House

28 Precinct St., Lakeville

508-923-0053

Oct. 27-28, 6 to 10 p.m.

Website: lakevillehauntedhouse.com

Admission: $13

Marshfield Haunted House

Marshfield Fairgrounds

Oct. 27-28 (raindate is Oct. 29), 6 to 10 p.m.

Website: boysandgirlsclubofmarshfield.com

Cemeteries and Graveyards

The Fred Holland Day Historic House & Norwood History Museum

93 Day St., Norwood

781-762-9197

Website: norwoodhistoricalsociety.org

On Wednesday, the Norwood Historical Society will present ``Landscapes of Mourning and Memory: Cemeteries and Graveyards of New England," a free lecture by Stephen O'Neill of Plymouth's Pilgrim Hall Museum. It starts at 7:30 p.m.

The Fred Holland Day Historic House & Norwood History Museum exhibits are open to the public year round, but call to schedule a visit. (A bit of Norwood history: Before the town was incorporated in 1872, residents offered various names for consideration, including Ames, Balch, Cedarville, and Queertown. Happily for its proponents, Norwood won.)

Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe.com.