Chicken bald back

[patsylabrador]

This is a tableau in a museum we visited in Germany. It was a museum of rural life and felt more like a ghost ride. There were lots of ghostly scenes like this one. Just behind us were lots of Madonnas laid out in coffin like boxes.

It didn't help that we were the only visitors and as lots of objects were in the attic our footsteps echoed quite loudly. We did see a small group of people when we entered but we never saw them again. We suspected that they ended up in a tableau.

We did stumble across one lady who shouted at us, we didn't understand her so we just smiled and said Thank you and she stomped off.

I think the room of dusty china dolls was the worst. I didn't stay there long.

There was supposed to be a small village of houses to enter but they were all locked and to be honest we were looking forward to a beer by that time.

There was evidence of school groups visiting, I dread to think how those children view history- if indeed they ever left.

There were schoolroom tableaus too after all.

[WitchHazel]

Definitely creepy.

[Valkyrie]

Yuk! Definitely creepy!

Brings to mind a B&B we stayed in Norfolk. The lady herself was pleasant - but the petrified Christening robes on the wall (not sure if plaster of Paris dunked) and the witchcraft books - er not like The Worst Witch stories or such but instructions. She herself was very much involved in the church across the road.

But in Romsey there is a place where the floor was made of bones - animal - and there is a glass floor to observe - King John's House it's called. I think it was something to do with the Knights Templar but I can't remember.

[soapdragon]

More years ago than I care to calculate OH and I went to Jamaica Inn in Cornwall. They had a room full of those revolting glass cases full of stuffed animals that the Victorians were so keen on.

 

All of the glass cases - around 20 or so - were full of little furry creatures (mostly kittens/cats for some reason and, by then somewhat moth eaten) dressed up and in little tableaux...school room/wedding/party etc. Very creepy and made me feel sick....in fact I'm getting queasy just thinking about it now

 

I remember remarking to OH that what the place needed was a fire

[The Dogmother]

There used to be an old pub near Liverpool Street called Dirty Dicks, there were cases down the stairs to the cellar full of mummified rats and the like.

 

The pub that perpetuates the name and legend was described thus in 1866:

"A small public house or rather a tap of a wholesale wine and spirit business"..."a warehouse or barn without floorboards; a low ceiling, with cobwebs festoons dangling from the black rafters; a pewter, bar battered and dirty, floating with beer, numberless gas pipes tied anyhow along the struts and posts to conduct the spirits from the barrels to the taps; sample phials and labelled bottles of wine and spirits on shelves- everything covered with virgin dust and cobwebs."

 

It seems that successive owners of the Bishopsgate Distillery and its tap capitalised on the legend. By the end of the 19th century, its owner, a public house company called William Barker's (D.D) Ltd, was producing commemorative booklets and promotional material to advertise the pub.

 

For years it kept the cobwebs, dead cats and other disgusting things in the cellar bar, but these have now been tidied a to a glass display case.

 

Edited to add link and quote

[soapdragon]

Sounds to me, DM, that they should have been tidied to the bin!

[Luvachicken]

Must be something about Norfolk.

We went to Great Yarmouth and it boasted the largest indoor crazy golf.

It was set in an old theatre with themed areas like Elvis and other oldies, and believe me it WAS old. Probably when it was done originally - way back whenever - it was good, but for us it was dark and very creepy.

ED and I both lost our balls in the darkest creepiest hole ever. There was no way we were putting our hands in that hole. Scariest place I've ever been to.

[Alis girls]

It wasnt creepy but nearly had a fit when one of the old fashioned manequins in the London Transport museum in London dressed in old fashioned clothes spoke to me, it was an actor dressed for the part. I wish they wouldnt do that - thank goodness my heart was up to the shock. The London Dungeon I found creepy too.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Not exactly a museum, but the creepiest thing we ever saw was a garden in Belgium which was absolutely crammed to bursting with all sorts of toys and dolls. Most of them were mouldering and decaying as they were out in the open which made it look even worse .

[Daphne]

Brilliant thread

 

Not a museum, but there is somewhere in Portugal which is an ossuary - ie a chapel made of bones and skulls. Everywhere you look - walls, floors, decoration - is entirely made of human bones

 

I believe it was a space saving idea.

[Alis girls]

Yuck - I have to say toys which look like they might come to life on their own - like in all the best spooky movies freek me out. Old fashioned dolls with painted faces and those ventriliquist dummies - there was a film years ago called "magic" which was about an evil dummy.

[Valkyrie]

Yuk I remember that - those dummies are scary full stop!

 

Wookey Hole used to have things like toys hanging up - we saw petrified teddy bears that left me really upset as the teddy bears needed to be loved and not covered in lime.

 

I think it is the Natural History museum that has sleepovers - we saw lots of families with their sleeping bags going in one night (or it might have been the British Museum with the mummies - ewww wouldn't get me sleeping with the mummies)!!!!

[patsylabrador]

I think we're going to have to start visiting creepy places. There seem to be lots.

The Hellfire Caves near High Wycombe (i think) are pretty strange but not scary.

[soapdragon]

Natural History has sleepovers...at a price! Also Mother Shipton's cave in Knaresborough, Yorks has a 'hang something up and it will petrify in 50 year or so' with lots of teddies, hats, gloves and other items already turned to stone !

 

We are hoping to take the boys to The Museum of London over the Easter hols as, as far as I can recall, its fairly shudder free

[keyhole kate]

It wasnt creepy but nearly had a fit when one of the old fashioned manequins in the London Transport museum in London dressed in old fashioned clothes spoke to me, it was an actor dressed for the part. I wish they wouldnt do that - thank goodness my heart was up to the shock. The London Dungeon I found creepy too.

 

YD was terrified to the point of hysteria at the London Dungeon I couldn't for the life of me see why as the models/manekins looked un realistic but she was really distressed she still talks about it freaking her out today.

[Space Chick]

The old Melbourne Gaol was very creepy, but I loved it!!

 

They had made death masks, where they had done a plastercast of peoples faces before they were executed and kept them. They were still on display. I found it terribly fascinating