The Unintentionally Scary Museum

There are a lot of things in this world that are unintentionally scary. Clowns were originally meant to be jolly beings, but so many people exhibit a natural fear of them that they have been a staple of horror films and nightmares. Babies are another example. They are supposed to represent the future and life and potential, but the very thought of them has struck terror deep into the hearts of countless men and women. And I must not forget to mention well-meaning celebrities such as Michael Jackson or Barbara Streisand. I just shuddered.

This past week, I found another unintentionally terrifying thing -- the local museum in the town where I am currently living. I went with the purpose of fulfilling one of my summer goals (#14 - Go out and do more photography) while also learning more about the town. I had no idea that what I would find in the museum would be so eerie.

The museum was originally a high school, so it's quite large and has several floors. The displays are found in the many, many rooms. When I arrived, the first person I saw was an elderly, overweight man in overalls. He was ambling down a hallway and grunted to me as he passed. Other than that, I didn't see or hear a living soul for almost an hour. Walking around that enormous building, surrounded by old, old things such as creepy olden-times surgical tools, I couldn't help but feel like I was trespassing or stumbling upon things I should not have been seeing. The thing on the brownish blanket was supposed to be used to aid childbirth. Yikes. Keep those away from my baby.

But that wasn't all of the terrifying medical equipment. No. There was this strange metal claw thing.

And then there a reminder of how insufficient medical knowledge was back and how families and even entire communities were sometimes shut away from the world because the only available medicines failed them.

But it's okay. I'm sure the children would rather suffer through a handful of days or even weeks of vomiting up blood or being delirious with fever than be pushed around in this stroller for months and months. As a matter of fact, this may be the cause of those unstoppable diseases. A baby buggie constructed out of materials that look like they were pulled out of a malaria-rich swamp!

But if the disease didn't get the children, their playthings probably did. The children didn't play with their toys, the toys played with the children in the most vicious ways that broke their fragile spirits.

But what kind of toys would you expect a mother that wore dresses like this to give to her children? It's like someone pulled this clothing directly out of the wardrobe of an evil stepmother or abusive school mistress or wicked witch or any sick combination of the three.

But maybe we shouldn't be too quick to judge these demonic toy bestowing mothers. They were probably driven mad by being locked into and tortured by machines such as this! They thought they were just having their hair curled. They were so thrilled to show off their curly locks. Little did they know that their vanity would cost much more than the hairdresser's fees--their sanity and the natural love they had for their children!

Another reason I didn't feel entirely comfortable in this museum was the fact that it was filled with creepy mannequins. I kept walking into rooms or around corners and was repeatedly surprised to see someone standing ever so still only to realize the figures weren't people at all. This one wasn't as unnerving because it looks like his nose has run rampant across his face.

And then there was the basement. It was grungy and filled with cobwebs that suggested people rarely went down there. It was supposed to be filled with agricultural artifacts, but a lot of these displays looked more like they could also double for torture devices. Here, for example, is a beautiful array of barbed wire, great for keeping your victims immobile while you have your cruel way with them.

I think this was supposed to make fences. These spools fed wire through a loom type thing which twisted them together to make a mat of squares. But what was it keeping in? Animals? Or human victims? And how can we be so sure this barbaric looking device was intended for innocent purposes? We can't. Especially when it's found in this museum.

And then I found a door that had a slide lock across it. Being alone, I unlocked it and pushed open the door. There was no light in the room and this picture was taken with the aid of the flash on my camera. That really creeped me out. I shut the door, locked it, and went to what I felt was a slightly less unnerving portion of the museum.

The museum was devoted entirely to local history, but I think this may be a history that would be better either forgotten or repressed.