Since our last two visits back in 2019, we returned to The Haunted Museum in Nottingham to see the changes and new items that have been added into this unique UK attraction.
From our first visit to the museum to our paranormal late-night experience I’ve been a great fan of this Nottingham based attraction.
Such wonderful artifacts and such a beautiful building to be housed in that really adds to the whole atmosphere that the venue is trying to create.
I’ve laid on the morgue tables, volunteered for every daring experience, and pushed my own limits in search of the paranormal.
But Nothing happened.
Ever the skeptic I’m forever chasing proof and finding absolutely nothing at every event, venue and experience I visit.
But regardless, I still love the objects on display and the stories behind them.
Excited by my first visit to the museum in over a year I was eager to see what was inside.
A mere 17 minutes later, I’d walked out, hopped in the car and went home absolutely devastated by what had been done to this once unique and wonderful museum.
What’s Changed at The Haunted Museum?
Well from my last two reviews I had nothing but praise for this wonderful location.
The items were incredible, the mood was set and the cinema is perfect to kick back relax and watch a horror classic or a good old episode of Ghost Adventures.
We even experienced some weird phone malfunction whilst we were there that certainly intrigued my skeptical mind as I tried to find logical explanations for this sudden device glitch.
But upon entering the museum this time around, it was clear to see things had changed and not for the better.
After being told we couldn’t record in the museum auditorium (something that had been approved and allowed in the past) I took it on the chin and was told I could take as many pictures I liked, so I did.
With current restrictions, the guided tours are no longer available and instead it’s a self-guided tour priced at £7, up £3, from the original price of £4 last year when we came.
This price was more than justified as last year’s price of £4 was an absolute steal for a guided tour and even the £7 now is only just worth it but only if you haven’t been before.
So instead of the ‘all-access tour’ which this £7 experience is labeled as we were met with No Entry signs at every single part of the building we wanted to see and were allowed to see on last year’s £4 tour.
Down into the basement – No Entry
Up into the attic – No Entry
Take a look around the mirror room- No Entry
Enter the Dybbuk Box room – No Entry
On the ‘guided tour’ we had some dolls allegedly from La Isla de las Muñecas (Island of the dolls) although a few reports amongst paranormal enthusiasts claim the island has never sent out any dolls from the island.
But I digress.
Also on the guided tour we saw some replica Crying Boy paintings which are a good £20 each from your vintage charity shop or £10 a picture down at Dagfields near me.
We brought one for Paralysis Escape Room just last October!
These were not authentic but the story behind the paintings is still very educational nonetheless.
As I raced upstairs to see the old dungeon torture equipment they used to have it had now been replaced with the morgue tables that used to be in the basement.
Just a stack of morgue trays and one dissection table.
So what is in the basement replacing the morgue tables?
Lots of mannequins around a seance’ table with a big No Entry sign in front of them.
Great.
So with zero access to anything on the tour other than seeing a skeleton on a chair (that was actually it) we headed into the main auditorium after three (yes three) minutes.
With the beautiful Victorian Funeral Hearse and a skeleton in a coffin that used to belong in a room behind reception (which has now been closed as it used to be on the tour) there were a few more new additions.
Eager to see what artifacts from around the world they had found and put within this hub of paranormal excellence I was staggered to find replica Annabelle dolls, a chucky doll in its original packaging, and various horror movie replica statues and dolls.
Was this Haunted Museum or Forbidden Planet?
What on earth was this?!
Banksy notes?!
Have they been possessed by a graffiti god?
On top of that, they had a Billy the Puppet doll that genuinely looked like the bargain bucket Spitting Image version of the infamous doll and the writing below it claimed to be used in the movies.
Being a prop collector of 5+ years I can tell you the head of that doll was not used in ANY Saw movies that I’ve ever seen.
It didn’t seem to even resemble any of the Ontario production back-ups or even the stunt versions featured in the movie featurettes.
Now whether the body has been used in the movie or the tricycle for that matter remained to be seen.
It seems as though the poor owners may have been hoodwinked on this particular purchase as they claimed it cost them £6,500.
Ouch.
I’d love to know where this piece was brought from and what paper trail this piece has but there was no documentation with this piece displayed unlike the item underneath.
Underneath the doll was another Saw prop with a photocopied (not even an original) certificate of authenticity and that’s a big flashing red light already!
Photocopied COA’s of any kind are usually people trying to make a quick buck as the original piece belongs to the owner and replica pieces are made and sold with photocopied COA’s.
It’s sadly a common occurrence in the prop collecting world.
For the sake of that £6,500 price tag, I hope at least the body or tricycle was production used but I sadly can’t see that being true either.
What I did enjoy was the Shrunken Head and Vampire Killing Kit that the museum had recently purchased.
The Vampire Killing Kit has a paper trail and was purchased through a prestigious auction, but I’m unsure of the origins of the Shrunken Head.
These high-profile items are what draws the crowds in so to see the shrunken head shoved in a cabinet with some other tat and the vampire killing kit in a standard box display was a real shame.
Items like that should have their own introductions, atmosphere, and spectacle.
Take nothing away from the items but my god, display them in a way that adds intrigue and general interest.
They’re wonderful items and need to be respected and displayed as such.
Angered by walking into a mix of Forbidden Planet and a bargain bucket version of Ripley’s Believe it Or Not we had a circus section and an Exorcist mannequin on a bed with a mannequin priest watching over her.
That’s it, I’m out.
We walked out.
We waved goodbye to the model of ET wearing a Haunted Museum T-Shirt and hat and made sure to not return until they sort themselves out.
Once an incredible hub of unique items and general intrigue and mystique is now a carnival of chaos, a tacky tourist trap and it’s a damn shame.
Buying a Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine to advertise your business is a clear indicator of not taking your profession seriously.
It certainly feels like the museum would be something you’d find on Blackpool Promenade alongside other questionable tourist attractions.
Leaving with a sour taste in my mouth the only silver lining was the young gentleman who was at reception who was kind, helpful, and incredibly friendly.
I don’t know what possessed me to pay £7 for that downgraded shambles.
If you’ve never been before £7 isn’t too big of an amount to be disappointed but what we saw last year compared to now.
Wow, just wow.
The building deserves better.
Also, I noticed the use of Zak Bagan’s copyrighted Haunted Museum logo on one part of the tour.
Not cool.
I hope the owners can turn it around and bring back the weird, the wonderful, and the genuinely incredible atmosphere and items that made this attraction so unique.
Visit https://www.thehauntedmuseum.co.uk and make your own minds up.
This was not our first visit and you could see the quality and integrity of what the attraction used to be compared to what it is now just slipping away.
For first-timers I’d say it’s worth a visit for the low admission and whilst it couldn’t be said this time last year, at this moment in time, you definitely get what you pay for.
