Not the Smithsonian Issue #40

Venus Zine looks at the worlds' most out of the ordinary museums

By Alysse Dalessandro
Published: June 1st, 2009 | 12:00am

Ever wonder if there’s a museum dedicated to serial killers or voodoo? Or where the conjoined liver of the first documented set of Siamese twins is housed? Curious, slightly macabre minds need search no more.

The Icelandic Phallological Museum

Location: Husavik, Iceland

Must see: A “specimen” from a sperm whale — 66.9 inches long, 154 pounds

Collecting phallic specimens began as a joke for Iceland’s Sigurdur Hjartarson in 1974, but in 1997 he finally opened the Icelandic Phallological Museum with 62 specimens. The collection today features 272 penises and penile parts. A penis bone from a hamster is the tiniest in the collection at about 2 mm long (.07 inches). Hjartarson says visitors to the museum will be “informed and amused, if they have some sense of humor.”

The Hobo Museum

Location: Britt, Iowa

Must see: The Hobo Jungle — a recreation of a hobo encampment

Hobo Board Member Todd “Adman” Waters has been a hobo (full and part-time) since 1974 and sees the museum (located in an old movie house) as an opportunity to attack the myths of what hobos are. “We are there out of choice [and] because it’s out of choice, we’re free,” says Waters, who suggests visitors check out the museum in August during the Hobo Convention — which has been meeting in the town of Britt for over a century.

The New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum

Location: New Orleans, LA

Must See: Voodoo priest, Dr. John’s companion — an albino python

According to voodoo priest Dr. John, The New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum aims to dispel the Hollywood myths about a practice that is really based in god and nature. In addition to paying tribute to voodoo’s past, the museum also allows visitors to participate in readings, rituals, and even cemetery tours. But don’t be surprised if you aren’t spooked; “People seem to like that adrenaline rush,” explains Dr. John, “but I for one find the truth more interesting.”

The Winchester Mystery House

Location: San Jose, CA

Must See: A door that opens to a fifteen-foot drop at the front of the house

Sarah Winchester inherited $20 million of the Winchester rifle fortune and spent the next 38 years building a 160-room Victorian mansion without blueprints or floor plans. The common belief is that Winchester, who held nightly séances to communicate with the spirits, kept building stairs that led to nowhere to keep away the ghosts of those killed by Winchester rifles. “The only person who knows the true reason for why she built it is Mrs. Winchester herself,” says General Manager Shozo Kagoshima.

The Mütter Museum

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Must See: The Soap Woman — a cadaver of a woman who turned into a soapy substance

On display at this medical history museum is a plaster cast of “Siamese twins” Chang and Eng Bunker, along with their actual conjoined liver. Also on display is the jaw tumor of President Grover Cleveland and a gallery of over 2,000 items that have been swallowed and removed by humans. “The purpose has never been to shock, but to expand people’s understanding and compassion,” says J. Nathan Bazzel, Director of Communications.

VZ Reader Pick

The Serial Killer Museum in Florence, Italy

“This wax museum recounts the gruesome stories of some of the most disturbing murderers. Each room is comprised of a wax replica of a murderer positioned in an appropriately designed space. John Wayne Gacy is dressed in his infamous “Pogo the Clown” costume, emerging from the crawl space of his living room where he buried 27 bodies. As you move from room to room, [the killers’] disturbing stories stream through an audio guide eerily narrated with bone-chilling sound effects ... the most brilliant and terrifying part of this experience is that it is real…” (Amy Dondanville, Chicago, IL)