Most of us have visited a fair few museums in our time; stepping back into the past at the many natural history museums and acting like we can talk the talk at hundreds of art museums. If you are looking for a different theme for your next museum visit, you’ll be pleased to know that the range of museums dedicated to all manners of weird and wonderful specimens will surpass your imagination! From insects to pencil sharpeners, here’s a pick of 8 mad museums across the globe….
Torture Museum, Amsterdam
The Torture Museum does pretty much what it says on the tin; it is dedicated to all manner of horrifying implements and machines used in yester year to truly torture human beings and does a good job of conveying the cruelty that many were subjected to. The whole museum is dimly lit and showcases select implements interspersed with informational light boxes and paintings to dictate how the pieces were used. From the classic guillotine to a human saw and every other imaginable device in between, you will leave feeling pretty thankful that you live in the 21st century rather than medieval times, that’s for sure! Photo by: sandeep thukral
Museum of Funeral Carriages, Barcelona
There are many beautiful and exciting attractions to keep you entertained in this fine city but should you happen to wander off the beaten track, you will some a somewhat macabre museum hidden beneath the streets. Located in the basement of the Barcelona Municipal Funeral Services, you will find the Museum of Funeral Carriages. It is home to a large, dusty collection of both carriages and hearses, some of which date back to the 18th century and are manned by period dressed dummies. Making your way around the exhibition in eerie silence with a security guard chaperone proves to be quite popular, surprisingly!
Museum of Witchcraft, Cornwall
Cornwall is home to some of the UK’s best beaches and quaintest fishing villages but also, in stark contrast, the Museum of Witchcraft! Here you will find the world’s largest collection of witchcraft related artefacts such as the “dipping chair”. There’s even a collection of 3,000 books and with categories ranging from persecution of witches to Satanism, it’s safe to say it’s a very comprehensive collection of all things hocus-pocus!
The Mutter Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
The Mutter Museum is dedicated to the rather weird and (questionably) wonderful, often disgusting medical world, located in Philadelphia in the USA. It holds a collection of medical oddities, specimens, wax models and antique medical equipment. An afternoon here will be among one of the strangest you can recall. From a 2,000 piece strong exhibit showing items that have been swallowed and removed to the “Soap Woman” and plenty of other gruesome anatomies, details of which we won’t go into here, it is worth considering if you have a strong enough stomach before you enter this museum! Photo by: jjandames
The Carrot Club and Museum, Belgium
More for fun than an actual genuine museum, the Carrot Club and Museum is maintained by some local people in the village of Berlotte in eastern Belgium. Several men in the village are members of the Carrot Club and look after the very small museum – don’t expect a large, impressive exhibition, in fact you can’t actually go inside the museum because it is too small! The orange exhibits are viewed from the outside through a window in the ex-electricity tower. You have to turn a wheel which turns the display around. To continue the carrot trend, on the exterior of the building you will spy a carrot clock, a carrot weather vane, a carrot light and a carrot design in stone on the ground. It’s certainly an unusual tribute to this humble veggie!
The Meguro Parasite Museum, Japan
This is most definitely for those with a grim fascination and a very sturdy stomach! It’s the only museum of its kind in the world and houses jars and jars of parasites, with a reported total of 45,000 items. The most gruesome of which is an 8.8 metre long tape worm which once lived inside a woman. Exit through the gift shop and buy your very own parasite key ring! …Yes, really! A visit here will probably put you off your lunch for at least a few days! Photo by: jamesfischer
Pencil Sharpener Museum, Ohio, USA
The Pencil Sharpener Museum exists in the form of the late Paul Johnson’s 3,400 piece collection. Having retired in 1988, he was looking for a hobby and claimed this growing collection kept his mind sharp. With categories ranging from cats to Christmas and the oldest one being 105 years old it is safe to say it’s a varied collection! After Paul passed away, the collection was moved from the museum in his shed to a regional welcome centre. It goes to show that people’s collection obsessions can stretch much further than stamps.
Cockroach Hall of Fame & Museum, Texas, USA
Another of the weirdest museums across the globe is to be found in Texas and is dedicated to the creepy cockroach. Most of us will experience a shiver of repulsion at both the thought and sight of a cockroach. 
The owner of this museum couldn’t be further from it! He is an ex bug exterminator and hates bugs in the home but loves them in his museum! He has created a “Cockroach Hall of Fame” whereby 25 dead roaches have been dressed up and put into different sets, with one roach dressed up and made to play a tiny piano and another next to a small scale Statue of Liberty…it’s all very bizarre! There is also a display of live Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches which grow to 3-4 inches in length and hiss when you pick them up! Cringe! Photo by: pquan
Have you ever been to any of these museums or a similarly wacky museum elsewhere? Let us know in the comments below!
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