Saturday, April 27, 2024

Lake George, New York

house of frankenstein wax museum

You'll see vignettes from history, including the town's 1626 founding, a look into the shipping industry, the town's mercantile trade, and, of course, scenes from the 1692 witch hysteria. You can also learn to tie nautical knots, and can experience what it was like to be imprisoned for alleged witchcraft. The lower dungeon also has a Frankenstein horror-themed exhibit as well, as if pretending to be locked in a cell for being a witch isn't creepy enough. A few haunted house-like walk-through attractions interspersed between the dioramas help keep visitors on edge. Instead of a gift shop, patrons exit through the Black Hole, a short bridge enveloped in a spinning ceiling of stars and House of Frankenstein makes sure that each person leaves filled with adrenaline—and maybe a bit of vertigo. Today’s tourists—who have grown used to digital effects and high-tech animatronics—don’t always appreciate attractions filled with dimly-lit, dusty dioramas.

Scares, screams, and seances

Or maybe it's that Madame Toussad, the most famous name in wax museums, got her start making wax death masks of executed royalty during the French Revolution. House of Frankenstein may be called a “wax museum,” but it’s much more than that. It’s more interactive and thrilling than a wax museum filled with lifelike—but ultimately lifeless—figures. There are jump scares and spooky scenes, but House of Frankenstein is less terrifying than a traditional haunted house. There is something for everyone here along the history-to-horror spectrum—but at least one moment of true terror is almost guaranteed. Back in the 1970s Paster Richard Diamond was inspired after a visit to a historical wax museum.

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And, you get to know more about the stars you love – their pets, pet peeves, side businesses, charity work, and more. It’s a brush with fame that will have you laughing together and feeling a bit exhilarated too. Near Meramec Caverns, reportedly a hideout for famed Missouri outlaw Jesse James, is the Jesse James Wax Museum. Explore his life, from his time in a Confederate guerilla gang to his train and bank robberies to his death at the hands of Robert Ford, a friend (well, frenemy, I guess) of James.

Roadtrippers

I scare easily, but I was not deterred by signs warning that House of Frankenstein is not suitable for children. I brushed off the “Foolish Mortals Beware” and “No Refunds” signs as hyperbolic marketing ploys, paid my admission, and entered the first darkened hallway with smug confidence. This wasn’t my first visit to a wax museum, so I knew what to expect—or so I thought. With it taking a half hour to walk through, everyone leaves with a favorite fright. “If you're looking for something fun to do while on Hollywood Boulevard, I really recommend this wax museum.

After my initial visit, I voluntarily return to the house of horrors two more times and the thrills are not diminished upon repeat viewings. I personally love spoilers, but even if the exhibits haven’t changed since the ‘70s, one visit to House of Frankenstein is just not sufficient. Wax museums used to be a major attraction for visitors to New York state, but now only a handful remain. In this edition of Explore New York, we take you to a house of horror, made entirely of wax. Holdouts like House of Frankenstein (or the John Brown Wax Museum or the Niagara Wax Museum of History) should be valued not only because they’ve somehow managed to survive, but also for their artistry.

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“You truly feel as if you’re in an old horror movie,” says Amanda Marandola, who visited Lake George and House of Frankenstein in June. Please note that Madame Tussauds reserves the right to remove and/or alter figures/experiences for technical, operational, health and safety or other reasons without prior notice. Frankenstein’s monster greets us at the door with a slow, silent wave—it is his house, after all. On the second-story, visible through a large window, a figure in a high-collared, satin cape plays a pipe organ flanked by gargoyles.

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Hollywood Wax Museum

"It's going through at your own pace, and just looking at things. It is different than that, from a haunted house, but it is still scary," said Bates. Truth may be stranger than fiction, but some of House of Frankenstein’s dioramas prove that real-life events may also be much scarier than their literary counterparts. Scenes of prisoners sentenced to die by electric chair or at the gallows—where the spectator becomes an executioner at the push of a button—are terrifying in a very visceral way. Zombies, vampires, and ghosts seem downright tame in comparison to the horrors dreamed up by—and for—humans. Why bother with Cooperstown's extensive Baseball Hall of Fame when you can (kind of) see the real deal for yourself at the Heroes of Baseball Wax Museum. It's a kitschier version of the Hall of Fame, and is a lighter addition to a trip to Cooperstown.

House of Frankenstein Wax Museum in Lake George: Not for the Faint of Heart

It's a quaint and charming little representation of life in the 19th century in this scenic little hamlet. Of course, it's not all beautiful hikes, historic sites, cute museums, unique shops, and costumed interpreters here; at the center of town is the John Brown Wax Museum, dedicated to the bloody event that made the lovely town infamous. John Brown was a diehard abolitionist in the turbulent years before the Civil War, and he traveled the country stirring up trouble for slaveholders and spreading his mission. His staunch, and violent belief in abolitionism led him to gather a small group of men, both escaped slaves and white abolitionists alike, to lead a raid on the arsenal at Harpers Ferry. His hope was to capture the arsenal and incite a rebellion, using the armory to protect and arm slaves who would escape and flock to him.

John Brown Wax Museum

house of frankenstein wax museum

The same forceful puff of air to the ankles startles me three times in less than a minute. The biggest scare comes when I lean in to get a closer look at a completely dark window, thinking the light must be broken (further proof that I’m an easy mark). I trip a motion sensor that violently flings a “body,” hands bound with rope, at the plexiglass. The resulting thud is mirrored by the thump of my own heart and only slightly less loud than my involuntary scream.

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Turn your home into a house of wax.

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When Vice writes an article called "An Open Letter to the Worst Wax Museum in America", you kinda have to take that into consideration when making a list of grotesque (but fun!) wax museums. But, despite all of this, its primo location on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard means that it's regularly pretty crowded. Whether or not the photos you take here make the $20 ticket worth it is up for you to decide.

Instead, the raid was an unmitigated disaster; several of his men, including a son, died, and he was captured and hanged for his role. The John Brown Wax Museum pulls no punches when detailing the brutal life and death of John Brown... Or maybe it's the eerie wax figures that make the displays all the more bone-chilling. Another wax museum adding some scares to the experience is the Salem Wax Museum... But I mean, it's Salem, so that's to be expected with anything you'd find in the famously witchy town.

After a few heart-stopping jump scares and more than a few audible screams, I finish my first journey of terror (and my second, and third). I exit House of Frankenstein onto Canada Street and as my eyes adjust to the bright sunlight, I think that the warning signs may be good marketing, but they’re also true—I am nothing but a foolish mortal. If you're brave enough to tour the wax museum, you'll take a self-guided tour through the big green monster's house. Taking in along the way, scary sights made of wax, that come to life with the push of a button.

Because these were cast-off wax figures that didn't make the cut for celebrity wax museums like Madame Tussauds. But before constant celebrity updates and instant access to the past via the internet, wax museums taught travelers about historical events and brought them face-to-wax-face with important people. Just as taxidermy and natural history museums once exposed audiences to an exotic world they never knew existed, wax museums—with their lifelike figures and intricate dioramas—vividly display the past to those of us in the present. Wax museums are prime examples of retro roadside kitsch, the kind of place that families have been visiting on vacations for generations. But, there's something a little darker and weirder about wax museums than your average tourist attraction.

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