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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.
And the Wax Figure Goes to... Ryan Gosling!
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.
Hollywood Wax Museum
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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.
Scares, screams, and seances
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.
And if you’re looking for a fun scary attraction—scary stuff is fun year round—this place is perfect,” Marandola says. I first visited House of Frankenstein Wax Museum somewhat by accident. I had driven several hours out of my way only to discover that the Magic Forest storybook theme park was closed for the season (it has since closed for good). Luckily, Lake George, a resort town located in the Adirondacks and solidly stuck somewhere in the late 1960s, has no shortage of attractions.
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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.
House of Frankenstein Wax Museum
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.
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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.
Rate Your Experience
At this celebrity wax museum, you’ll have the chance to get to know stars of film, television, music and sports in a way that is unattainable anywhere else. You’ll be able to walk up and look into the eyes of life-size wax figures that began as clay sculptures and are now lifelike presences. You’ll also find props and costumes to give you the right look for your pictures with current and classic stars. Whether you’re walking the red carpet, taking a selfie at an A-list cocktail party, or singing with a pop star, this museum is full of experiences that bring you inside Hollywood. The next time you find yourself sauntering through the Biblewalk Bible Museum in Mansfield, Ohio, take a good, long look at the life-size wax figure of Jesus. The wax museum houses over 300 life-size sculptures that depict 70 biblical vignettes of the life of Jesus Christ.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
They are dual time capsules—living postcards that provide visitors with a glimpse into historical events as well as into the time in which they were created. There are dozens of scenes spread throughout the two-story house, and the only drawback to the dim mood-lighting is that visitors aren’t able to better examine the handcrafted details that make each diorama unique. The mechanics may be crude by today’s standards, but creaks, clicks, and sometimes painfully slow delays in the action are all an integral part of the experience. House of Frankenstein brings to life some of the most famous stories in the history of horror through dioramas and interactive displays. It features everything from classic literary tales and figures to modern-day pop culture icons like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. As long as the scene has the power to elicit a scream—or at the very least, a shiver—House of Frankenstein doesn’t discriminate.
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.
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