Places: Bodmin Jail

Bodmin Jail

Situated in the town of Bodmin in Cornwall, Bodmin Jail was a working Civil and Naval prison from its opening in 1779 until its closure in 1927. The buildings fell into disrepair and dereliction for many years, until it was bought by its current owners in 2004. Since then, the Jail has been undergoing extensive renovations and currently houses a 6 level museum of sorts, which allows visitors to learn about the crimes, their perpetrators - from delinquent children to serial murderers - and the punishments given to them during the prison's history. 

Victim and murderer

Whilst that might sound a little bit boring, it's actually pretty interesting - entertaining even - and many of the cells now contain models / mannequins and scenery depicting both the crimes committed and the punishments exacted, complete with explanation signs on the walls next to them. It's not a fairground haunted house, by any means, but the dark, strangely lit models and passageways coupled with the echoing sounds, low / strangely-angled ceilings and shiver-inducing temperatures give the museum portion of the building a somewhat eerie atmosphere. 

 A priest and nun with a corpse in a coffin

In addition to the museum, Bodmin Jail is said to have quite a lot of paranormal activity and also hosts ghost walks a few times a month. There were certaintly lots of deaths and executions on the grounds including a prisoner that committed suicide outside the prison gates in 1839 and the double hanging of brothers for murder, which approximately 25,000 people attended in 1840 (as a source of entertainment). The execution pit used for hanging still exists and the Jail website invites visitors to:

"Come and see the only working execution pit in the UK. Discovered during renovation works in 2005, the pit has now been restored to its’ full working order, with the able assistance of Gary Ewart, one of the UK’s leading authorities on hanging."

A hanging exhibit

In addition to the museum area and execution pit, there are also grounds (temporarily closed for renovations at the time of writing), stables artifacts, a film room and a bar / restaurant. The bar had a rather unusual, fake jackalope head adorning one of its shelves (pictured below), which along with other such amusing eccentricities like the mannequin hands in the corner of the jail ceiling (pictured after cut) and the outside door with the address "001 Cemetery Lane" (pictured after cut), make the site more fun to explore.

'Jackalope' in the bar

For more information about opening times, entry fees (for the museum) and other details you can visit the Bodmin Jail websites:

Bodmin Jail Website
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YouTube

More photos after the cut below↓:

May Monster Madness: Plaseebo at Monster Mayhem

First of all, apologies for our blog link not working earlier today. It's all fixed and fine now :) Anyway, that out of the way, time for some monsters!

Fittingly enough, FOE Store & Gallery in Western Massachusetts are holding an exhibition called 'Monster Mayhem' soon, which features the work of figure makers / customisers from all over the world, all with the terrifically terrifying theme of monsters! Here's what the FOE website has to say about the event:

Monster Mayhem

May 11 - June 3, Opening May 11, 6-9pm 

For the 2nd year monsters from across the US and as far away as Japan descend on the town of Northampton and wreak havoc.   

This year’s roster includes work from:

Brian Mahony, Bob Conge/Plaseebo, Monster Worship, James Groman, Koji Harmon, Elegab, Miles Nielsen, Michael Nordstrom, Ricky Wilson/Velocitron, Martin Ontiveros, Bob Eggleton, Michael Skattum, Eric Talbot, Joe Merrill/Splurrt, Dennis Hamann/Shirahama, Steven Erst, Mark Nagata, Paul Kaiju, Stephen Blickenstaff, Mark Masztal, and Michael Bracco/Spaghetti Kiss

"Braineniac" vinyl with LED unit by Plaseebo

Even if you can make the Monster Mayhem event, the FOE Store & Gallery alone sounds like an intriguing place to visit, with items including: "subculture art, designer toys, kaiju and kawaii. Whether it’s custom-painted monsters or tiny cute things, FOE is curated to inspire". Not only that, but they try to bring creators together for both domestic and international projects / collaborations, so who knows what you might find there!

Take a sneak peak at some more of the monsters contributed to the show by Bob Conge of Plaseebo, after the cut below!

This post is part of the May Monster Madness blog hop!

May Monster Madness: The Wellcome Collection

From May 1st - 7th we're taking part in the May Monster Madness blog hop! It's kindly being organised by Annie Walls, and the goal is to post about something spooky or monster-related every day for seven days. Obviously, that's what we always post about here, but the event is open to bloggers of all genres too!

I'm a little monstered-out today (shocking, I know!), so for the first post I'm going to share some of the spooky and strange exhibits on show at the Wellcome Collection in London! It's a museum filled with tons of unusual and fascinating items relating to medicine over the ages. I hadn't heard of until last year when Kei, of Unfortunately Oh!, suggested we should visit it during a trip to London. It's such an intriguing place and many of the exhibits are interactive, providing yet another layer of interest.

There's much more than just creepy crawlies and oddities - artificial limbs, paintings, glass eyes, masks, folk art, mirror etchings, a table full of all the pills a person takes in their life, exhibits about the human genome and DNA, figurines, torture devices and so much more! They also have temporary exhibits that change every few months as well. However, since this is for May Monster Madness, I'll leave out the other photos this time.) Oh, and did I mention that it's totally free to get in?

The above exhibit was a little larger than life-size (the transparent figure in the background was a cross-section of a real human body) and when you press the buttons on the podium, the part of the body listed next to them lights up on the model. We noticed that compared to all the other parts of anatomy, the brain was not very bright!

There were also a few blocks of shelves filled with anatomical models of assorted human body parts nearby as well (pictured above). 

The above wonderful pair were in one of the displays in the 'End of Life' section of the 'Medicine Man' area. As was the gorgeously intricate sculpture made out of wax and cloth:

And these Egyptian canopic jars (jars used to house the internal organs of the dead being prepared for mummification):

In a different area of the same room there was a Peruvian mummy. There was a drawer you could pull out underneath, with a cast of his hand inside, which you could touch. It was pretty strange really.

Those of you out there among the zombie population might also be pleased to know that they currently have an exhibit running (29th March - 17th June, 2012) called 'Brains: The Mind as Matter'.

"Our major new free exhibition seeks to explore what humans have done to brains in the name of medical intervention, scientific enquiry, cultural meaning and technological change. 

Featuring over 150 artefacts including real brains, artworks, manuscripts, artefacts, videos  and photography, 'Brains' follows the long quest to manipulate and decipher the most unique and mysterious of human organs, whose secrets continue to confound and inspire. 

'Brains' asks not what brains do to us, but what we have done to brains, focusing on the bodily presence of the organ rather than investigating the neuroscience of the mind."

Personally, I would love to see that one too! For now, however, I'll leave you with...the torture chair...

Looks comfy, eh? o.O;

This post is part of the May Monster Madness blog hop!

Toys & Art: Plaseebo's 'Astronot'

Plaseebo / Bob Conge will once again be exhibiting at the TAG in Hollywood, CA. This time one of their latest creepy creations, the skeletal space explorer, 'ASTRONOT' will be included as part of the Kaiju Show, which opens on July 8th.

Frankenstein Wax Ghoul on Lake George

During a short vacation to upstate New York, my friends and I came across a small little town named Lake George. Such town held a secret sleep for the winter, but open on the warmer months to just about the whole family. The House of Frankenstein Wax Museum holds beautiful figures inspired by Mary Shelley's novel, with a little bit of creepy and classical aesthetics.

The entire theme of the place has been inspired by various variations of the story, including James Whale's version of the monster tale. At the entrance, one witnesses the monster face-to-face, before uncovering more frightful (and literally educational) details.

If you're in the area, it is highly recommended that you add the museum to your destination.

For more ticket information and business hours, visit their website http://www.frankensteinwaxmuseum.com/

Who new such a remote place could hold such wondrous (and random) creepy delights!

Just a block away from the Frankenstein Museum, there lies Dr. Morbid's Haunted House. Frightful on the outside, it's all creepy inside as well. The two venues are simotenously managed, and open to the public ever through the year, except winter months.

http://www.drmorbid.com/

Museums and Galleries: Museum of Witchcraft, Boscastle

Last week, Luciel and I had the opportunity to travel to Boscastle in Cornwall and to visit the Museum of Witchcraft, which is home to the largest collection of witchcraft-related items in the world! The museum was originally founded on the Isle of Man in 1951 by renound occult expert Cecil Williamson and, after a few relocations, eventually moved to Boscastle in 1961.

The building itself is on two floors and is packed with all kinds of fascinating witchcraft and ritual magic paraphernalia. In addition to items that were used in real witchcraft, there's also advertising featuring witches from various decades, toys, decorations, artwork, photographs, models, a small section on Satanism (nothing to do with witchcraft, but included because of the general misconceptions linking the two) and more. Each piece on display is accompanied by a description and the staff are also very friendly and willing to answer any questions (within reason) that you may have.

As well as the items on display to the public, the museum also has a vast collection of books on the occult, which scholars and those with appropriate qualifications or reasons may be allowed access to if arranged with the museum owners in advance. However, even without being able to view these books, the museum collection is still massive.

The entry fee is only £3 for adults, and the village of Boscastle also has many interesting shops/galleries and beautiful scenery. The ruins at Tintagel, which is said to be the birthplace of King Arthur, are also only 2-3 miles away and so the museum and the surrounding area are well worth visiting!



Contact and Visitor Information

The Museum of Witchcraft is located by The Harbour in Boscastle, Cornwall. Boscastle is on the North coast of Cornwall between Tintagel and Bude (Multimap link).

Open:

•Easter Halloween (April - end October)

•Monday to Saturday 10.30am till 6pm (last admission 5.30)

•Sunday 11.30am till 6pm (last admission 5.30)

The full address is:
The Museum of Witchcraft
The Harbour
Boscastle
Cornwall
PL35 0HD


To contact the Museum:
•Telephone: 01840 250111 (within UK)
•Telephone: +44 1840 250111 (international)
•Email: museumwitchcraft@AOL.com

Website: http://www.museumofwitchcraft.com/


Photographs by: Lilia Tombs

↓More images after the jump↓