This was quite a unique and unpredictable experience. Reality is stranger than fiction and this place showcases how messed up humans can be. What people have done to others is more gruesome and inhumane than I could have ever imagined.
This is a replica collection of contraptions used to get confessions or punish humans. The museum has dark lighting and is set up in a literal museum-like setting. It is not gruesome like blood or haunted house effects. The museum is tastefully done with the focus on the devices and how they were used. It is shocking and disturbing in an emotional way. Itās not what you see with your eyes that is repulsive, itās imagining how this might have felt which is so cringeworthy.
The audio portion is played on a personal cell phone. That is nice when you are the only one in the room but becomes a challenge when someone else enters the room. Luckily, it was not busy when we were there. I would recommend bringing your own headphones. I enjoyed the narration and think it would not be the same without the storytelling description.
There is no onsite parking, so the choice is metered street parking or garage parking (credit cards accepted at both). The trolleys also stop nearby. This is an easy walk within the historic area near the restaurants and shopping.
Honestly, I thought this was going to be cheesy, but it was really mind-blowing. A very thought-provoking experience. This presentation was thought through and well-executed (no pun intended). The audio tour takes about an hour. Teenagers would probably be intrigued but it is certainly not for young children.
The micro museum only took 5 minutes to see the art so small that it is viewed through a microscope. I wonder if I would have enjoyed the beauty and talent more if it wasnāt paired with the deflating feeling of the torture museum. It is something to get your mind off what you just saw in the other museum. With the combo ticket, it was basically only $1 so I guess it was worth that.
Response from Host
Jun 2020
Thank you for the very in-depth review of our establishment. For our museum, yes most of what we have are replicas but we do have some authentic pieces as well. About twenty-five percent of the small hand tools that we have are real! They're just mixed in with the replicas very well. We also worked hard making sure that it does put you on edge to creep you out a little bit but have no intentions of our museum becoming a haunted house. That being said during October we do normally have an actor or two in our museum to make it even creepier. For example the door to the Iron Maiden moving seemingly on its own or they might masquerade as a mannequin and move slightly when you get close.
Regarding the audio guide it is on your personal cell phone though we do try to make sure it is understood that you do not download anything nor is there anything that will be permanently on your phone. It is on a website and we give you the URL for it once paid for. Also we do have disposable headphones available on request but we do forget to mention that some times so I apologize.
For parking my recommendation is; if you plan on spending the entire day from morning till dusk then the parking garage will save you money ($15 per car) or if you plan on riding the Old Town Trolley you can park at one of their parking areas and use the trolley to get around town. There is also a trolley stop almost right outside of our establishment.
With the content in the museum we really don't recommend it for anyone under the age of 13 since we do have a wall of sexual torture devices. But the owner did put in a lot of time to make sure that this museum was exactly as he wanted.
Lastly the Micro-Art gallery is rather short though we have thirty pieces on display it doesn't take long to look at them. I find it's a good palate cleanser from the museum to get your mind off all the grizzly information you just took in.
We here at the Torture Museum are always thrilled to recieve such glowing reviews and we do hope that you will come to our establishment again!