Nottingham’s Haunted Museum is set to diversify, through £40,000 worth of new movie and nostalgia curiosities. The expansion doesn’t stop there though, with plans to open a drive-in cinema experience. The owner of the museum, Steve Wesson, has said that he will be investing in some vintage cars to park in the auditorium of the old Mapperley Cinema, where visitors can sit and watch classic horror films.
Steve is a B-movie props maker and paranormal expert, with a keen eye for curiosities. The collection contains an original Jigsaw puppet, from the Saw film series, a vintage seaside peep show, and a vampire-slaying kit. The affectionately named ‘Billy’, the Jigsaw puppet, cost £6,500 alone, excluding collection fees.
“The owner wouldn’t send it to me in the post so I had to go down to the Channel Tunnel to pick it up, once I saw it thought I had to have it, it was like a bee in my bonnet,” said Steve. The vampire-slaying kit saw Steve shell out a further £3,000. The kit contains several crucifixes, rosary beads, a picture of Jesus, a copy of the New Testament, glass bottles containing holy water and garlic paste, pliers, and a pistol. Should you come up against a vampire, feel free to contact Steve.
Surprisingly, Steve wasn’t the only interested party in the vampire-slaying kit. “Well, it was a challenge, but Nottingham’s Haunted Museum has won [the vampire-slaying kit] from the Americans and the world. With the charges, it was just under £3,000 but I would have gone up to £7,000 so that’s a huge bonus,” said Steve. “Where else in the world could you actually purchase a real vampire kit? It’s amazing and we look forward to showing it to our guests.”
You can visit the exhi-bite (Sorry) now, as the museum has reopened following months of closure due to the coronavirus. There is also a live streaming service available for the museum, where viewers may catch a glimpse of something spooky.
