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It Belongs in a Museum: Meet the Haunted Real-Life Artifacts Ahead of “The Haunted Museum” on Discovery+
One of the brand-new original projects coming to discovery+ this Ghostober is a horror anthology series titled The Haunted Museum, a collaboration between Eli Roth and Zak Bagans.
Each episode of the new series features terrifying “mini horror films” that are all based on some of the most cursed artifacts in Bagans’ Haunted Museum in Las Vegas.
“My museum is full of a lot of amazing items and objects and the stories behind them. They’re told on a daily basis by my guides at the museum. But to be able to collaborate with Eli Roth, to now tell the stories in a cinematic way, to experience that in all the ways that he does in his other horror movies that gave us nightmares … I mean, that’s the ultimate,” Bagans said of his new series.
Roth teased more of what to expect, “I’ve never seen an anthology show like this. I’ve never seen a show that tells you a terrifying story, and then you can see the object. If you were a kid and you saw The Monkey’s Paw, or ‘The Crate’ from Creepshow, and then that thing was real, and it’s there, and it actually exists, and there are real people being terrified by it, I’d lose my mind.”
The series is currently streaming on discovery+. With 10 hours of terror on the horizon, here’s a look at some of the creepiest, real-life haunted artifacts found in the Haunted Museum.
Bela Lugosi’s mirror
The idea of owning a mirror that once belonged to the iconic actor sounds enticing until you learn about this artifact’s reputation for toying with your mind. Those who gazed into it reported spying a shadowed figure behind them.
The Devil’s rocking chair
This artifact shares ties to Ed and Lorraine Warren and the case file tied to The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It. It’s said to be the exorcism site of young David Glatzel, featured in the movie’s opening scene. This item has a gnarly reputation; the exhibit shut down after reported paranormal activity by guests.
Ed Gein’s Cauldron
Those familiar with the serial killer and cannibal Ed Gein, who inspired both Psycho and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, will have no trouble connecting why this particular item is cursed. Said to have been initially purchased in a 1958 estate sale, this antique cauldron might have been the killer’s favorite cooking tool. Now it’s in Bagans’ impressive collection.
Steve McQueen’s wooden statue
To everyone, actor Steve McQueen was known as the King of Cool in the ’60s and ’70s. To horror fans, however, he’s perhaps best known for his role in The Blob. Either way, the star doesn’t exactly have a reputation for owning haunted artifacts, which makes this particular carved wooden statue all the more intriguing. Luckily, we’ll get to know more about it in an upcoming episode of The Haunted Museum.
Charles Manson television
The Haunted Museum hosts an entire room dedicated to Charles Manson memorabilia, but the television set makes one of the more unexpected artifacts. This particular TV came from Manson’s prison cell and bears etchings by the cult leader.
Demon House staircase
It wasn’t enough to film a documentary about the house where the Ammons haunting occurred; Bagans also bought it. It’s even more impressive considering that the home, dubbed Demon House, unnerved the seasoned paranormal expert more than any other. He ultimately bulldozed the place, but not before bringing the staircase back to the Haunted Museum.
The Westerfield dollhouse
Dollhouses are inherently creepy, but the background for this artifact enhances the fear tenfold. It’s a replica of a historic San Francisco house in which Satanic rituals were performed by the church of Satan founder Anton LaVey and occultist filmmaker Kenneth Anger. Look for this item to feature in the upcoming series.
Dybbuk Box
The Dybbuk Box has slowly developed a reputation in horror movies, but expect The Haunted Museum to dig into the history behind this particular artifact. The wine cabinet originally sold on eBay is said to house a demon inside and directly inspired The Possession.
Peggy the doll
If there’s one thing that seems to creep Bagans out consistently, it’s dolls. The Haunted Museum holds a vast collection of them, but Peggy stands out as one of the most haunted, thanks to her penchant for causing physical discomfort. Expect this tiny terror to get featured in an episode.
“I’m going to tell you something,” Bagans explained. “I have had a lot of different objects come into my collection, but when Peggy came into my museum, there was a sack over her head. When Jane Harris lifted that sack off of her head, a swarm of black flies started flying all around my head — and this is the first time. We filmed many different episodes with many different haunted first artifacts, but after that swarm of flies started buzzing around my head, I got up and started destroying my own set. I started kicking my own set, and I had to go outside. We had to stop filming. That’s the thing that everybody needs to understand: These items retain a lot of power. A lot.”
Tune in to discovery+ now to see the haunted artifacts come to life in The Haunted Museum.
A luxury team-building trip descends into a bloody fight for survival against a vengeful retreat leader in Corporate Retreat, out today in theaters. It’s the latest entry in a cathartic subgenre of workplace horror that examines every harrowing aspect of job employment.
No job is safe from horror, either, from babysitting to even the most white-collar gigs. But if you work an overnight shift? All bets are off. Vengeful co-workers and bosses aside, the night shift is likely to come armed with witches, creatures, demons, and all manner of things that go bump in the night. Even deadly outbreaks.
Corporate Retreat, along with these five horror movies centered around some of the worst night shifts, will make you glad the weekend has finally arrived.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe
Passenger director André Øvredal goes full throttle for the scares in this quiet little chiller that sees a father and son coroner team stumped over the bizarre mysteries contained within the body of an unidentified young woman during an unexpected night shift. Well-executed scares, clever twists, and earnest performances by Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch give this supernatural haunter serious heft. While the narrative bides its time unveiling the truth behind Jane Doe’s battered body, it’s heavily steeped in witchcraft. In other words, The Autopsy of Jane Doe presents a new take on the subgenre. More importantly, it’s seriously scary.
Cold Storage
COLD STORAGE, StudioCanal 2023
A lethal, mutated fungus breaks free from confinement deep within the bowels of a storage facility. At the frontlines of the madness are Teacake (Stranger Things’ Joe Keery) and Naomi (Barbarian‘s Georgina Campbell), two employees thrust into the middle of the chaos when they investigate an alarm beeping somewhere deep within the building. Director Jonny Campbell (Netflix’s Dracula), working from a script by David Koepp based on his novel, helms the goopy madness with workman efficiency. This lighthearted, goopy horror comedy romp makes the deadly night shift a bit more bearable.
Graveyard Shift
Graveyard Shift follows new hire Hall (David Andrews) tasked by his mean boss Warwick (Stephen Macht) to assist with the insane rat infestation beneath their mill. They find something much most monstrous as the cause. Though the film was panned, it’s a fun creature feature with an always welcome appearance by Brad Dourif as the intensely eccentric exterminator. The film also opts for a happier ending, whereas (spoiler), the story sees both Hall and Warwick getting devoured by the mutated rats, the crew in the upstairs mill none the wiser.
Last Shift
‘Last Shift’
Rookie Officer Jessica Loren (Juliana Harkavy) has been assigned to watch over a closing precinct on its final night of operation…alone. With nearly everything already moved over to the new station, including rerouted 911 calls, it should be a pretty quiet night as she waits for a Hazmat team to arrive to remove biohazardous waste. Instead, it becomes a waking nightmare as she’s forced to deal with unsettling visitors. Last Shift, co-written by Scott Poiley and director Anthony DiBlasi, brings the scares.
Intruder
The overnight stock crew of a local grocery store finds themselves falling victim to an unseen killer in this highly infectious late ‘80s slasher. The deaths are delightfully gruesome and inventive; look for this killer to make excellent use of grocery store items as weapons. Frequent Raimi collaborator Scott Spiegel directed this bloody slasher, which means a lot of overlap with the Evil Dead II. That means putting Sam Raimi in front of the camera for a change, along with Ted Raimi and Evil Dead II’s Dan Hicks. Look for a cameo by Bruce Campbell as well!
Corporate Retreat releases in theaters today; get tickets now.
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