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. 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. It's a quaint and charming little representation of life in the 19th century in this scenic little hamlet. Harpers Ferry is a tiny little town that's also a National Historic Park. But, feel free to silently worship at the feet of Tom Cruise Jesus. So, if you visit, please gawk in silence and respect the mission of the museum, which is to pay tribute to Christianity. Today there are two 60 minute tours you can take, “Miracles of the Old Testament" and “Life of Christ." Or, if you're pressed for time, you can take one of the 30 minute tours, “Museum of Christian Martyrs” or “Heart of the Reformation."īut, before you head to the museum to gawk at a King Solomon John Travolta, be warned, the museum really doesn't like to talk about the celebrity figures. Ten years later, guided by what I can only imagine to be divine intervention, Diamond began acquiring wax figures some donated, some purchased from rejected figures at celebrity wax museums.Įvery year between 30,000 and 40,000 people visit the museum. Back in the 1970s Paster Richard Diamond was inspired after a visit to a historical wax museum. The museum was built by Diamond Hill Cathedral. They were scooped up by BibleWalk, for relatively cheap. Why? Because these were cast-off wax figures that didn't make the cut for celebrity wax museums like Madame Tussauds. But, what makes this museum a little different than your run-of-the-mill, non-denominational, Christian-themed wax museums, is that many of the Biblical characters are actually famous actors, celebrities and political figures, from John Travolta to the Duke of Edinburgh. The wax museum houses over 300 life-size sculptures that depict 70 biblical vignettes of the life of Jesus Christ. You're actually looking at a wax figure of Tom Cruise. If you think you recognize him, you'd be correct. 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. Here are a few of our favorites that the iron-willed might want to check out! Wax museums are definitely a dying breed, but there are still some great ones dotted across the country, each with a varying degree of general weirdness. The fact that wax museums have a reputation for including a "Chamber of Horrors" section, dedicated to disturbing and gruesome displays, certainly doesn't help. 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.Įven the very idea of a wax figure is pretty disturbing, in a way you can get eerily close to making it look like a person, but it'll always be a stiff and lifeless representation. Maybe it's that the tradition of wax figures of famous figures grew out of the tradition of dressing effigies of deceased royals for funeral parades in 17th century Europe after the burial, the wax figure would be displayed near the tomb, and you could view it (for a small fee, of course). But, there's something a little darker and weirder about wax museums than your average tourist attraction. Wax museums are prime examples of retro roadside kitsch, the kind of place that families have been visiting on vacations for generations.
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