We headed on down to the Haunted Museum Stoke and dived into the world of the paranormal with this informative and quite spectacular local experience.
With Halloween just around the corner, the prospect of exploring a Haunted Museum was too good of an opportunity not to pass up!
I’ve previously visited the Haunted Museum in Nottingham and was very impressed with my first visit but during our review a year later the place had turned into a bit of a gimmick with horror movie toys and cheesy science fiction statues being a main fixture over authentic items.
Now commercial and dull I missed what the museum was like one year prior with genuinely incredible items that were both historical and intriguing in equal measure.
When it comes to Haunted Museums the theme naturally goes hand in hand with horror movies and pop-culture items with certain items even at Zak Bagans’ infamous museum (the one that started it all) being more tongue-in-cheek in nature within some areas.
It was only recently that Zak acquired a Ghostbusters trap and Ghostbusters jumpsuits used in the original movie that he picked up at a London based Prop-Store entertainment auction.
After walking through Haunted Museum Stoke we passed two photo-ops including a coffin next to Pennywise and a nun and another in a vampire room complete with LED coffin and replica props.
The second we passed these photo opportunities the rest of the building was entirely dedicated to haunted artefacts. No gimmicks.
There were a lot of items to see throughout and each room was so beautifully themed.
Craig Longson and Jason Dean have put some magic into this Stoke-On-Trent location and you can see why it has been so popular since opening on August 28th.
Taking a total of 4 weeks to complete the turn-around is impressive when you see just what Craig and Jason have achieved here.
Craig was kind enough to show us around with the lights on and you could see the woodwork craftsmanship, set builds and theming on display with the items not taking centre stage with plaques as you would see in a normal museum but more integrated into the surroundings in their natural placements.
It made for a much more interesting experience as the museum offer tours for £5pp where all the objects will be discussed during your tour.
At such an affordable price we felt as though we had underpaid.
The venue also offers visitors tarot card readings, seances, ouija board sessions and the chance to sleep over and sleep in a body bag for the evening for the brave few who attempt it.
During our tour, we experienced Mary the most active doll at the museum which has been caught numerous times on CCTV randomly rocking back and forth on its rocking chair.
We also gazed into the poltergeist mirror where the family it came from claimed to see numerous shadow figures and a little girl within it.
I must admit when looking into it there was some sort of dark shadow anomaly that very quickly swept across my face.
Being the sceptic that I am I won’t ever admit to a paranormal experience until I’m lifted off the ground and thrown across a room as my brain will always try to logically explain what caused an experience I may or may not have had.
Seeing a coffin used to carry bodies during the war was certainly a heavy thing to witness. The whole room that it was contained within certainly felt different. A strange pressure in my head and a heaviness that was very unusual, very hard to describe.
Craig was very keen to mention that nothing will ever be forced within the museum, you either experience something or you don’t and that’s the best way to approach any items that may or may not have attachments.
Throughout the museum, there are also replica ouija boards and trigger objects that spirits could interact with during sessions.
With objects from all over the world, the museum certainly does its research and all artefacts come with documentation behind them.
This isn’t just a building full of antique shop furniture, these are items given away to the museum after people couldn’t physically handle being around them anymore or objects that have been linked to negative experiences or personal trauma.
The rest of the items are items belonging to Craig himself of which he has collected over many years of being a paranormal investigator.
Haunted Museum Stoke also has a shop in the reception to browse at your leisure but the fact remains that this attraction took 4 (yes 4) weeks to set up.
It really is mind-blowing and it won’t stop there.
Craig and Jason have plans to chop and change the items around within the museum and may even be expanding the museum into the building next door.
When you step foot inside the building you’ll be very surprised at just how big it is inside, this tardis effect certainly blew my mind as from the outside the building looks the size of your average corner shop.
Boy was I wrong!
The Haunted Museum Stoke is the perfect tourist attraction around the Halloween season but for paranormal enthusiasts and explorers of the paranormal all year round.
Sceptical Sean walked into the museum and couldn’t explain at least 3 things that happened within it during our visit and you can check them out for yourselves in this little tour video we did below.
I want to express a huge thanks to Craig for allowing us to come down before the museum opened for the day and I highly recommend checking out this unique and truly spooktacular Stoke on Trent attraction.
It’s only a month until Halloween and I absolutely want to stay overnight in this place and see if anything truly out of this world occurs. I’m a very curious person and I think it would be one hell of an experience regardless of how much activity we witness.
