Controversial Exhibition: The Museum of Death

https://www.vice.com/en/article/7x3gjy/las-museum-of-death-proves-weve-always-been-obsessed-with-crime

Controversial Exhibition: The Museum of Death

By Nate Finegold

    Death and taxes are the only two guarantees that we have in life, everything else is left up to circumstance. With taxes being boring, it’s no wonder that death ends up with more of the spotlight in our modern world. In our current society, just like most past societies, death is something that interests the masses. There is a great mystery with death, what happens after, where do we go? Everyone speculates on at least at one point of death throughout their life. With this much detail and intrigue, it’s no wonder that death gets popularized through mainstream media. With this intrigue, comes the famous Museum of Death with a mission to, “fill the void in death education in the USA.” Although clearly a popular tourist location, it is my belief that the objects presented inside the museum are unethical to display and the museum itself profits on the deaths of others. 

    Most museums in the world try to be educational and at least the Museum of Death believes that it is doing the same, just with a more taboo and macabre methodology. But what makes the Museum of Death different than regular natural science museums? And does it provide the education it promises?

    The Museum of Death was founded in 1995 by J.D Healy and Catherine Shultz. The pair got artifacts by writing letters to serial killers asking them to draw pictures or talk about the killings. After a while the collection started growing larger and the official museum spawned. So far, the collection includes, a coffin section, with baby coffins shown, the letters from serial killers they acquired themselves, autopsied tools as well as films, graphic car crash photos, cannibalism, Manson family photos, explicit crime photos showing grisly scenes, taxidermized animals, and a recreation of the Heaven's Gate Cult mass suicide, including the real beds the members laid on. The museum's proudest item they have, is the real head of a French serial killer named, Henri Landru who was beheaded. They also have a suicide machine designed by Jack Kevorkian. The museum also likes to put a happier spin on death, going so far as to hold their very own black Dahlia look-alike contest where the contestants dress up as the famously murdered girl.

    The Museum of Death now has two locations and has been in business for nearly 20 years, so clearly it is offering a service that people morbidly enjoy. However, based on the artifacts the museum holds, as well as the contest offerings, and the merch they happily sell on their website, it is clear they are profiting off of the death, and in some cases, torture of innocent people. Even if one does argue that the museum is educational and it teaches people about the bleakness of death, the way they go about flaunting certain artifacts cannot be seen in any other way then genuinely mean spirited. Having a chopped off head of a French guy serial killer from 100 years ago is one thing. I could see science museums having similar installments, just without the serial killer aspect. However, writing real life serial killers and exhibiting works from them, while also recreating one of the most heinous murders in history and having a contest for it while showing real crime scenes where people died, is unethical. It's one thing to provide this information in an educational context, it’s another to actively profit from these artifacts. In many cases, specifically with the serial killers, innocent people died, whose families are still around, and this museum is actively profiting off of their death even if it is indirectly. The museum never mentions attempts to contact the family members of these crimes in order to get the go ahead to exhibit their death. The museum doesn't need written consent from the victims’ family as long as it only shows the artwork of the man guilty of killing them. According to the founder J.D Healy, “I think it shocks people, but it’s a good shock. Seeing all these artifacts of death in one place reminds people how precious life is.” Ironic as the people they are showing off were actively robbing others of that so called precious life.

    Looking into the museum you can clearly see why people have their mixed feelings on its existence, however it attracts thousands of people per year to its door. Something that can be chalked up to morbid curiosity no doubt. Does the market for this macabre and taboo museum justify its existence, that is for you to decide. For me, would I ever go inside? Maybe. Would I ever buy a t shirt or enter the murdered girl contest? Definitely not. The Black Dahlia has never been solved, so no family member can protest these actions of the museum. Personally, I do not think this museum is ethical, nor does it provide a valid learning experience other than showing the fact that humans can be diabolical. I think this museum profits on murder of innocent people like the Black Dahlia and in general it should not exist. However, most of this stuff would end up on the internet anyway, so it doesn't make a big difference if it exists or not. People will always find a way to satisfy their morbid curiosity, and the Museum of Death just profits from it.

 

 

Works Cited

Conley, N. (2019, September 23). The untold truth of the museum of death. Grunge. https://www.grunge.com/167247/the-untold-truth-of-the-museum-of-death/

Lionstalkscience. (2022, February 1). Morbid museums: The ethics of displaying human remains. Lions Talk Science. https://lions-talk-science.org/2020/11/11/morbid-museums-the-ethics-of-displaying-human-remains/

Museum of Death. (n.d.). Museum of Death. https://www.museumofdeath.net/

Ugc. (2017, May 25). The Museum of Death in New Orleans. Atlas Obscura. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/museum-of-death-new-orleans#:~:text=Twenty%20years%20after%20opening%20the,oddities%20to%20the%20French%20Quarter.