Witch's Dungeon Classic Movie Museum
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| Established | 1966 |
|---|---|
| Location |
98 Summer St, Bristol Bristol, Connecticut |
| Type | Movie Memorabilia |
| Curator | Cortlandt Hull |
| Website | Witch's Dungeon Classic Movie Museum |
The Witch's Dungeon Classic Movie Museum in Bristol, Connecticut is a collection of figures of classic movie monsters.
The museum is owned by Bristol-native Cortlandt Hull. Cortlandt is the great nephew of film actor Henry Hull. Josephine Hull, well known for her role in the classic film and stage play Arsenic and Old Lace, is also a relative. In 1966, Cortlandt's father helped him build the Swiss chalet-style building to house the museum. Cortlandt built life-size figures of classic movie monsters that were made of wax, fine wire mesh, papier-mache and polymers. The figures were later replaced with more accurate ones.The website onlyinyourstate.com has named The Witch’s Dungeon Classic Movie Museum number four on its list of "The 10 Weirdest Places You Can Possibly Go In Connecticut." The article, written March 22 by Taylor Ellis, begins as follows: "Some of the weirdest places are in Connecticut."
The museum is only open on weekend evenings during the month of October. The new location for "The Witch's Dungeon Classic Movie Museum" is in the 1890 building of "The Bristol Historical Society" on 98 Summer Street in Bristol, CT. The greatly expanded format allows for each figure to have its own backdrop and props. Additionally the museum features professional level lighting by Emmy award winning Bill Diamond. Pictures at left are the newly added Dungeon hosts, Carmilla and her loyal butler Farnsworth. This adds to the tour having a more traditional wax museum feel.
The heads of many of the figurines have been based on life-casts of the actual actors who portrayed them. Background sets and clothing are authentic to the era, with some costumes or props actually used in the original films. Characters represented in the museum are:
- Frankenstein's Monster (portrayed by Boris Karloff)
- Erik, The Phantom Of The Opera (portrayed by Lon Chaney Sr.)
- Zenobia, The Gypsy Witch (an original character voiced by June Foray)
- The Abominable Dr. Phibes (portrayed by Vincent Price)
- The Creature from the Black Lagoon (portrayed by Ricou Browning)
- Count Dracula (portrayed by Béla Lugosi)
- The Mole People
- Kharis, The Mummy (portrayed by Lon Chaney Jr.)
- Professor Henry Jarrod (scarred and unscarred versions), from House Of Wax (portrayed by Vincent Price) (one wears the original suit worn by Vincent Price in the film)
- The Fly (portrayed by David (Al) Hedison)
- Nosferatu, Count Orlok (portrayed by Max Schreck)
- The Masque of the Red Death, from The Phantom of the Opera (portrayed by Lon Chaney Sr.)
- Dr. Niemann (with Dracula's skeleton), from House of Frankenstein (portrayed by Boris Karloff)
- The Beast from La Belle et la Bête (portrayed by Jean Marais)
- Maleficent, from Disney's Sleeping Beauty
- Dr. Wilfred Glendon, The Werewolf of London (portrayed by Henry Hull).
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See also
References
- "Autumn in Connecticut: Things To Do". CNN. 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
- "Classic movie monsters don't die; They go to the Witch's Dungeon in Bristol". New Haven Register. 2002. Retrieved 2002-10-21.
- Yosafi, Sam (2001-10-15). "Movie museum offers artsy horror". The Tattoo teen newspaper. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
External links
- The Witch's Dungeon Classic Movie Museum (official website)
Coordinates: 41°41′51″N 72°58′12″W / 41.6974°N 72.9700°W