The Museum of Death

I had been wanting to venture over to the Museum of Death for a while. A willing friend and I headed over to Hollywood for a visit.



The museum was founded in San Diego June 1, 1995. It was originally located in San Diego, California's first mortuary in a building once owned by Wyatt Earp. It is not located in Hollywood. It is currently run by curators J.D. Healy and Cathee Schultz. The two felt that there was a lack of death education in the country and decided to make the effort their life's work.

The Museum of Death contains a collection of serial murderer artwork, photos of the Charles Manson crime scenes, the Guillotined Severed Head of the Blue Beard of Paris, Henri Landru, original crime scene and morgue Photos from the Black Dahlia Murders, a Body Bag and Coffin collection, replicas of execution devices, mortician and autopsy Instruments, pet death taxidermy, and videos of autopsies and serial killers. Videos include, the Heaven's Gate Cult recruiting video.

The museum is a self toured museum. My friend and I stepped inside the gate and were greeted by a "ding dong" as if we were entering a convenience store. We were then greeted by J.D. Healy. He was as friendly as can be and warned us that what we were about to witness was quite graphic. We paid $15 each to get in and were given a ticket.

We walked inside and immediately were greeted by a video on embalming bodies. We watched for a while and witnessed the embalming tools in various cases. We then went on to see various body bags and burial and mourning cloaks from different cultures.

There was a lot of reading material hung on the walls. What struck me as odd was that a lot of the reading material seemed fragile and was not encased but rather nailed or fastened to the walls. Old newspaper articles were simply clipped and hung on walls.

As we moved through the museum we saw gruesome crime scene photos along with videos that just ran over and over.

We also saw random photos of murder that didn't seem to have much correlation other than they were of the subject of death. For example one disturbing display is a wall of snapshots, all taken by a woman and her new boyfriend after killing the old boyfriend. The murderers are naked, happily smiling, and posing with body parts they've just sawed off.

Some of what I saw was impressive and some was not. For instance, the Charles Manson section was small and the room was outlined with various books written about the Manson murders. I was not impressed by a collection of books against a wall.

A painting of made by John Wayne Gacy Jr. marked a wall dedicated to him. Other serial murderes such as Ted Bundy were acknowledged.

My friend and I separated here and there to see what we wanted. The owner's dog "Buddy" walked around as we toured. My friend and I called him "Door Doggie" until we learned his name as he would just sit in doorways and allow patrons to step over him as he lay.


Photo: A visitor looks at the display on the Heaven's Gate cult suicide.
Credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times

I passed by a taxidermy...nook of sorts. What made me laugh out loud was the site of a sea urchin amongst the sea animals. I suppose it's just so common that I never really connected it to the dead.


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Jayne Mansfield's chihuahua

One room seemed to have no significance. A dark room which chairs and a random coffin, a random boar figurine and screen viewing bombings in various countries. It was this section that I found unnecessary. It seemed as if this portion was almost glorifying death and destruction


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JFK assassination exhibit

The museum ended with no particular finale. My friend and I exited the beaded drapeway and was greeted by Cathee Schultz. She had a big smile on her face and asked us if we had any questions. I asked her how long they've been doing this and if they are continuing to collect various items for their museum. She said that they are explanding and are indeed collecting more items.

I might want to return once the museum has expanded. I'm glad that I visited the museum however I admit I was expecting more. I think it could be organized a bit better and I felt as though I didn't learn much. I suppose it's in the museum's best interest to allow its audience to make up their own minds.

Death is a concept that intrigues me as I cannot quite wrap my brain around it. It's something that most of us avoid and some run towards. Some approach death with grace and readiness and others fear it like nothing else. Being that I lost someone dear to me recently I had hoped to gain some perspective. I suppose I'm looking everywhere and anywhere to gain some perspective.

I think the Museum of Death does have something to offer. It's not just a carnival spectacle. I do question it it takes a toll on the those who run it or if they have become jaded.

Before my venture to the museum I had checked out the website. I had learned that next door to the museum is the Chaos Gallery which Cathee informed me is currently closed. I had hoped to take a gander as the exhibits I hear are quite creative and different.

We waved goodbye and patted Buddy the door doggie on the way out. We spent about 45 minutes in the museum, it felt pretty quick.

To learn more visit Museum of Death.