THE FOUR EYED MAN

Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum

St. Augustine, Florida

(click the pictures for full-sized High Definition images)

Liu Ch'ung, or Liu Min, as he was sometimes known, was born with double pupils in each eye. This strange feature did not in the least deter this active man who loved wine and gambling.

He became Governor of Shansi, Minister of State and through intrigue with the Dowager Empress had his son proclaimed heir apparent.

This wax figure, shown in St. Augustine, was created by acclaimed artist and doll maker Lewis Sorensen for the original Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum with copies being shown in Niagara Falls, Chicago, San Francisco, Estes Park and Blackpool.

The photograph was taken by Gene Aikens and is shared from a postcard from the late 1960's. 

You don't have to have four eyes to see how cool a visit to a vintage wax museum must have been? Though this wax figure of Liu Ch'ung has been replaced with a more modern interpretation, a visit to RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT! ST. AUGUSTINE is definitely still a great choice! Just tell them WAXIPEDIA sent you!

Or if you want more daily fun and excitement join WAXIPEDIA's always exciting FACEBOOK GROUP!

Dedicated to preserving the history of Wax Arts, and the unique stories of all those involved in its development, WAXIPEDIA strives to be the number one source of information on the subject of Wax Museums and their role in the attractions and entertainment industries. Through the sharing of photographs, brochures, movies and stories we hope to enlighten, engage and entertain all who discover us. 

As a resource, the WAXIPEDIA ARCHIVES was established in 2014 as a repository for physical examples and information pertaining to these educational goals. Consisting of thousands of items (ranging from century-and-a-half year old guidebooks to life-sized wax figures) the ARCHIVES are the backbone of WAXIPEDIA's mission and we hope to inspire future generations of artists, designers, historians and fans.

Anyone interested in donating items to the ARCHIVES is encouraged to reach out to me directly at timothywrandall@gmail.com

~ Thank You ~

  THE CHAMBER OF HORRORS  

  ~  Madame Tussaud's London  ~  

For centuries a visit to Madame Tussaud's famed waxwork Exhibition meant an opportunity to experience the grandeur of Kings, Queens, Heroes, Statesmen and the Famous. It also allowed a chance to decent into the darkest world of the infamous in the CHAMBER OF HORRORS. Here, since it's first incarnation documented in 1802, could be found instruments of torture, rogues and murders who caught the headlines of their days and haunted our dreams. Founder Madame Marie Tussaud, very early in her life and career, was tasked with the grisly obligation of making death masks of decapitated aristocracy during the French Revolution. After the Guillotines stopped falling Marie, in an attempt to increase public traffic through her waxworks exhibition, opened the "Separate Room" - for an added price.

  (click the pictures for full-sized High Definition images)  

  Sadly, the CHAMBER OF HORRORS was removed and replaced in April 2016 with an interactive game based off of Sherlock Holmes. Luckily, we have this postcard set, once available in the London Wax Exhibitions Gift Shop, here to share and remember part of it by.   

 (An alley in Victorian London where the infamous Jack the Ripper has struck again) 

 

 (The Bell from Newgate Goal Prison) 

 (Real Historic Instruments of Torture) 

 (Dr. Crippen and Ethel Le Neve, an American Doctor and his English Mistress who both were convicted of the murder and mutilation of his wife and noted as the first suspects to be captured with the aid of wireless telegraphy) 

 (Bruno Hauptman - convicted killer of Charles Lindbergh's baby, as he prepares for his execution by electric chair) 

 (George Joseph Smith, the "Brides in the Bath" murderer) 

 (The Garrote) 

 (The heads of French Queen Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI - with the blade that ended them)  

 (The Guillotine: Preferred instrument of justice during the French Revolution) 

  (Few during the French Revolution were more feared than that of Robespierre until he, much like the thousands he sent before him, too felt the slice of the Guillotine's blade.  

  Enjoy this trip through time and terror? Even though the CHAMBER OF HORRORS might be gone why not visit the current MADAME TUSSAUDS LONDON? Just tell them WAXIPEDIA sent you!  

  Or if you want more daily fun and excitement join WAXIPEDIA's always exciting FACEBOOK GROUP! 

Dedicated to preserving the history of Wax Arts, and the unique stories of all those involved in its development, WAXIPEDIA strives to be the number one source of information on the subject of Wax Museums and their role in the attractions and entertainment industries. Through the sharing of photographs, brochures, movies and stories we hope to enlighten, engage and entertain all who discover us. 

As a resource, the WAXIPEDIA ARCHIVES was established in 2014 as a repository for physical examples and information pertaining to these educational goals. Consisting of thousands of items (ranging from century-and-a-half year old guidebooks to life-sized wax figures) the ARCHIVES are the backbone of WAXIPEDIA's mission and we hope to inspire future generations of artists, designers, historians and fans.

Anyone interested in donating items to the WAXIPEDIA ARCHIVES is encouraged to reach out to me directly at timothywrandall@gmail.com

~ Thank You ~

THE HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN 

WAX MUSEUM

~ Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada ~

For decades there has been a spooktacularly frightful wax museum located on Niagara Falls, Ontario's famous Clifton Hill - "Niagara's Street of Fun".

THE HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN WAX MUSEUM is one of two that were created, with the other being located in Lake George, New York (which also is still open to this day - though under much different management).

Designed to be a combination of wax museum and haunted house, the Niagara Falls location has definitely embraced the "haunt" aspect in recent years - though it is certainly still worth a visit!

Here for your enjoyment is a vintage brochure (with a cut out mask) from THE HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN WAX MUSEUM, courtesy of the personal collection of Timothy Randall.

(click the pictures for full-sized High Definition images)

Enjoy this trip through time and down the haunted corridors of memory lane? Finding yourself in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada? Why not visit the current THE HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN? Just tell them WAXIPEDIA sent you!

 Or if you want more fun and excitement join WAXIPEDIA's always exciting FACEBOOK GROUP!

Dedicated to preserving the history of Wax Arts, and the unique stories of all those involved in its development, WAXIPEDIA strives to be the number one source of information on the subject of Wax Museums and their role in the attractions and entertainment industries. Through the sharing of photographs, brochures, movies and stories we hope to enlighten, engage and entertain all who discover us. 

As a resource, the WAXIPEDIA ARCHIVES was established in 2014 as a repository for physical examples and information pertaining to these educational goals. Consisting of thousands of items (ranging from century-and-a-half year old guidebooks to life-sized wax figures) the ARCHIVES are the backbone of WAXIPEDIA's mission and we hope to inspire future generations of artists, designers, historians and fans.

Anyone interested in donating items to the ARCHIVES is encouraged to reach out to me directly at timothywrandall@gmail.com

~ Thank You ~