Los Angeles Medieval Torture Museum

Written by: Michelle Sosa

Edited by: Genevieve Hammang

The entrance to the Medieval Torture Museum in Los Angeles.

With the spooky month of October approaching slowly but surely, what better way to start celebrating than to pay a visit to the Medieval Torture Museum here in Los Angeles! To prepare you for October, we invite you to explore this macabre yet historically accurate site. Although it may be extremely uncomfortable for some, the museum sheds light on the truth of the past along with the darker sides of humanity that were experienced therein. The museum is over 6,000 square feet and describes itself as the largest interactive historical museum in the United States. In its expansive site, the museum holds over 100 devices on display and features collections such as Brutal Medieval Torture Methods and The Medieval Chambers: Pain and Torment. The museum currently exists in three locations: Chicago, Florida, and California–all of which are home to the same exhibits and artifacts.

So what makes this museum so special and unique? Well, whether you’re just morbidly curious or you’re a history geek, this museum caters to all audiences due to its underlying mission to raise awareness on the consequences of placing power into the hands of tyrants. After all, the museum’s slogan is: “Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it.” Eugene Grach, the founder states that his inspiration for creating the museum stemmed from an experience he had while visiting a torture museum in Czech Republic and feeling very underwhelmed. Because the exhibits only consisted of items behind glass, Mr. Grach felt as though this was not enough to convey emotion. In fact, Mr. Grach consistently expresses that the museum’s main product is emotion as he wants people to walk out with an emotional response. Although the emotional responses may vary among visitors, the important thing is that emotions are being elicited after experiencing the museum.

The entrance to the museum in St. Augustine, Florida.

Mr. Grach decided to build the first museum location in St. Augustine, Florida, because of its claim to fame as the oldest city in the United States. First founded in 1565, this city creates the perfect atmosphere because the museum blends in perfectly–almost mimicking the European countries in which other medieval museums are located. Whilst in the museum, the visitor gets to experience playing the role of either the executioner or the victim in a highly interactive walk-through. For instance, visitors can stand in pillory, use the guillotine, drown a person in a tub of water, etc. The museum also contains antique artifacts such as the Sicilian Bull and artifacts devised in later years such as the electric chairs.

The museums also provide audio guides in English and Spanish for an immersive and educational experience. The audio guide contains 56 stories regarding the torture implements and devices. As a fun bonus, visitors also have the opportunity to immerse themselves in a ghost hunting activity where they will learn the stories behind the deaths of the ghosts in the museum.

One of the exhibits in the Florida location.

You can visit the museum’s website for more information on planning a visit. Here you can choose the location that you want to visit and view their gallery of photos among other things.