Looking for something a little different this autumn? Beyond London’s world-famous museums lies a collection of wonderfully unusual attractions, from curious medical collections to museums dedicated to some of the capital’s most eccentric stories.
Whether you’re planning a half-term visit or searching for an alternative Halloween activity, these fascinating museums offer a different way to discover London’s history and culture.
What are some of London’s weirdest museums?
- The Horniman Museum
- Old Operating Theatre
- Grant Museum of Zoology
- BDA Dental Museum
- The Crime Museum
- Freud Museum
For an experience that’s both educational and esoteric, let’s take a look at London’s weirdest museums!
The Horniman Museum
First on our list is the endlessly fascinating Horniman Museum. The museum’s founder, John Horniman, travelled the world from Egypt to Japan to bring some of its most fascinating objects. What started as a collection of natural history and the arts evolved into an assortment of the fascinating and the bizarre, including a papier-mache Merman statue and a stuffed walrus. You have to see it to believe it.
Old Operating Theatre
There are a few places with more of a horror movie vibe than operating theatres. Simultaneously unnerving and fascinating, The Old Operating Theatre Museum in London Bridge offers a remarkable insight into one of the last century’s most important medical breakthroughs. Learn about the history of surgery and the ghastly roots of this essential practice.
Grant Museum of Zoology
Skeletons, stuffed animals and weird things in jars – that’s what the Grant Museum of Zoology is all about. Well, actually, it’s about learning from natural history, but during Halloween season our biggest takeaway is definitely how creepy this museum looks. It’s definitely the best place to freak out your friends. Monkey head in a jar, anyone?
BDA Dental Museum
Did you know that it wasn’t until 1921 that any kind of qualification was required to remove somebody’s tooth? It’s gruesome facts like these that make the BDA Dental Museum one of the weirdest on our list. Pay it a visit and you’ll learn all about the weird and wonderful things people used to use as dentures. Creepy.
The Crime Museum
The Acid Bath Murderer, the Lambeth Poisoner and, of course, the notorious Jack the Ripper – all these cases and more are laid bare at New Scotland Yard’s dark and disquieting Crime Museum. Formally known as the Black Museum, this collection of artefacts and evidence is as gripping as it is bloodcurdling. We can’t recommend it enough.
Freud Museum
When all is said and done, there’s nothing scarier than the human mind. Follow in the footsteps of one man who was brave enough to plumb these murky depths at the Sigmund Freud Museum. The building itself was actually the final home of the master psychologist, along with his daughter Anna. Learn all about the history of Freud’s psychoanalysis, its impact and its legacy.
Continue Your Halloween Adventure
If unusual stories, hidden history and local legends are what draw you to London, Halloween is the perfect time to explore the city from a new perspective.
From mysterious tales of the Tower of London to the legends of Fleet Street, our seasonal Halloween Afternoon Tea Tour reveals another side of the capital, bringing centuries of history to life through expert storytelling and unique sightseeing experiences.
