History Main / MuseumOfTheStrangeAndUnusual

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/{{Shivers}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_1sign_5232.jpg]]]]

%%* The first ''VideoGame/{{Shivers}}'' takes place entirely in one, and is the trope namer.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: Lotsa Dough's museum collection is almost entirely made up of a jaw-dropping number of taxidermied reptiles, though she's also got a suit of armor, and life-sized mannequins of a Neanderthal and T-Rex.

[[folder: Fan Works]]

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]
* In the ''Series/BlackMirror'' Season 4 finale "Black Museum", a tourist decides to burn time at the eponymous Black Museum--a collection of dangerous technology associated with high-profile crimes, some of which have actually been featured in previous episodes.
* Henry Van Statten's personal museum in ''Series/DoctorWho'' contains pieces of alien artifacts and, in some cases, pieces of actual aliens. Van Statten is smart enough to try to reverse-engineer and patent any devices he finds, or even some things that ''shouldn't'' be patentable, like a Time Lord's dual cardio-vascular system.

[[folder: Magazines]]

[[folder: Music]]

[[folder: Professional Wrestling]]

[[folder: Toys]]

[[folder: Video Games]]

%%[[folder: Webcomics]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

[[folder: Real Life]]

%%* The British Museum in ''Comicbook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen''.

* In [[ComicBook/{{Dollicious}} Dollicious]] Pumpkin, the horror geek, runs a small museum of odd and scary objects, just outside of her farm.

%%* The Museum of the Weird (the original iteration of which is covered under 'Theme Parks') makes a sweeping return in ''FanFic/TheMansionverse'', where it was the life's work of CollectorOfTheStrange Phillidore Gastley.

* The Collector's warehouse from ''Ride/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyMissionBreakout''. Among the exhibits are Cosmo the Spacedog, [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron an Ultron drone]], the Yeti from the Matterhorn, [[Ride/TheTwilightZoneTowerOfTerror a bellhop's cap from the Hollywood Tower Hotel]], [[Ride/JourneyIntoImagination Figment]], and, of course, the Guardians themselves. In [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy the film itself]], his collection included what may have been [[ComicBook/Warlock1967 Adam Warlock]]'s cocoon and [[spoiler:''Howard the Duck'']].

* ''Videogame/{{Ib}}'' follows the experiences of a nine-year-old girl named Ib who visits an art gallery with her parents. While looking around, she finds herself stuck in a strange, surreal world where the art has come to life.

%%[[folder: Web Comics]]

* In [[ComicBook/{{Dollicious}} Dollicious]] Pumpkin, the horror geek, runs a small museum of odd and scary objects, just outsidde of her farm.

* In [[ComicBook/{{Dollicious}} Dollicious]]) Pumpkin, the horror geek, runs a museum of odd and scary objects, just outsidde of her farm.

* In ''LightNovel/BookOfBantorra'', despite its name, the Library of Bantorra is better described as a museum since the "books" it deals with are not ordinary paper books written in any alphabet; they are stone tablets spontaneously appearing when someone dies recording the memories of their whole life, that anyone can experience simply touching the tablet. The librarians' job requires having combat training and some kind of super power since monsters prowl the vaults, too. In fact, the only thing that shares with a regular library is that the Library has a Customer Service that borrows the books to the general public (well, most of them).

* Level 2 of ''Disney's Hide and Sneak'' is set at a museum that is overrun with UFO enemies, including a giant dinosaur skeleton that comes to life in Minnie's scenario when activating its trick. Fortunately, it meant no harm and safely places her back down on the ground floor.

* The Collector's warehouse from ''Ride/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyMissionBreakout''. Among the exhibits are Cosmo the Spacedog, [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron an Ultron drone]], the Yeti from the Matterhorn, [[Ride/TheTwilightZoneTowerOfTerror a bellhop's cap from the Hollywood Tower Hotel]], [[Ride/JourneyIntoImagination Figment]], and, of course, the Guardians themselves. In [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy the film itself]], his collection included what may have been [[ComicBook/{{Warlock}} Adam Warlock]]'s cocoon and [[spoiler:''Howard the Duck'']].

* The Mystery Shack in ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''. It's explicitly stated to be a tourist trap (where the real mystery is why people keep coming) run by [[TheBarnum Dipper and Mabel's Great-Uncle Stan]], but it's been hinted in more than one episode that there's some secret about the building itself. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler:the Shack used to belong to Stan's twin brother Stanford, which he used for his paranormal investigations; some the exhibits are what remains of Stanford's inventions and specimens - the rest being fakes cooked up by Stan in the years since then.]]

* ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia2017'': The Last Wednesday Society is a cross between this trope and a cafe. See Real Life below for the actual establishment this is an homage to.
* In ''Manga/XXXHolic'', in the movie, there was the house of the collector... [[spoiler: he collected collectors]].
** [[spoiler: To specify, each room of his gigantic house was full of a different collection (birdcages, coins, etc), the soul of whose original collector is supernaturally trapped alongside said collection.]]

* The British Museum in ''Comicbook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen''.

* The Museum of the Weird (the original iteration of which is covered under 'Theme Parks') makes a sweeping return in ''FanFic/TheMansionverse'', where it was the life's work of CollectorOfTheStrange Phillidore Gastley.

[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'', the mice raided one of these to build the Giant Mouse of Minsk.
[[/folder]]

* Creator/SarahMonette's short story "Draco Campestris" takes place in one of these.
* Monette must really like this trope, since her Kyle Murchison Booth short stories, collectively labelled ''Literature/TheNecromanticMysteriesOfKyleMurchisonBooth'', also feature one of these as a major setting.
* ''Tales from the Wyrd Museum'', a fantasy novel trilogy, was set in one.
* The theme of the various-authors anthology ''The Thackery T Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities''.

* ''Series/{{Oddities}}''. Very unusual and pretty strange.
* ''Spellman's Magical Museum of the Circus'' in ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures.''

* The first ''VideoGame/{{Shivers}}'' takes place entirely in one, and is the trope namer.

[[folder: Web Comics]]
* The defunct webcomic the ''Repository of Dangerous Things'' was pretty much this.
* ''Webcomic/{{Subnormality}}'''s [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page533.html Museum of the Theoretical]].
* The Museum of Magical History in several ''Webcomic/TheWotch'' [[http://thewotch.com/index.php?epDate=2009-04-20 filler comics]].

[[folder: Western Animation]]
* The Mystery Shack in ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''. It's explicitly stated to be a tourist trap (where the real mystery is why people keep coming) run by [[TheBarnum Dipper and Mabel's Great-Uncle Stan]], but it's been hinted in more than one episode that there's some secret about the building itself. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler:the Shack used to belong to Stan's twin brother Stanford, which he used for his paranormal investigations; some the exhibits are what remains of Stanford's inventions and specimens - the rest being fakes cooked up by Stan in the years since then.]]
[[/folder]]

* Creator/DaveBarry's office was one.
* What's left of Music/MichaelJackson's estate could be considered this.

* The Onu-Metru Archives in ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'', home to many dangerous living "exhibits".

* The Collector's warehouse from ''Ride/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyMissionBreakout''. Among the exhibits are Cosmo the Spacedog, [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron an Ultron drone]], the Yeti from the Matterhorn, [[Ride/TheTwilightZoneTowerOfTerror a bellhop's cap from the Hollywood Tower Hotel]], [[Ride/JourneyIntoImagination Figment]], and, of course, the Guardians themselves. In [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy the film itself]], his collection included what may have been ComicBook/AdamWarlock's cocoon and [[spoiler:''Howard the Duck'']].

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

* In ''LightNovel/BookOfBantorra'', despite its name, the Library of Bantorra is better described as a museum since the "books" it deals with are not ordinary paper books written in any alphabet; they are stone tablets spontaneously appearing when someone dies recording the memories of their whole life, that anyone can experience simply touching the tablet. The librarians' job requires having combat training and some kind of super power since monsters prowl the vaults, too. In fact, the only thing that shares with a regular library is that the Library has a Customer Service that borrows the books to the general public (well, most of them).
* ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia2017'': The Last Wednesday Society is a cross between this trope and a cafe. See Real Life below for the actual establishment this is an homage to.

[[folder: Comics]]

* The British Museum in ''Comicbook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen''.

* The Museum of the Weird (the original iteration of which is covered under 'Theme Parks') makes a sweeping return in FanFic/TheMansionverse, where it was the life's work of CollectorOfTheStrange Phillidore Gastley.

[[folder: Film]]
* ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum''. At night, an Egyptian artifact brings all the exhibits to life.
* The Library in ''Film/TheLibrarian''. Within this building, you have Excalibur, the Shroud of Turin, Poseidon's Trident, Pan's flute, and multiple other legendary artifacts.
* ''Film/TheConjuring'' depicts the Warrens' public collection of cursed items, including the infamous [[PerversePuppet Annabelle]], just as in real life.
* Discussed in a GallowsHumor manner in ''Film/TheFly1986''. As Seth Brundle's SlowTransformation into a HalfHumanHybrid nears its apotheosis, it's revealed he's decided to keep his molted-away body parts (ears, teeth, etc.) as "relics of a bygone era". Upon an unexpected visit from his lover, he tells her "My teeth have begun falling out. The medicine cabinet is now the Brundle Museum of Natural History -- you wanna see what else is in it?"

* Perhaps the TropeMaker is Creator/NathanielHawthorne's short story ''A Virtuoso's Collection'', where the titular collection is shown to be filled with books, animals, and artifacts from mythology, religion, and folklore... with the kicker being that the collection's proprietor is the WanderingJew.
* ''Tales from the Wyrd Museum'', a fantasy novel trilogy, was set in one.

* AWalkingTourOfTheShambles, by Creator/NeilGaiman and Creator/GeneWolfe, includes a brief description of the House of Clocks, of which perhaps all that need be said is that its (actual) website is [[http://preserveusfromthehouseofclocks.com/ preserveusfromthehouseofclocks.com]].

* In ''Literature/BlackLegion'', the Hall of Titans aboard ''Vengeful Spirit'' houses a variety of trophies and curiosities collected by Abaddon during his pilgrimage through the [[NegativeSpaceWedgie Eye]]. He even gives Khayon and Lheor a tour of it.
* The central location of ''Curiosity House'' is Dumfrey's Dime Museum, a museum full of bizarre items like skeletons and masks. Many of them are fake, but the freak show is very real.

* ''Series/{{Oddities}}''. Very unusual and pretty strange.
* Henry Van Statten's personal museum in ''Series/DoctorWho'' contains pieces of alien artifacts and, in some cases, pieces of actual aliens. Van Statten is smart enough to try to reverse-engineer and patent any devices he finds, or even some things that ''shouldn't'' be patentable, like a Time Lord's dual cardio-vascular system.
* In the ''Series/BlackMirror'' Season 4 finale "Black Museum", a tourist decides to burn time at the eponymous Black Museum--a collection of dangerous technology associated with high-profile crimes, some of which have actually been featured in previous episodes.

* Magazine/ForteanTimes is pretty much the printed-word version of this trope. But it's visited and reported on quite a few real-life locations around the world.

* Navigating the unnamed museum in the board game ''ElderSign'' may result in insanity, death, the End of the World, or all three.

* The Museum of the Weird, a collection of strange and often occultic items that would have served as a companion piece to Franchise/TheHauntedMansion, is one of the more infamous examples of WhatCouldHaveBeen for the Ride/DisneyThemeParks and would eventually emerge in comic book form as ''[[ComicBook/DisneyKingdoms Seekers of the Weird]]'' (though the comic retconned the Museum to be more of a SecretGovernmentWarehouse run by a secret society, which is not ''meant'' to be visited — [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks a concept that had very mixed reception]]). Some of the basic premise would also be used by Hong Kong Disneyland's Mystic Manor.

* The first ''VideoGame/{{Shivers}}'' takes place entirely in one, and is the trope namer.
** Similarly, ''Videogame/{{Ib}}.''

* The Freak Show in ''VideoGame/CarnEvil'' has the "Museum of the Slightly Curious", a small alcove full of oddities. Some of these include a "Thing in a Bottle", a mummy sarcophagus, an Ancient Mystery Skull of Time, and even the World's Biggest Shoe.
* The Death Museum in ''VideoGame/TheHalloweenHack''. It features models of Paula, Jeff, Poo, and Dr. Andonuts' wife. Most creepily, it has a pedestal perfectly fit for Varik. Then upon reading the label on the blank pedestal, it proceeds to get confused about Varik. A mental image of Dr. Andonuts in said museum claims he is proud of killing the Chosen Four.

* Arcanum Space Station in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' is a space station in ''very'' remote space, heavy security with mostly droids. It's also a first-rate collection of Sith artifacts and history the Empire has deemed TooAwesomeToUse or [[EvenEvilHasStandards so vile even they want to lock it away]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{Rama}}'', One of the locations on the cylindrical alien ship is a museum containing holographic exhibits on staple items of human civilization, and that of the two alien species living on the ship. It also contains puzzles meant to teach visitors both human and [[AlternativeNumberSystem alien numerals.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Obsidian}}'' has an art gallery in the third dream realm, with pictures that reflect on it and the previous two realms, and what the nanobot-controlling AI, Ceres, learned from them. At the end of it is an art studio, with a puzzle in which you're supposed to make a blank canvas for Ceres to apply that knowledge.

* ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'' has the World of Curiosities, a dilapidated and macabre museum filled with the preserved corpses of both animals and humans.

Welcome to Professor Tropington's Museum Of The Strange And Unusual. Within these halls, you will find exhibits dedicated to the [[WeirdScience mysteries of the world]]. For example, you will find the [[AlienTropes UFO displays]] up the stairs, next to the planetarium. To see the [[IndexOfFictionalCreatures cryptid exhibits]], take the hall to your left. To visit the PsychicPowers exhibit, well, you should know where that is. [[MishmashMuseum And yes, we prize the eclectic range of our collection over any benefits that might be gained from consistent themes.]]

-->--'''Ed Warren''', ''Film/TheConjuring''

* Confusion Hill in the small town of Piercy, California. Its biggest attraction is “The Gravity Hill”, an optical illusion attraction. It’s also the main inspiration for the aforementioned Mystery Shack.

After you leave, you may want to visit the BazaarOfTheBizarre, the ArtifactCollectionAgency (or the one-man CollectorOfTheStrange) or the SuperheroTrophyShelf.

** [[spoiler: To specify, each room of his gigantic house was full of a different collection (bird cages, coins, etc), the soul of whose original collector is supernaturally trapped alongside said collection.]]

* In Dell (yes, Dell) Comic's ''Superheroes'' published in 1967, a group of teens visited the Dell Hall of Heroes where they discovered an unguarded exhibit of android superheroes. At that exact moment an evil ex-Dell employee experimented on an evil robot elsewhere in the city, creating a power surge that zapped the teen's minds into the superhero androids. (Dell was not known for superhero books, hence the title and loony-even-for-Silver-Age plot.)

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: Lotsa Dough's museum collection is almost entirely made up of a jaw dropping number of taxidermied reptiles, though she's also got a suit of armor, and life sized mannequins of a Neanderthal and T-Rex.

* Discussed in a GallowsHumor manner in ''Film/TheFly1986''. As Seth Brundle's SlowTransformation into a HalfHumanHybrid nears its apotheosis, it's revealed he's decided to keep his molted-away body parts (ears, teeth, etc.) as "relics of a bygone era". Upon an unexpected visit from his lover he tells her "My teeth have begun falling out. The medicine cabinet is now the Brundle Museum of Natural History -- you wanna see what else is in it?"

* Perhaps the TropeMaker is Creator/NathanielHawthorne's short story ''A Virtuoso's Collection'', where the titular collection is shown to be filled with books, animals and artifacts from mythology, religion and folklore... with the kicker being that the collection's proprietor is the WanderingJew.

* In ''Literature/BlackLegion'', the Hall of Titans aboard ''Vengeful Spirit'' houses variety of trophies and curiosities collected by Abaddon during his pilgrimage through the [[NegativeSpaceWedgie Eye]]. He even gives Khayon and Lheor a tour of it.

[[folder: Live Action TV]]

* The Death Museum in ''VideoGame/TheHalloweenHack''. It features models of Paula, Jeff, Poo, and Dr. Andonuts' wife. Most creepily, it has a pedestal perfectly fit for Varik. The upon reading the label on the blank pedestal, it proceeds to get confused about Varik. A mental image of Dr. Andonuts in said museum claims he is proud of killing the Chosen Four.

* [[https://www.thehouseontherock.com/HOTR_AttractionMain.htm House on the Rock]] is insanity unleashed. Rooms dedicated to organs, carousel animals, doll houses, and a giant octopus attacking a ship. It's rather like a museum that operates on RuleOfCool and doesn't care about authenticity.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'', the mice raided one of these to build the Giant Mouse of Minsk.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Lotsa Dough's museum collection is almost entirely made up of a jaw dropping number of taxidermied reptiles, though she's also got a suit of armor, and life sized mannequins of a Neanderthal and T-Rex.

* ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia'': The Last Wednesday Society is a cross between this trope and a cafe. See Real Life below for the actual establishment this is an homage to.

* Discussed in a GallowsHumor manner in ''Film/TheFly1986''. As Seth Brundle's SlowTranformation into a HalfHumanHybrid nears its apotheosis, it's revealed he's decided to keep his molted-away body parts (ears, teeth, etc.) as "relics of a bygone era". Upon an unexpected visit from his lover he tells her "My teeth have begun falling out. The medicine cabinet is now the Brundle Museum of Natural History -- you wanna see what else is in it?"