The House of Frankenstein Museum

Ghoul Mourning, Maniacs!

The fiendish people here at Horrorsociety, have once again “axed” me to invade your thoughts! Mwhuhuhuhuahaha! ! Lucky for you, it’s going to be a pleasant experience! (Yeah, right).

I have to tell you about one of my most favorite places on this earth. It’s been around for many decades, and has brought terror, horror, and entertainment to many a traveler-both far and wide. No, not the DMV! Really, I thought you were better than that. . .

Seriously, it is one of the most tangible horror spots of my life! I’ve been to it, nearly as much as the library I love! It’s The House of Frankenstein Wax Museum!

The area it’s in, started as a street lined with hotels, in the late 1800’s into the early 1900’s. It was transformed in the late 1950’s, to become a haven of tourist attractions, better known as Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls Canada.

For some time, there was a place in the middle of it, called Maple Leaf Village, which was the same kind of thing. Amusements, games, etc. I mention it, only because people sometimes refer to the area as that. Those two names-Clifton Hill and Maple Leaf Village, spark many a fond memory for the locals.

The House of Frankenstein started around 1960. It sits at the top of Clifton Hill. Among the other attractions, are the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum, Dracula’s Castle, and more.

The Frankenstein House has seen it’s share of changes. The biggest one in recent years, has been the addition of a giant Frankenstein perched on top of the building, eating what looks like a Whopper, from the adjacent Burger King. If you’re at the base of the hill, you can’t miss that square headed monster, munching down! It’s huge! !

When you get there, take a moment before entering the attraction, to soak in the architecture of the building. It looks very creepy, like a real haunted house. The design looks like something lifted off of the Universal Studios lot, and plopped right there! It looks like something “old world European”. Dark exterior, laced with angular, jutting corners. Gargoyles are sitting around the roof and bell tower, waiting for you. There could be a monster peering from around every corner, you just don’t know for sure!

If you get the nerve to purchase a ticket for the attraction, a look at the area around the entrance, is worth every second spent!

An animatronic Frankenstein on a laboratory slab, gets electricity, moves and speaks to you! Granted, it’s not Shakespeare, but it is Frankenstein! I think I know which one 9 out of 10 monster lovers will prefer.

So, you’ve gotten your tickets. Good. Don’t be like me at age 4, when my family and I went there, and I was cool, until the monster himself, came shuffling out, from the corner! Oh, that was terrifying! I know now, that it was an actor(I think), but then, it was very real! That scenario was replayed every summer, from then on, until I was 7 or 8. My father would take me up to the ticket booth, I’d be cool, then Frankenstein would come out, and ZOOM! Down the sidewalk I’d start running, for my dear life! ! ! When I finally did go through with it, and explored the attraction completely, it’s then, that my ongoing love affair with the place began.

The interior of the attraction, has vintage animatronics, which are more about spring loaded mechanisms, and compressed air, than today’s digital sensor activated monsters. The vintage monsters are really part of the charm of the place. Because of the core of vintage pieces, many a serious monster collector has made the journey to this attraction.

I won’t reveal every nuance of what lies in the dark corridors. I would suggest that you visit for yourself. But, I will tell you about one of the relatively new features. A room that connects parts of the maze, has a collection of multiple screens on the wall, that play old black and white Frankenstein films. You can stay for the duration if you choose to. It’s in this exact spot that a wedding took place in February 2008. It was presided by a minister and Shawn Dyck, an actor at the attraction, dressed as Frankenstein. I guess he acted as a “Gruesome-man”, for the wedding party. They’ve had other weddings there, celebrities, people from different generations of families that come and share tales of their times going through the attraction. Even a woman, whose mother came while pregnant with her, decades before, shows up with her mother, every now and then. Of corpse, they go through the museum together.

Talking with Shawn(Frankenstein)Dyck, you get the sense that he loves his job at Frankenstein’s house. In fact, speak to any staff member, and you’ll find that they do like it there, and have been part of the museum, for several years and counting.

A couple of years ago, when i first met Shawn, he showed me the behind the scenes stuff at the museum. Talk about a moment just like that of Christmas morning! I got to see the monsters in waiting from inside their respective rooms. We went through secret passages and I even got to scare some people! ! Even better, was that Shawn and the owner bought monster masks from me, including a Frankenstein mask, that Shawn wears while patrolling the museum! Think dreams don’t come true?! Sometimes they do. it’s because of that kind of circumstance, and my love for the place, that I specifically list The House of Frankenstein Museum, in the “Thank You” section of my first book.

If you find yourself in Niagara Falls, Canada, and you enjoy classic horror and monsters, then this is the place for you! It’s got charm, weird vibes, a haunting feeling, and of “corpse” Frankenstein! ! What more could you want?! I hope to see you there!

Monstermatt Patterson
Man of a Thousand Bad Monster Jokes!
Author, “Monstermatt’s Bad Monster Jokes Vol. 1”
Writer, “Wolff’s Run”for ZombieInkComics
Writer-HorrorNews. Net
Mask-Maker, etc.