By Grant Duvall

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While on my recent Disney Alaskan Cruise which left from Vancouver, I figured I would see some of the local sites, such as a suspension bridge above the trees and the aquarium. There was one place though, that completely took me by surprise. I did not go to the Museum of Anthropology expecting to write a review for Creepy Kingdom, but within moments of stepping foot inside I immediately started snapping photos.

Anthropology, in a nutshell, is the study of ancient cultures. While there were exhibits on cultures around the world, the Pacific Northwest was the primary focus. While the museum is extremely respectful in the treatment of cultures, the most amazing, eyepopping exhibits were terrifying. As it turns out, ancient cultures loved to be scared and loved to create scary pieces of art, much like the people of today. The totems were particularly frightening, as were many of the wooden sculptures around. I might add that this is not a very big museum as it only took us an hour and change to see it (although had we watched the movies we could have spent more time there), so the ratio of scary to non was pretty impressive. Wooden sculptures featuring people being eaten are not uncommon to find here. I was enjoying it and then I saw the temporary exhibit that blew my mind.

Shadows, Strings, and Other Things is the current temporary exhibit. This runs until October 19th, 2019. This showcases puppets as they existed in the past, as well as an exhibit on how to do stop motion as the style of marionettes was heavily influenced by puppets from hundreds of years ago. There is no Kermit the Frog here, only scary versions of death and people. Devils were very popular in the past as a way to tell morality tales, and sure enough, they were incredibly creepy. Of the hour and change spent at the museum my wife and I easily spend half of our time in this room. Imagine being in a room surrounded by dolls that look like Annabelle and you get the picture. The exhibit was extremely educational as well as each puppet had extensive notes as to why it was made, what it represented, how it was made, and facts about the artist. I could not believe how amazing this exhibit was and the pictures do not do it justice.

If you happen to be in Vancouver by October 19th, 2019, be sure to check out the Museum of Anthropology. This place will creep you out and remind you that our great great ancestors were just as spooky as we are!
Creepy scale- 8 out of 10. This place was unintentionally creepy and sometimes the best freaky stuff comes at the most unexpected times.

Vancouver Museum of Anthropology Trip Report

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