Museum of Historic Torture Devices

Museum of Historic Torture Devices

Museum of Historic Torture Devices
3.5
About
The Museum of Historic Torture Devices provides a look into the darkest chapters in human history. View several torture devices and descriptions of the barbaric ways they were used. Admission also includes access to the special exhibit: John Wayne Gacy- "Torture King of Chicago". The Museum of Historic Torture Devices is located in Downtown Wisconsin Dells. Open daily mid-June through Labor Day and weekends only in Spring & Fall.
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
The area
Address
Reach out directly

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.


3.5
3.5 of 5 bubbles74 reviews
Excellent
17
Very good
25
Average
16
Poor
7
Terrible
9

casinoguymichigan
michigan394 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021
Just letting people know this place is hard to find. It's on Broadway, the main drag but in about the 300 block and way back behind other small attractions and candy shops. If you didn't know what to look for, you might not find it.. I had every intention of going in but way back behind other stuff it looked a bit cheesy and if the price was lower I probably would have done it. Close to $10 and for me I didn't think my interest was worth that price.
Written July 31, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Iva P
28 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2018 • Family
Someting interesting to do on a rainy day. Over priced for the small display. They could updaye the place and expand the information on the displays
Written June 16, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

dotblank
Yankton, South Dakota, United States4 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2014
Went 2 this d/t having 1/2 to burn before ghost boat. Used splash card and was able 2 get son and I in for 9.00. Actually enjoyed this more than Ripleys. Small area but interesting. Unique items. Have 2 be able 2 read plaques 2 get full benefit. If u enjoy gruesome, strange things then this is for u!
Written July 6, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Reggie_White_92
Platteville, Wis.2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
The Museum of Historic Torture Devices is located in the Downtown district of the Wisconsin Dells. This area is lined with shops, restaurants and countless attractions. The Museum address is 740 Eddy Street (after Eddy Munster, I wonder?). This is a side streeet, but only a few hundred feet up from Broadway, which is the "main drag."

Parking directly in front of the museum required paying a parking meter, as do most good parking spaces in the Dells. Luckily, we discovered FREE PARKING a few blocks to the southeast behind the Wisconisn Dells City Building. We had to walk three and a half minutes back to the downtown district, but this was not an entirely bad thing after riding in a car for two hours. The parking meters seem to average about one cent per minute, so we saved about four bucks for our afternoon visit.

The museum consists of a private collection of torture devices, plus photos and written description of how devices like these were used throughout history. There are approximately forty exhibits, plus a short documentary film. The descriptions were written in both English and Spanish.

Contrary to what I intitally expected, this experience was emotionally intense. It was saddening and touching to learn about how our ancestors were cruelly mistreated, all in the name of justice. For example, 100,000 or more "witches" were burned at the stake in Germany during the middle ages. These innocent women were tortured to death for commiting such non-crimes as "causing hailstorms," and "fornicating with Satan." These were normal people, just like you and me, who were accused of outlandish crimes, but simply had no way to defend themselves. No one dared come to their defense for fear of being implicated as "Fellow witches," or "Sorcerers."

Likewise, the Spanish Inquistion area of the museum left a mark on me. It shouldn't have struck me so powerfully that people will "Confess" to any crime after being coerced and tormented with extreme physical pain. Who wouldn't confess to any accusation after having their limbs disjointed on "The Rack," or having their flesh burnt with hot irons? And who, after reading the teachings of Jesus Christ could ever commit such barbarous acts in the name of God?

The Museum of Historic Torture Devices provides a much needed reminder of the bad things we humans are capable of doing to one another. The exhibits date from ancient times (The Roman Crucifixion) to about 1973 (The "Spanish Garotte" strangulation stool). The exhibits cover strictly "State-sponsoned" torture, which adds the extra level of utter amazement that ALL OF THESE TORTURE TECHNIQUES WERE ONCE PERFECTLY LEGAL!

We spent about an hour at the museum, but the attendant said that a half hour is the average. Not bad for $7.50 for adults. Plan on reading a lot, so BRING YOUR READING GLASSES (I had to run back to car for mine). Photos are discouraged due to the rudeness of flash-bulbs, but the attendant said it was okay, as long as we didn't film or bother any of the other patrons.

This Attraction gets a big "thumbs up" for adults who want to learn the true, pitiful, dark chapters of human history. You'll forget what you ate for lunch on this day, but you won't forget this museum.

Written May 2, 2007
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brenda I
Mammoth Cave, KY19 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2016 • Family
This is on Broadway, almost where you cannot see it- next to the mirror maze. It was 6.95 to get in - my teen daughter and I went. She loved it too. It's only 3 small rooms, but packed with info, pictures and many torture/death devices from past to present, from the knee crusher to the metal cage worn by gossiping women! It amazed me to see how cruel people used to be. My phone died during my visit, so I couldn't get any pictures. There is also a John Wayne Gacy display, and being from the Chicago area myself, it was interesting. We were there an hour but we read everything. I am a history fanatic, so this was even more cool. Definitely for the macabre and not for small kids, as it kind of made us queasy, but we couldn't stop looking!
Written August 4, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lizzi O
Brainerd, Minnesota, United States7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2014 • Solo
When I first walked in, I was surprised at the very small size of the museum and how cheap their "scary" props were, but I found that by doubts were swept away by the interesting way they presented things. The museum shows some of the most horrible things that human beings have done to other human beings, but not in a cheap or insensitive way; it was intriguing and enlightening. Also, with the various torture devices all around you and cliche horror music playing in the background, you get a nice little push of adrenaline going. All in all, a very fun stop.
Written October 16, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Stephanie C
Sioux City, IA37 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020 • Couples
This was a cool place to visit if you are into this sort of thing. I loved it and my husband found it interesting. Smaller building, but inexpensive to do.
Written September 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Anonymous
4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2019 • Family
I took my son there while we celebrated his 16th birthday in the dells. It may seem small to some, but a lot of detail was given about serial killers and their methods of torture. My generation grew up learning about Gacy, Dahmer, Gein, and the others. Brutal men that had brutal ends of their own. Now they have mass murders where someone gets pissed and goes for the highest kill count. There is a night and day description between serial killers and mass murderers. When my son was old enough, I started to talk about Gacy and Dahmer as we live in Illinois. He took the time to read every word posted through out the museum. He has seen torture devices from medieval times and got to see the variations of torture in the years. He is interested in true stories rather than ghost stories. All in all, worth the money if you take the time to read what you can. We would come back on a future vacation. Not all museums have doll houses and expensive boring things. This one gets the job done.
Written July 18, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

jenniferpyrce
Indian Head Park, IL9 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2018 • Friends
I enjoyed it as well as my husband. It was a small place but no complaints from us. It was enjoyable and inexpensive.
Written July 26, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tim L
Morton, IL71 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2018 • Family
This place is very small . Not a lot to look at a few torture things that my or my not be true that have been used in the past . If I could go back in time I wouldn’t have wasted my money on going
Written July 1, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

…
Showing results 1-10 of 74
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

Museum of Historic Torture Devices - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Frequently Asked Questions about Museum of Historic Torture Devices

Hotels near Museum of Historic Torture Devices: View all hotels near Museum of Historic Torture Devices on Tripadvisor