We humans have a deep desire to see the weird, freaky, and shocking things in life. The weird is unusual, it is abnormal, but it is also extremely fascinating as it rips us out of our normal comfort zone. Thus it is no wonder that freak shows used to be popular. They appealed to people by playing on our mix of disgust and fascination with the abnormal. A big speaker might have shouted loud and proud about a bearded woman, the two headed calf, and a man who could pop out his eyes. Today, such shows are banned or at least scuffed upon, as people with disability are to be met with respect and not to provide entertainment value. However, that didn’t stop a guy like Leroy Ripley to pursue the sensational aspect of “freaky stuff” and instead of creating a freak show he build museums to show the bizarre from around the world. The museums were built around the globe, and surprisingly one of them was also founded in Copenhagen in 1992 with the aim of “shocking” visitors with bizarre and fascinating things from around the world.
The thing is, Ripley’s museum just doesn’t catch the same effect on its audience as it might have done in the past. Today people can simply turn on their phones and google bizarre stuff to get their needs for the fulfilled. Ripley’s Believe it or not! is a leftover from a time where people didn’t have access to the Internet and instead would find such an amazing museum to be intriguing. Now, it feels like it wants to force shocking elements on to the visitors by screaming “Believe or not!” on every single element of the museum. There used to be a two-headed calf, believe it or not! This woman had a beard, believe it or not! This guy can rip a phonebook, BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!! You just get tired of reading it and it especially falls flat when you can simply look it up to check if it actually is real.
However, that is not to say there is no entertainment in visiting the museum. There are a fair amount of interactive elements that especially kids would find interesting to try out, but for adults the exhibition might simply feel empty. It feels like a shallow run through a fun-house with little stimulation to the intelligence and instead a big appeal to the lowest sense of disgust and shock, and as you walk through the museum exhibits you might start to wonder why you wasted money on this place.
It can be fun, but it lacks the intellectual stimulation that I personally also need from my museum visits. Going through the exhibitions, seeing one “wonder” after another didn’t cause enough interest in me as I barely got much interesting insight into the elements. It felt like I was walking through a ride in an amusement park, and not surprisingly parts of the museum was also built as a Haunted House with jump scaring elements and even an exhibition with focus on torture. It wasn’t trying to teach the visitors anything, but instead trying to entertain. I kind of respect that, I just wished the museum had brought more to the table than an old school American style of shouting it bigger than it really is.
Yet, I do admit there were a few disturbing parts, which made me feel uncomfortable. Seeing actual shrunk heads and how they were made was not a pleasant experience, so if shocking was the intention it definitely hit me with those heads. It reminded me that the most disturbing things are rarely the accidental happenings in nature like a two headed cow or being able to pop out your eyes, it is usually the dark stuff we do to each other, and this is also where the most shocking effects hit home in Ripley’s Believe it or Not! It is not so much about learning, but about “freaking” you out in random ways.
However, the museum experience has evolved a lot since the early 1990’s. Lots of serious museums have developed their structure and presentation. For instance, The National Museum has often shown that it is possible to make a strong learning experience combined with plenty of fun interaction. It is on a constant move to follow the trend of what experiences the visitors are seeking. Ripley’s Believe it or not! doesn’t seem to put much work into developing its concept. That wouldn’t necessarily be a problem if the concept was “evergreen”, but people’s experience and understanding of the weird has just changed as time has gone by as well. “Sensational museums” might simply belong in an amusement park from the past.
Further on, the placement of machines, like paint-ball and a zoltar machine, where you are forced to put coins in them is a really odd ball, and I am still not sure whether they seriously expect people to put extra money into them or they are just for fun show? I am pretty sure they won’t mind if people waste money on the machines, and if that is the aim then I find this attempt an outrageous approach from the museum owners to squeeze out extra money from the visitors. Such a thing should not be present in a so-called modern museum.
Even so, the museum might be worth a one-time visit, especially if you make a combo-ticket, so you can visit other museums under the Ripley-umbrella. You most likely won’t visit Ripley’s Believe it or Not! more than once in your life, so a one-time ticket of 135 dkk., is quite overpriced for the experience. Instead do it as a part of a broader visit to their multiple museum experiences as it will save you good money.
Overall, the sensational spirit of Ripley’s Believe it or Not! is simply an outdated museum experience. When it was built in the early 1990s it might have had a strong effect on its visitors, but now a days with everybody having access to Internet, Google, and Youtube, it takes way more to shock people than seeing two headed cows or a bearded woman. The museum itself is a bit messy in structure, has spelling mistakes in the presented information, and dares to put out old game machines that people needs to put coins in in order to use. There are interactive elements to be experienced, but it doesn’t amounts to more than small gimmicks. It just feels like the museum couldn’t be bothered to rethink itself or even put in some improvements. For the price of 145 dkk. it is definitely not worth visiting. It just simply lacks learning value and the experience is at best just a fun ride through a madhouse in a Tivoli. With a combo-ticket with other attractions it might have a small redeeming quality, but you won’t feel the urge to visit it more than once in your life. A rather disappointing experience.
Visit if…you want to engage in some sensational experience where knowledge and learning is of lesser importance, but instead can give you some quick snack entertainment in the form of weird and disturbing stuff.
Avoid if...you seek a learning experience where you feel smarter after the visit as Ripley’s Believe it or Not! doesn’t concern or care about providing deep insightful knowledge to its audience.
Accessibility: 4/5
Learning: 2/5
Interaction: 4/5
Price: 2/5
Total: