Collectors are fascinating people. They come by something one day, and it turn into a curiosity, then an obsession until they literally build museums around anything. Did you know such things as the museum of cup noodles and the national poo museum exist ? I can laugh all I want, because I am a collector and I’ve decided to meet and discuss with fellow obsessives all around the world.
To begin this mighty task, let’s start with the Museum of DEATH. Yes, there’s a museum for that, and I’ve been there. At the time, it was located in Los Angeles and has since been relocated to New Orleans. Its founder love it when people vomit inside (which to be honest, can occur because of bad art too) and they even love it even more when people shit themselves (this cannot, to my knowledge at least). I’ve had the pleasure to discuss with Erek, at the Museum of Death.
How did you come to create the Museum of Death ?
The Museum Of Death came to life from the fertile grounds of the Rita Dean Art Gallery in San Diego, founded my married couple JD Healy and Cathee Shultz. It was a natural evolution of the art gallery world of displaying thought provoking exhibits, installations, and artists- meshing with a Museum’s mindset of collecting, curating, and preserving said items, artifacts and documents for anybody with an interest for years to come.
Why do you think people are so fascinated by the items on display at the Museum ?
Because Death is the one thing that we all have in common- no matter your age, color, level of wealth etc- we all die eventually! Also the items contained within the Museum are very interesting, unique, and one of a kind pieces of history that you typically would not have a chance to encounter anywhere else.
About the serial killer art that is on display, what was the impact of the Son of Sam laws on the market ? Since they can’t make money out of their art anymore, do serial killer and the likes still produce paintings and such ?
There will always be a black market for things considered “taboo”. As long as there is demand, there will be supply. Serial Killers and Murderers are not allowed to profit directly from their crimes, but that will not stop the public’s fascination or interest in True Crime. Also some of the men and women have no interest in profiting from their art- it’s probably a rub to their ego that there are people out there that still show an interest in them and their creations. Or perhaps they’re just really bored seeing as they have a lot of idle time on their hands…
I came to California last summer, and the main question I had, still unsolved, is simple : why so weird ? How do you explain the “mindblowing” concentration of serial killer and cults in Los Angeles ?
Funny thing is that if you research many of the more infamous cases you’ll find that the vast majority of these people are not originally born here in California, but have come out to the West coast chasing their dreams, better weather etc- California harbors many transplants! 2 of the most infamous True Crime cases (Ed Gein and Jeffery Dammer) hail from Wisconsin- just goes to show that it can happen anywhere!
Some parts of the museum had me fascinated, but others left me a little puzzled : I remember a corridor with a car crash section and polaroid pictures of a couple playing with a severed hand with his own dick in his mouth ? Do you often need to mop vomit in that section ? It’s probably very funny to look at the CCTV camera at that particular place.
Occasionally we have guests that become nauseated, but the most common happening would be people becoming overwhelmed with the environment and passing out- giving us what we like to call a “Falling Ovation”.
How does the Museum of Death keep going ? Do you feel the « golden age » of serial killer and cult is behind us ? How do you keep finding new stuff to display ? What are you most recent acquisitions ?
The Museum keeps going because the collection is constantly expanding and evolving. We are constantly acquiring, curating, and collecting new material(s) for upcoming displays and exhibits in order to give guests both new and old a brand new life-affirming experience each time they visit the Museum! Right now the public’s interest in Serial Killers is at an all time high (even more so that the 1990’s it seems) — TV shows, podcasts etc are bringing awareness of sensational cases and making people interested in the men and women that have committed these crimes.
What is the story behind the Landru severed head ? How did you find and get it ?
The head of Henri Landru was in a physician’s private collection for a number of years (his wife did not want him to display it within their house) — the Museum Of Death was a natural place for that one of a kind medical curio to have a permanent home!
On to my favorite topic : Heaven’s Gate
How did you first hear about Heaven’s Gate, and come to be interested in acquiring some objects of the cult ?
Despite the Heaven’s Gate group being active since the early 1970’s it obviously wasn’t until after their mass suicide that they popped up on anybody’s radar. Seeing as the Suicide took place outside of San Diego (where the Museum Of Death was originally located) it was only natural that any surviving history pertaining to the Largest Mass Suicide on American soil be secured.
Are you often contacted by people that are curious of Heaven’s Gate ? Are you never afraid that someone would try to break in to get those sacred objects back, in the case of Heaven’s or many other ?
Yes. Many people are fascinated by the Heaven’s Gate story — especially seeing as the 20 year anniversary has just passed. As far as worrying about any objects within the Museum- between our closed circuit monitoring, full staff, as well as the usual preventative measures, anybody thinking about misbehaving and / or not respecting our displays would find themselves in a very not favorable position.
How did the auction went ? What object did you exactly manage to acquire ?
From the auction the Museum acquired a set of the Bunk Beds that Members were found on, as well as a few boxes of personal possessions such as clothing. Inside the pocket of one such item of clothing was an overlooked handwritten note detailing the upcoming event- which of course makes up part of the overall display here at the Museum.
“Who’s to say that they didn’t find their evolutionary level above human, and are now existing on a different plane of existence? We may never know!”
Weren’t you frustrated not to be able to acquire one of the patches ?
Part of the only known existing Suicide Outfit that we acquired would be the 2 patches that they had made for themselves- the Heaven’s Gate “Away Team”, as well as the “Exit Earth Monasteries” — and as far as we have seen nobody else possesses either of those original patches.
When I went to the Museum of death, during my trip to California, I noticed there were bottles of « Comet cleaner » at the window… did you really get that at the Heaven’s Gate mansion ? How do you interpret it ?
Yes- obtained from the Auction as well. The irony was too great that perhaps the comet that they had been looking to ascend to was in their kitchen cabinet all along!
I read that one of the cult’s purple shroud was left on your doorstep one morning, and that’s how you came to have one. How do you explain it ?
The entire Suicide Outfit (Purple Shroud, Nike sneakers, shirt, pants, and Patches) were all an anonymous donation from somebody that worked very closely with the crime scene, and it’s clean up. Although slated for disposal, somebody thankfully recognized the historical significance and wanted to ensure that it ended up somewhere safe.
How do people react to that part of the exhibit ? You said before that, for you, possessing those object was like « possessing a part of American history ».
People are typically in awe of the entire exhibit, because it truly looks and feels like a re-creation of the scene that somebody would have encountered upon entering the mansion.
What is your take on the Heaven’s Gate cult ? What really happened, and what do you think of it ?
Who’s to say that they didn’t find their evolutionary level above human, and are now existing on a different plane of existence? We may never know!
