The Sutton Hoo helmet, c.600AD [Zed Nelson]
Posted on 06/16/2020 4:27:40 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Sometimes it's the doors. To complete a full circuit of the museum more than 3,000 doors need to be opened and closed. Some of these, particularly ones that seal off the major galleries, are cumbersome to shut. But when bolted, they won't open again without a tussle. Except when they do. Take the Sutton Hoo gallery, which houses treasures from an Anglo-Saxon ship, among them a ferocious-looking helmet believed to have been worn by Raedwald, king of the East Angles, in the seventh century. On one occasion a guard bolted the double doors and moved on to the next room, only to be informed by a CCTV operator that the doors stood wide open again. Video footage of the gallery showed them moving spontaneously.
Sometimes it's a sudden drop in temperature, like the unnerving patches of cold air that linger next to the winged, human-headed bull of Nimrud at the entrance to the Assyrian galleries. Sometimes it's the sound of footsteps, or music, or crying, where no obvious source can be found.
And sometimes it might be the objects themselves. One night a security guard was passing through the African galleries in the basement and paused for a moment before the figure of a two-headed dog. The guard believed that this 19th-century wooden Congolese fetish, bristling with rough iron nails, possessed some mysterious power. On this particular night he felt an irresistible compulsion to point his finger at it. As he did so, the fire alarms in the gallery went off. A few days later the guard returned to the gallery with his brother, who also pointed at the two-headed dog. Again the alarms sounded.
(Excerpt) Read more at 1843magazine.com ...
The Sutton Hoo helmet, c.600AD [Zed Nelson]
Thanks to a helpful FReeper for the link! Fun read.
Marketing BS.
(I’m actually pretty openminded regarding haunting stuff, but I still get a laugh out of Carr’s ghost jokes)
“It’s actually easy to tell if your house is haunted: It isn’t. Grow up.” — Jimmy Carr
It’s not unlikely that it’s political in origin — return these artifacts nooowwwwww, oooooo ooooooo...
Been to the British Museum twice. LOVED IT!!!
But my first visit in 84 the guide said it was haunted.
:^) Since 1984 probably even moreso.
Interesting article though I disagree with the portion about returning articles to their native lands. I’ve been in the British Museum often, down in the lower level where I had it all to myself. I can understand why they might think it’s creepy. My favorite room in thr lower level has portions of the temple of Diana of Ephesus, which reminds me of Paul’s eventful visit to Ephesus.
It also has the Roman tombstone of a beloved little dog Margarita (Pearl), which brings me to tears every time I read what the Latin plaque says.
The A/C just kicked on? We have cold spots in our house.
Sometimes it's the sound of footsteps, or music, or crying, where no obvious source can be found.
Sounds to me like old pipes...
Not my fault.
I don't know about ghosts, but there must be a lot of dead things there.
Is this the Coast to coast AM conspiracy group? Just askin...
I think I've seen all of the BFQ that are on YouTube. 8 out of 10 cats as well -- but as I age it is easier to watch something a second and third time, because of CRS.
I too find some of those epitaphs poignant and moving (with the proviso that I’ve had to rely on photos and captions).
BOO! :)
Hey, they're ghosts, so they obviously have white privilege.
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