That’s Not a Real Mermaid, Is It?

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August 16, 2022July 30, 2024
3 minute read

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From sideshow oddities to serial killer evidence and cult memorabilia, the Graveface Museum in Savannah has it all. We sat down with Chloë Manon, wife of Ryan Graveface, and chatted about what it’s like to run a museum full of the strange and unusual. Manon also relayed some chilling experiences with ghosts that also linger in this strange museum.

Homespun Haints: True Ghost Stories

Short Description

All things odd and horrific are under one roof at Graveface Museum. We speak to Chloë Manon who helps run the museum with her husband Ryan, and learn about the things that go bump in the night in the haunted museum's old walls. Check out all things Graveface at https://graveface.com and follow Chloë on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/chloemanon__/

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That’s Not a Real Mermaid, is it? A true ghost story interview

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Sideshow Oddities at Graveface Museum

entrance to Graveface Museum in Savannah, Georgia, where you will encounter a plethora of sideshow oddities — Entrance to Graveface Museum in Savannah, Georgia

Upon entering the museum, you immediately meet Clementine, the five-legged cow. She is real, and sits in front of her original backdrop.

Preserved five-legged cow named Clementine — Taxidermy preserved five-legged cow named Clementine

Continue wandering through the room and you’ll encounter a creature labeled as a two-headed African tiger (also real, but we’re not sure it’s a tiger), a two-headed fawn, and a two-headed pig.

This strange creature is labeled to be a two-headed African tiger

A two-headed fawn found stillborn in utero

There are also other sideshow oddities that aren’t merely creatures formed in the womb when God wasn’t looking. The museum holds a Haitian Vodou zombie skull and several shrunken heads.

Shrunken heads on display at Graveface — Some shrunken heads. I feel like these guys could start talking to me at any moment.

And then there are the gaffs—creatures made from parts of other things to look like they’re real. This FeeJee Mermaid is a perfect example. And, in our interview, Chloë talks about the man who is responsible for the bulk of the gaffs that appeared around the country in the 1940s and ’50s.