john brown wax museum

I saw the mixed reviews and was intrigued. I'm also a history buff and had to see. Yes there are lots of steps and the displays are over fifty years old and the building much older, but we found it made the history of John Brown come to life in a way plaques could not. The owner is very sweet and cares for unwanted dogs in her home. So if shelling out $7 isn't too much for you go and have a good twenty minutes. Don't miss the creepy effect in the last exhibit of his hanging during the audio presentation! :-)

Despite some predictable drawbacks, we found this to be a most enjoyable experience. To be sure, the building housing it is old, with a series of steep stairways leading up and then back down along the tour of tableaux. Parking would have been a problem had we not left our car at the Park Service visitors center and taken the free shuttle to the lower town. In fact, that is definitely the recommended way to tour old Harper's Ferry. There is pretty much no parking anywhere in the vicinity, but most of the attractions and a good many restaurants are in a compact area.The museum itself is informative and forceful. Beginning with his exposure as a young man to the occasional horrors of slavery to his trial while he lay on a litter ending with his execution on the gallows, his story is presented clearly and succinctly. We believe almost anyone would leave this exhibit with a fuller understanding of the dark shadows lurking in the mind of this, to be frank, madman.

On Tuesday 09/16/14 we all intentions of visiting the wax museum but after making the trip, about 40 miles out of our way, we arrived and to our surprise we could not find a parking space on the street or in the Amtrak parking lot. There were some empty spaces on Potomac Street but they had reserved signs. There was a parking lot when you first get on Shenandoah Street but that was at least ¾ of a mile from the museum and we were not up to walking that far. It seems to be an interesting place to visit but with limited parking spaces it makes it hard to give it a try. Hopefully in the future if we are in the area we can give it another try and maybe find some parking available. I wasn't sure how to rate this so I am giving it a “3” since you have to give a rating.

Corny, weird looking figures? Yes. Musty, kind of run down building? Yes. A little light on the history? Yes. Worth the price of admission in a tourist town? Absolutely! For all the reasons above.What other wax museum is dedicated to a single person?Just as the town itself is a reminder of the civil war era, this attraction takes us back to the 60's. Not everything has to be snazzy and electronic.I can almost guarantee that even those giving bad reviews will talk about and remember The John Brown Wax Museum much more than the invisible Armory buildings.And after all, isn't that what you really want in a vacation/attraction?

The figures are not very good, the settings are basic, but the worst part is the whole museum is musty. I would only recommend this for young children.

I have never seen anything like this before!! It looks so real & even some of the characters move a little so it is really something to see & definitely something you will always remember. I am older & went away for the weekend with my husband when we seen this but it is definitely something I want to take my teenage daughter to see!

I love history and I love the woman who runs this place - I'd love to schedule a ghost tour with her group someday soon. Anyway, she was knowledgeable and the exhibit itself was interesting. If y'all are expecting Madame Tousseaud's you will be disappointed; but I thought it was fantastic. Oh and by the way, the place is haunted. AWESOME.

Went here because my husband went here as a kid. This is a nice visual match to the John Brown story but the wax figures are really poorly made and sort of scary. Bulging eyes, everyone is either too tan or too light for their race. LOTS of stairs as this is in a very old house.

$7 for adults and $5 for kids. Really??? For what? A bad smell and really cheap, corny wax figures. Save your time and money. I'm flabbergasted that some actually rated this well.

I remember going here as a kid. I loved it then and still think it was well worth the admission price. The museum tells John Brown's story in a way everyone can understand and I loved the old building its housed in. I'm glad the museum is still here.

Terrible. The building smells old, the displays are corny and cheap. Some of the displays didn't even work. We left wondering if we could get our 14$ back for such a terrible museum. Not sure how they keep this awful thing open because there wasn't a soul going through other than us. Now we know why. Save your money!

Well worth the price! Interesting and the kids loved it. From youngsters to seniors anyone will find it worth the visit!

this place is so cool...lots to see and very interesting...If you like history or just old places this is a must see....Just takes you back to a simpler time and very relaxing ...Planning on many more trips there Kay Reynolds

Very disappointed, cheesy displays poorly set up and not worth the seven bucks to get in. Save yourself the trouble

This was an interesting little place. It was hot as blazes the day we visited. There was a wrinkly old man collecting the meager entrance fee (was maybe $7 or so). Then you are on your own. You walk through this old OLD house up and down stairs and all around. Not good if you can't do stairs. Around each twist and turn is a diorama with wax figurines - some have buttons that you press and you will hear a narrative of what is being depicted in each scene.