A look back at the Hebden Crypt, a horror museum that shocked and intrigued in the 1990s.
Bill Gricks started the Hebden Crypt. He sold jellied eels in East London. He loved the former trouser town. Bill moved to the Calder Valley. He bought a Coop building. It stood on Valley Road and Baker’s Street. Bill spent £300,000 on it. Today, that is around £727,000. He made it a dungeon museum. It rivaled dungeons in York and London.
The museum had 22 scenes. Some moved on their own. One scene showed Vlad the Impaler. He hammered stakes into enemies. Another showed Elizabeth Bathory. She bathed in virgins’ blood. Some say her crimes were exaggerated. Jack the Ripper had his own display.
So did Burke and Hare, the body snatchers. Sweeney Todd appeared too. One scene showed a man hanging. His insides were exposed. A werewolf head also sat there. A priest performed an exorcism nearby. A druid did a human sacrifice, too. The victim seemed to be a mannequin.
The Crypt’s opening got some attention. It even appeared in Look-in magazine. Some locals disliked the museum, though. They thought it was in bad taste. One man called it a “crude gimmick.” Bill replied. He asked what the man expected. Did he want Winnie the Pooh? Bill added the cost made it expensive.
The local clergy didn’t like it either. One reverend called it “very disappointing.” Another said it was in the wrong place.
However, people still came to visit. The Crypt had 25,000 to 30,000 visitors its first year.
One visitor said it was terrifying. She felt like she stepped into a horror film. Another visitor missed it. She enjoyed being chased by a grim reaper.
Bill and his son ran the Crypt. They tried selling it in 1991 and 1994. Visitors decreased, so it closed in 1996. Bill moved back to London. He returned to his seafood business. His son moved it to Cornwall. The building is now an art studio.