Built in 1938 by Cyril Wengert, a prominent and beloved banker, the home was occupied by The Wengert family for 29 years. And after changing hands numerous times, it was then acquired by the State Bar of Nevada and has now most recently been purchased by Zak Bagans, host and Creator behind The Travel Channels Ghost Adventures. After purchasing the property he transformed it into a Museum, a Haunted Museum.
The 11,000-square foot, 33 room mansion through the years, have accounts of hostile spirits — family members who passed away there and whose energy remains — have been rumored to roam the halls terrorizing past occupants. Some long-time Las Vegans even claim dark rituals took place in the home’s basement during the 1970s. Facts about this claim can sometimes be hard to pin down but luckily for me on my tour of the museum our tour guides were incredibly informative and did not pull punches on the details. In the early 70’s the house belonged to the family of famed Pornstar actress Jenna Jameson. To prove this true, Bagans has a copy of the Birth certificate of Jenna’s brother. On the certificate you can clearly see that the original address of the haunted museum is stated on the certificate proving the occupancy of the family. When Zak Bagans purchased the property Jenna reached out to him and revealed to him that her and her brother when they were kids on multiple occasions would sneak down into the basement and catch people donning hooded robes standing in a circle surrounding a Devils pentagram. The family moved out soon after. Jenna Jameson and her brother have never returned to the house since. Now on my visit to the Museum I went ahead and purchased the upgraded RIP pass that allowed me to experience every area on the tour, I suggest you do the same if you ever decide to visit. With this upgrade I was allowed access down into the infamous aforementioned basement so what better place to start than down into the basement
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Out of my group of 12 there was 8 of us with RIP passes which worked out so we could comfortably go in groups of 4 into small, confine spaces. When arriving at the bottom of the steps my first thought was if the stone walls and ceiling were original to the house or were they installed for the museum when Zak purchased the property, I never asked. What was added were multiple satanic ritual memorabilia. From a quite large and intimidating statue of Baphomet all the way down to candle holders with satanic symbolism hand carved onto them. At the end of the hallway you arrive in this small area that had to be maybe 10 ft by 10 ft (possibly smaller) Here you are welcomed by the unnerving sounds of a spirit box, which if you don’t know what they are is essentially a research device that uses a radio with a frequency scan mode meant to detect EVPs and communicate with spirits. Also painted in blood on the ground beneath our feet was a Devils Pentagram accompanied by a lit candle in the middle. Even though all this devilish paraphernalia has been added for effect, it did not take away from the fact that this was easily the single creepiest basement I have ever had the privilege of being in. To believe that alleged satanic activity took place down there is not a far fetch idea by any means. Other than the said creepiness and the extreme sense of claustrophobia, also was the Bela Lugosi Cursed Mirror. The guide informed us that Lugosi, who became legendary for the portrayal of Dracula, was obsessed with the occult, particularly the practice of scrying. Scrying is the practice of looking into a suitable medium, such as a crystal ball or mirror, in the hope of detecting messages from spirits or visions of the past or future. Our guide went on to claim that Lugosi used this mirror for scrying and that “he did this after his wife died, trying to contact her.” The guide mentioned that this occult practice may have opened a “portal” to the other side. She also mentioned to us that a few weeks prior to our visit a priest was a guest at the museum and once informed that this mirror was located in the basement he refused to enter. I looked deep into the mirror and did not feel anything and as of me writing this I am thankfully have not yet passed on to another dimension. Lastly, my group claimed to have heard a male voice resonating from the spirit box for a brief second. I can not confirm or deny this as I did not experience the voice.
With The Haunted Museum being much larger than I could even imagine, I can’t go into detail on my thoughts of every single nook and carnie of the building but I will share the highlights. I’ll start off with a disclaimer, if you are terrified of clowns, this may not be the right spot for you as dolls, life sized mannequins and paintings of clowns are everywhere. Speaking of dolls, Zak has obsessively collected creepy and mostly haunted dolls from all over the world. The first room you enter on the tour you are greeted by seemingly hundreds. All of which have their eyes directly on you no matter what part of the room you decide to stand on. The RIP feature of this opening room was a small walk in closet sized room that had even more demonically looking dolls in it. Our tour guide pointed out that people have been known to be pushed, scratched and even heard a female child’s voice whisper the words “Get Out” into their ears. The tour started with a bang as I thought this area was extremely creative and quite eerie at the same time. The second stop on the tour is one that stood out to me personally. I’ll explain.
A wild west, saloon vibe accentuates the second room of the tour as it holds both Wyatt Earp’s Bible and a rocking chair reserved for the Old West icon if he should happen to ever stop by again. The room also is home to an actual human skull that was found in the New Mexico desert by an Archeologist. The reason I am highlighting this room is not so much for the objects in the room, more so the way the room effected me personally. During my trip to Vegas I was smacked dab in the middle of my once a year cold snap as I have a cold for roughly 3 to 4 days then it is gone. Runny nose, fever, and headaches are the extent. Well moments after entering this Wild West room I felt a sharp pain in the pit of my stomach. Almost like someone had stabbed me in the gut. I thought about leaving the room and having a seat until it hopefully subsided but decided otherwise. Thankfully for me, after leaving this area of the museum the pain went away, as if it was never there in the first place. This is unexplainable and I found it very odd.
Next room i’d like to highlight is the self proclaimed “The Conjuring” room. This room was particularly exciting to me being that I am such a fan of Ed and Lorraine Warren and the Conjuring films. The room contained case used Rosary beads and statues of Mary Magdalene. Photos and voice recordings from the actual cases and of course The Devil’s Rocking chair that was in the room of the Exorcism of young David Glatzel, which the events of this case can be seen played out in the opening sequences of this years Conjuring part 3. After bringing the chair into the museum and setting up the exhibit it would soon be shut down. This being the first time where Zak decided to shut an exhibit down at The Haunted Museum due to multiple people being affected in connection to unexplained paranormal activity of the Devil’s Rocking Chair,” Bagans said. “Six people all shared the same disturbing, uncontrollable crying during the short time I opened the exhibit, one of them being a guest who also collapsed directly above the Devil’s Rocking Chair on the stairs.” Bagans clarified that the chair is housed directly under the set of stairs.
Some of the other stand out items burrowed inside the walls of the museum are for starters the Dybbuk Box.
A dybbuk is a malicious spirit said to able to haunt and possess the living according to Jewish mythology. The Dybbuk Box is an object that is said to house the demon containing it within. The Dybbuk Box is believed to be the world’s most haunted object. It even inspired the 2012 horror film The Possession. Since it has been on display, the museum staff and visitors have experienced black shadows, fainting, feelings of sickness, anger, anxiety and more.
The Dr. Jack Kevorkian van. has its own room as well. AKA Dr. Death who died in 2011 lived in the van for periods of his life and used vehicle to carry out over 130 assisted suicides. There are many souls that have been lost in the 1968 Volkswagen Death Machine van and the display is educational and tastefully done to mark respect to those who passed away. There was a dummy figurine display inside on the vans bed and it made my skin crawl.
Surviving the Serial killer and Ed Gein’s cauldron’s themed rooms, I would like to lastly mention another favorite section of the museum of mine. That being The Demon House room. From a very intriguing and Hauntingly good standalone documentary of the same name, the Demon House was an investigation undertaken by Zak and his team at a home in Indiana where a family claimed that numerous members of the family had been possessed by a spirit. Zak purchased the home in 2014 and immediately started in with the investigation. The local police department and even social services within the local area were convinced that the house was in some way haunted. From footsteps in the corridor to full-on body possession, the Demon House creeped Zak and the team out more than anything they have ever witnessed on their show before. After the completion of the film (I highly suggest you seek it out and watch it) the property was bulldozed entirely in 2016. Before this taking place though Zak removed pieces of it, including the staircase, dirt and other items found in the basement and brought them back to the Haunted Museum. Whether you believe in the legend or not, it is still very foreboding and sinister!
That same sentiment can be applied about the whole museum itself. In my opinion whether you believe in ghosts, demons, or the afterlife in general, it doesn’t necessarily matter. What does matter is the stories, the myths and legends passed down about the places and or items that they are attached to. That notion is the reason that I, myself are so passionate about it. The stories and the never ending debate of what if strives us all to continue checking this stuff out and getting so damn geeked out about it all.
I see myself eventually heading back through the Haunted Museums threshold once again at some point due to the fact that I know i’ve had to miss a lot due to its scale. Plus they frequently hold flash light tours at night in the pitch dark which sounds gnarly as hell!
I’m aware that when most people hear Las Vegas they think of gambling, drinking, and partying but next time you’re there and you want to experience something a little different I strongly recommend you checking the place out. It’s surely a place you will never soon forget. That’s if you have the guts to go in.
By Hugh Patrick
Terrified State 