HARRISBURG, S.D. (KELO) — From creepy dolls and human heads to pet alligators, you can find all things strange at Harrisburg’s newest museum.
Abby Normal’s Museum of Strange in Harrisburg opened at the beginning of the month, giving visitors a chance to see a variety of weird and kind of creepy objects from South Dakota and across the country, and even get the chance to hold some scary animals.
Finding oddities has been a life long passion for Jason Haack and his daughter Abby. Together they have quite the collection.
“I had always collected, different man cave items, things like that, and had a big interest in taxidermy and skulls and then my collection just kind of outgrew itself. Then after a bout with bone cancer, my mentality kind of changed on things and I started seeing more of the beauty side of death and stuff like that after my little scare,” said Jason Haack, owner.
“I just think it’s cool, that’s why I think it’s fascinating,” said Abby Haack.
The two have now put all their treasures on display for the community to enjoy.
“We’ve got a variety of stuff, old medical specimens, some historical pieces, a lot of dead stuff, half a human head. We’ve got a skull of a man who was hung in Texas in 1914,” said Jason. “It’s interesting, it’s intriguing and some of it is downright creepy.
A collection they plan to continue growing.
“Just all the weird stuff we find makes me what to do it more,” said Abby.
“I love it, I have a big passion for it, traveling the country and finding this stuff is where it’s at for me,” said Jason.
Not only can you see weird and unique things at the museum, but you can also have the chance to hold an alligator.
“These guys came from a zoo that closed down in Philadelphia because of COVID, a private zoo,” said Jason. “We knew a guy that was a reptile guy and he got a hold of me because he knew I was a gator guy so we went and picked them up and gave them a good home.”
Showing visitors that creepy things can be interesting.
“They feel that it’s weird, but it’s also cool,” said Abby.
“I love when visitors have an experience here and they learn something and they see different things and just to see how they react to the items that we have,” said Aly B, museum curator, and store manager.
“Our goal is to have you go through it and then come back through it and find something that you didn’t see the first time,” said Jason.
The museum and store are open Wednesday through Saturday. Admission to the museum is $10 for adults.