Halloween Spooktacular: Graveface Museum

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Graveface Museum on Factors Walk in Savannah displays artifacts tied to serial killers, cults, sideshows and the paranormal, with docents who guide visitors through the stories behind the items.

A docent is a trained guide who walks visitors through the stories behind what they are seeing.

What is on display

The museum describes itself as a docent-forward oddities and true crime museum. Items include Jim Jones sunglasses and Heaven’s Gate artifacts, including a VCR from the group’s auction. Visitors can also see Manson family pieces, an ice skate signed by Tonya Harding, personal items from Eileen Wuornos and vintage arcade pinball machines.

The museum also has displays on John Wayne Gacy, Ed Gein, Dahmer and H.H. Holmes. The museum says it has the largest collection of Gacy artwork and personal effects and the largest collection of artifacts from the Ed Gein case on public display.

The museum is mostly self-guided. Two portions are guided by staff members in a tour of 5 to 10 minutes. A free-play horror-themed pinball and arcade room is included with admission.

Docent Sophia Sutton described the museum as “a museum on the human condition.”

Age guidance

Sutton said the museum has no age restriction but gears more toward mature content. One exhibit, the G.G. Allen exhibit, is restricted to ages 18 and older.

Sutton said whether the other exhibits are appropriate for a child depends on the child. She said she usually suggests the Terror Vision Museum in Savannah for families or lighter fare.

How the museum presents its artifacts

Sutton said some people think they have been to a similar place. She said the museum focuses on how it obtained each item and why it is presenting it.

“It’s really important for us to talk about how we got that item, why we are presenting it, and what we should be using our energy to talk about when we discuss true crime cases,” Sutton said.

Sutton said the museum has its true crime artifacts because its owners, Ryan Graveface and his wife, Chloë Manon, have spent the past decade investigating unsolved aspects of the Gacy case.

John Wayne Gacy exhibit

The museum’s Gacy tour includes sensitive and mature content. Sutton said visitors are asked to wait for a guide to give them an introduction before entering the exhibit.

Sutton said Gacy was a Chicago-based serial killer convicted of murdering 33 teenage boys and young men in the 1970s. She said he was placed on death row in 1980 as the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history at the time.

Sutton said Gacy made claims of accomplices during the 14 and a half years he was incarcerated. She said those claims were ignored. She said that in 1994, his last appellate lawyer team found tangible evidence possibly corroborating accomplices. Gacy was executed May 10, 1994.

Sutton said the museum’s owners picked up the research a little over 10 years ago. She said they have been looking into additional victims, victims in other states, mishandling of the investigation and connections to trafficking rings. She said the museum’s research includes more than 10,000 tangible items and only a portion is on display.

The exhibit includes original paintings Gacy created while on death row, according to the museum. They include self-portraits as Pogo the Clown, renditions of Disney characters and portraits of other figures such as Charles Manson. Sutton said Gacy painted Pogo almost 400 times and that the paintings fill nearly every available piece of wall space in the exhibit.

Sutton said one of the museum’s more recently added pieces is a scale model of Gacy’s house at 8213 West Summerdale. She said Gacy made it in prison using popsicle sticks and cigar boxes, and that it took him three months. Sutton said Gacy made it to challenge part of a witness’s testimony, saying the witness got some details of his house wrong.

The exhibit also includes a scale replica of the crawl space from Gacy’s residence. The museum says the display includes a PDM-stamped contracting shovel recovered from the property that was used for burying victims.

Another display shows the names and faces of the victims. Sutton said it represents the 33 convictions, with five unidentified victims at the bottom. She said all five were found on Gacy’s property.

“That 33 is a big number,” Sutton said. “But to see the faces that constitute that number is really, really important.”

More information and visitor details

Sutton said the museum hopes to share a docu-series. She said its website has supplemental information, regular Q&As and live streams, an email sign-up for updates and ticket sales. She said anyone with information about the Gacy case or another case can contact the museum through the website.

The museum is located at 410 E. Factors Walk in Savannah.

Hours of operation and admission prices can be found here.