The terrific vampire museum in Paris

If you like the thrill you must visit the world’s only vampire museum: Le Musée des Vampires, tucked away on the outskirts of Paris. A terrifying collection that includes mummified cats and ‘anti-vampire protection kits’ will make your hairs stand on end. Musée des Vampires is tucked away in a dark, dubious alleyway near Porte des Lilas on the edge the city, far away from the typical touristic highlights. That’s because this is not your usual museum. It is a spooky private collection that only ever opens to the most daring of public when there is brave demand. The museum is nestled in a gloomy private house with a small garden in the suburb of Lilas. A haunted house, according to the owner!

The owner is a self-proclaimed ‘vampirologist’ who goes under the name of Jacques Sirgent. By day, he works as an English teacher and Bram Stoker translator, but night is when his true passion comes to life. He is an expert scholar on all things vampire, a true connaisseur whose knowledge on the subject is hard to rival. Over the years he has been passionately hoarding the creepiest of objects, acquired second-hand by the man himself from a range of mysterious sources. These sources tend to be the deepest reaches of the online web, though some items have been bargained for at Montreuil flea markets while others have even been nabbed from graveyards.

You enter the museum through a small courtyard at the back of the residence. The main room that was open to the public is a crowded, cluttered, and absolutely fascinating collection of every type of vampire-related item you can imagine: stacks of books, dozens of paintings and movie posters lining the walls, spooky fine art objects, Halloween-esque props, even a mummified cat! The room is relatively small but but so full of treasures that it takes a long time to admire all them. There are also all the autographs of all the actors who have appeared in the Dracula movies

All here is second-hand objects: vampire films posters, vampire masks, and other objects bought by Jacques Sirgent himself online or in flea markets in Paris. The museum’s most interesting pieces include an anti-vampire protection kit from the 19th century, the autographed photos of almost all the actors featuring Dracula (the most famous vampires ever!), some rare vampirology books, or really antique books where the concept of “vampire” is mentioned.