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It’s not every day you can venture under the well-trodden streets and rumbling railways of London to discover a labyrinth of rooms which delve into the mysteries of science, folklore and the occult. Dark Secrets is an enlightening experience featuring over 1,000 authentic artefacts and boasting the world’s largest cursed doll collection. We figured it was time to get in the spirit of the spooky season and uncover the roots of some of our favourite Halloween inspirations, read on for our review of the esoteric exhibition…
Where is the Dark Secrets exhibition located?
It’s only fitting that your journey into the unknown is secreted away in the graffiti-adorned railway arches underneath Waterloo station. I say secreted but the unique nature of The Vaults – home to immersive theatre and alternative arts – means that they are frequently bustling with visitors either snapping shots of the vibrant tunnels or looking to explore something new. You can head down to Leake Street to join the curious crowds and begin your own journey of discovery at the Dark Secrets Exhibition.
What will you find inside the exhibition?
Every step further into the shadows of Dark Secrets makes you feel like you’ve stumbled into a mysterious bunker containing all the knowledge that your standard history books forgot to mention. Inside awaits over 27 themed rooms featuring informative placards and cabinets brimming with bizarre oddities, recreations of medieval manuscripts, ritualistic tools and much more. Intriguing doesn’t even begin to cover it.
We quickly found there’s something for everyone here, with a very broad range of topics covered. Whether it’s an enduring fascination with fairies from that time you swear you saw wings flutter out your window after you lost your first tooth, a devout interest in vampires inspired by late nights reading mythical tales of bloodlust or an eternal pondering of whether the soul exists…you leave with many questions answered – but also many new musings which, you’ll quickly find, consume your everyday thoughts.
Highlights
This esoteric exhibition does a great job at awakening your inner investigator. Mermaids, ghostly apparitions and satanic rituals weren’t a common feature in my day to day thoughts but I found myself quickly sucked into this world of stories and superstitions.
I could blame the atmospheric nature, drawing you in with ominous red neon lighting and a library-like quiet only broken by the whispered discussions of other visitors, or it could be due to the wealth of information seemingly spilling from every nook and cranny. This was the embodiment of the phrase ‘you learn something new every day’. Did you know, for example, that in Romania there is a superstition that hitting animals will cause your children to become hairy (just in case you need an extra incentive not to be a bad person).
Ultimately, though, it’s the wild collection of curiosities that captured my attention – and imagination. Think a satanic altar from the personal collection of a heavy metal singer, cursed paintings of pale-faced little girls, ancient books stamped with ashen handprints and even an antique camera from the 19th century, used in an attempt to capture spirits during a seance. All weird, but pretty fascinating.
It’s easy to forget time as you wander through rooms, but the flexible nature of the exhibition means you can go entirely at your own pace and focus on your interests. The many monsters, deities and myths found in folklore had me hooked, while Freemasonry didn’t capture my imagination in quite the same way. It’s entirely subjective.
As well as folklore, personal highlights included a room exploring superstitions in sport (who knew there was a link between boxing and black magic?), a chance to become a piano-playing ghost yourself (no death required) and, surprisingly, the cursed doll room which was unsettlingly intriguing with its variety of unblinking figures said to contain everything from restless spirits to contagious sorrow…shudder. Oh, and as a film fan, of course I liked the room exploring esotericism in cinema.
I would recommend keeping an eye out for the ‘Curiosity Tales’. These are panels which can be found in each section offering a little extra tidbit of information like a surprising statistic or fact – for example you’ll find out exactly how Scotland avoids the wrath of the fairies. You might want to take notes.
Keep In Mind
As mentioned, there is a lot of information found in this sprawling exhibition and there are times when it felt a little too much to take in. Looking back, I would treat it more like a perusal pick’n’mix, aka trying not to read every single fact and letting more of the artefacts and visuals do the talking. Although, if you have the time on your hands, this is the perfect place to while away the hours on a rainy day or chilly evening.
They also keep the dark in ‘Dark Secrets’ pretty literal. This is both a highlight, as it helps create an eerie atmosphere, and in some cases, a bit of a pain. There are times I found myself having to get weirdly close to peer at the facts due to the spotlight-style lighting leaving some text in the gloom.
So, it’s pretty clear that Dark Secrets: The Esoteric Exhibition ticks the boxes on both ‘dark’ and ‘secrets’. It’s endlessly entertaining, one moment you could be examining the curious implements in a 19th century vampire hunting kit, the next you’re strolling through a gallery of giant tarot cards (I was inexplicably drawn to The Fool card, but that could be just because of the dog on it).
There’s also some shudder-inducing elements, including a calcified foetus, skeletons and a pretty gruesome recreation of a Jack The Ripper murder that may freak out the squeamish among you, but it manages to feel balanced out with some enlightening facts and figures. These also help debunk some of the more fraudulent stories we’ve heard through the grapevine. Not to mention clearing up some myths which involved some shady skeletal reconstruction.
So, while this exhibition might not be for everyone – you can leave the kids at home this time – for the curious it’s a welcome, weird and, in some cases pretty wondrous, trip down the esotericism rabbit hole.