World of the Unexplained

In 1972 Ripley's Entertainment Inc. opened two museums, one at Fisherman's Wharf, in San Francisco, CA and one in Gatlinburg, TN, called "Museum of Witchcraft and Magic". Ripley's had acquired the late Dr Gerald B. Garnder's collection of witchcraft items from Monique Wilson, and displayed them in the museums. In 1975, Due to pressure from the local churches and religious groups in the area, Ripley's changed the name to "World of the Unexplained" and re-outfitted them with new attractions. With the popularity of the hit television show "In Search Of", Ripley's hired Leonard Nimoy to film a short introduction to visitors at the entrance to the museums. The museums displayed not only witchcraft attractions but new ones that featured Bigfoot, flying saucers, paranormal items, the Bermuda Triangle, werewolves, and a fortune teller with a talking crystal ball. In 1985 the museums closed down for good, due to poor ticket sales. Ripleys' relocated all the attractions to other Ripley's Odditoriums around the US. Today the museum building in Gatlinburg is a Subway and a T-shirt shop. The building in San Francisco is a Ripleys' Believe It on Not Odditorium. The museums featured a magic/gift shop, which did not sell a lot of museum related merchandise except a souvenir booklet and a good luck token.