If you suffer from pediophobia ( a fear of wench ) , you ’ll in all probability require to ward off a sojourn to theVent Haven Museumon your next misstep to northerly Kentucky . agree toSmithsonian , this oddball offer in Fort Mitchell — located less than 10 Admiralty mile from Cincinnati , Ohio — is the only museum in the creation dedicated to the fine art of ventriloquy .
Roughly 1000 dummies and puppet live inside the museum ’s four buildings , includingLamb Chop , the wind sleeve puppet made famous by ventriloquist and telly host Shari Lewis . Renowned ventriloquists like Jeff Dunham and Terry Fator have also donate some of their figures to Vent Haven . There are historic pieces , as well ; one of theoldestis a naturalistic - look papier - mâché head with glass eyes that was made in the 1820s .
This puppet paradise originally started out as the private compendium of a local man named William Shakespeare " W.S.“Berger , who was actuallynota professional ventriloquist . Rather , he was the president of a tile company ( though he was also the president of the International Brotherhood of Ventriloquists ) . Because Berger outlived his son and grandson and had no other heirs , he coif up a charitable base to ensure that his collection of ventriloquy ephemeral lived on . And thus , Vent Haven Museum was born in 1973 .
The museum has long fascinated visitors and has even been the subject of a photographybookby Matthew Rolston , titledTalking Heads : The Vent Haven Portraits . One commentator called the photos " eerily compelling , " and another said it come out as if the " dummies have soul . "
Vent Haven also lend its name to an annual internationalConVENTion(get it ? ) , which sees more than 400 ventriloquists gather for shop , roundtable discussions , and celebrity lectures . The 2019 upshot will take place July 17 - 20 at the Holiday Inn in nearby Erlanger , Kentucky .
As for the museum , visit are arranged by appointment only from May 1 to September 30 . To schedule a term of enlistment , check out the museum’swebsite .
[ h / tSmithsonian ]
