Robert Leroy Ripley began Ripley’s Believe It or Not! after his extensive travels around the world for his comic strip also called Believe It or Not!. His strange and exciting life has led to the collection of oddities and curiosities that spurred his imagination for his comic strip and now entertain millions every year. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in St. Augustine is housed in the Castle Warden Hotel and even the building that holds the collection is curious! Many employees of Ripley’s say they hear or see the ghosts of the two women that died in a fire at the Castle Warden in April of 1944. With this interesting past the hotel was thought ideal for his also interesting collection, so a year after Ripley’s death in 1949 the hotel was bought to house his unique artifacts.

Inside the museum guests will see everything from real shrunken heads to a walk-through vortex tunnel to a wax replica of the worlds tallest man! A new exhibit has also opened, Pirtates: Predators of the Sea!, appropriate for the nation’s oldest city, St. Augustine. The interesting and the odd, the exciting and the scary, the crazy and the spooky are all on display at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum. There is also a gift shop at Ripley’s where you can buy your own oddity or curiosity!

Admission for adults is $14.99 plus tax, children 6-12 are $7.99 plus tax, seniors are $12.26 plus tax, and children under 6 are free. Tickets that include train rides and other combination packages are available at different rates; call Ripley’s for more information. So if you’re ready for the tour of a lifetime, and possibly a ghost sighting, visit the oddest place on earth, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum in the oldest city in the country, St. Augustine!