Study the “Science of Scary” at the NHM’s “Natural History of Horror” Exhibit

What do a fossilized coelacanth, the 1922 discovery of King Tut’s tomb, fear of deadly diseases such as rabies and cholera, and the electrical experiments of 19th century scientist Luigi Galvani have in common?  All of them became the basis for popular stories – and later, movies – about sea monsters, mummies, vampires, and using electricity to provide the “spark of life” to reanimate the dead.

And last week, just in time for Halloween, the Natural History Museum opened a new exhibit, “Natural History of Horror: The Science of Scary, which celebrates the science behind the widespread cultural rumors that became famous monster stories – and even more famous classic monster movies such as “The Creature from the Black Lagoon,” “Dracula,” “The Mummy,” and “Frankenstein.”

The Buzz, along with other local media outlets, was treated to a sneak peek on Thursday.

At the preview event, Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga, president and director of the NHM, explained that an exhibit about monster movies is not only right up the museum’s alley, but that the institution is “uniquely” positioned to curate the intersection of science and horror because it has been actively collecting motion picture artifacts since 1930, and was one of the very first entities to do so.

Bettison-Varga said “The Science of Scary” is a mostly “home-grown” exhibit, merging items from the museum’s own collections in film, herpetology, marine science, and more.  But it did have help from a couple of key partners.

One of the collaborators was the new Academy Museum, which will open at Wilshire and Fairfax next year, and which helped with choosing the stories and science that inspired the exhibit.  The other partner was Universal Studios, which produced many of the first, and still classic, monster movies…and which, along with the family of Universal founder Carl Laemmle, has donated items to the museum since the very beginnings of its collection, and has provided research access to the NHM over the years.

Beth Werling, manager of the NHM’s hisotry and material culture collections, noted that the museum is unique because includes cultural history, in addition to natural history, in its mission…and that it is always looking for ways to merge those two streams

Jeff Pirtle, director of archives and collections at NBC Unversal, said at last week’s event that it has been a “joy” to marry the NHM and Universal collections together in this exhibition, and that monster movies, their mythology, and their original in German expressionism, have been “woven throughout the DNA of the studio from the very beginning.”

According to Pirtl and Holly Goline, an executive responsible for developing monster films at Universal, another fascinating thread in the history of both science and horror movies, highlighted in this exhibition, is the role of women in both fields.  For example, Milicient Patrick, who designed the iconic costume for “The Creature from the Black Lagoon,” is featured prominently in the exhibit, not only as a costume designer, but as someone who did what many women had to do to survive in the industry – continually revinvent herself, working not only as a designer, but also as an animator and and actor in small roles.

Pirtl said one of the best things about monster movies, and they reason that they’re such a constant in our culture, is that they are “continually reinterpretive” — the myths stay with us, but as time goes on, new artists do new interpretations, so they never get old.

Still, for those who still love the classics, this exhibit shares your enthusiasm.  And in addition to the exhibit itself, which runs through April and is free with museum admission, there are also four “Fright Night” film screenings and panel discussions scheduled.  The first, focusing on Dracula and vampire legends, was last week, but there’s still plenty of time to catch the other three:

February 14 – “Unrequited Love with The Creature from the Black Lagoon”
March 26 – “Monster Fears with Frankenstein”
April 10 – “All Wrapped Up with The Mummy“

Natural History of Horror:  The Science of Scary
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
October 11, 2019-April 19, 2020
nhm.org/horror