Step off the Ocean City Boardwalk into a world of the bizarre. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! features rooms filled with unusual and strange items.

The famous franchise began with a focus on sports history. Originally, the collection featured cartoon panels, photographs, and artifacts highlighting athletic feats. Founder Robert Ripley called this early exhibit “Champs and Chumps.” By late 1919, Ripley added non-sports items and renamed the attraction “Believe It or Not!”

In 1933, Ripley debuted his unusual collection at the Chicago World’s Fair under the name “Ripley’s Odditorium.” The exhibit’s massive success sparked mobile trailer shows, traveling to major fairs and expositions across the country.

Following Ripley’s death in 1949, the first permanent Odditorium opened in St. Augustine, Florida. Today, 28 Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditoriums welcome curious visitors worldwide.

The Ocean City museum pulls you in with shocking oddities like voodoo kits, historic torture devices, and authentic shrunken heads. However, the physical collection is only part of the experience. Many visitors wonder about the spirits attached to these strange items.

The building features intense paranormal activity, causing guests to feel watched in every room. Ghost hunters often capture spooky Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVPs), with disembodied voices telling them to leave or get out. Visitors also report hearing heavy footsteps approaching them from the dark.

Spooky shadow figures regularly cross the hallways, moving from one room to another.

Believe It or Not…