beware. These objects do not come from the timid – mummified fingers, characters from cattle mermaids, and haunting dolls. Installed in collections from museums around the world, they have now appeared on social networks thanks to an online challenge from the Yorkshire Museum in the United Kingdom.

Although they may not have been open to visitors during the COVID-19 crisis, the Yorkshire Museum in the UK has challenged museums on Twitter to share the scariest items in their collections.

The Yorkshire Museum launched #curatorbattle On Friday, April 17 by tweeting to museums around the world with a picture of a bun from a Roman tomb dating from the 3rd or 4th century. Since then, dozens of institutions have participated.

this challenge will allow curators and specialists to find the most bizarre and breathtaking objects in their collections.

MUSEUMS ASSEMBLE! It's time for #CURATORBATTLE! 💥



Today's theme, chosen by you, is #CreepiestObject!



We're kicking things off with this 3rd/4th century hair bun from the burial of a #Roman lady, still with the jet pins in place…



CAN YOU BEAT IT? 💥 pic.twitter.com/ntPiXDuM6v — Yorkshire Museum (@YorkshireMuseum) April 17, 2020

The presentation of the museums in Yorkshire seems quite harmless at first glance, a hair bun from the third or fourth century until you read that it has been taken from the burial site of a Roman woman.

can you beat it?

With the challenge, “can you beat it?” The tweets began to appear with a photo of other strange objects in exhibits in museums across the country.

The items displayed online with images of strange and scary objects, including scary dolls, bizarre mermaids, and even a witch in a bottle, a skeletal body, and white hair and thin feathers, the creature looks like a crossbreed between birds and fish.

For those who dare or If you think you can stomach it, the hashtags #CuratorBattle For a more pleasant virtual museum experience, here are some world-class institutions you can tour online.

From the collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford: a sheep’s heart stuck with pins and nails and strung on a loop of cord. According to curator Dan Hicks, the object was made in South Devon around 1911 and was meant for ‘breaking evil spells’. Via @profdanhicks / Twitter

A red-eyed bear casts a soul-staring glance at the Toy Museum of Penshurst Place, a manor and garden house in Kent. ‘Feed it a 2 pence piece and it’ll pretend to drink from its cup as it stares into your soul,’ they write on Twitter. Via @Penshurst Place / Twitter

A carved pendant where one side features a dead man’s face, while the other side shows a decaying skull. It dates back to 16th century Germany. Via @AshmoleanMuseum / Twitter

Shared by the York Castle Via @YorkCastle / Twitter

A dried merman from London’s Science Museum. Via @Punk_Science / Twitter

Not quite what we imagine a mermaid to look like. Via @NatSciNMS / Twitter

The York Art Gallery was confident in its submission, writing, ‘Guys we know we have already won.’ Their creepiest object is a ceramic piece by Kerry Jameson moulded into a severed lower leg that has sprouted its own limbs and head. Via @YorkArtGallery / Twitter

Source : thenational, indy100, mentalfloss, higgypop