Medieval Torture Museum — Attraction in Saint Augustine

Yesterday Me and my boyfriend (16) decided to go to the medieval torture museum during our visit to St Augustine. We walk up the stairs civilly to be greeted by 2 people behind a counter, the women asked if either of us were 18 or older and we said no kindly, then was told to “turn around and walk downstairs” bluntly. So we walk downstairs to call my parents and asked if one of them would come with us since we needed to be accompanied by an adult, which was fine I understand considering what it was. Then my mom comes and she wanted to do it with us. So we walk back upstairs about an hour after our first visit we go back upstairs and proceed to ask for tickets. Then was harshly greeted by the two workers again I promise I’m not exaggerating, me and my boyfriend are both military school cadets, I assure we were both acting responsibly. We were told what to expect when going into this museum gore, violence and whatnot. My mom was fine with it considering we are both mature young adults, and told me to pay for it. I got interrupted by the worker rudely while trying to give this place of work business and was told “we can’t take the money from her”. So my mother paid $75 roughly for the 3 of us to go. (words cannot describe the attitude in this man’s voice, I have never been so inclined to give a negative review.) We were then advised VERY harshly what to expect… again. Then was asked if we would like to listen to the audio portion of the tour, I initiated first and said to my boyfriend and my mom I think we should just walk through. Then this character of an employee said “well actually your opinion doesn’t matter here only the guardian”. Thanks for that but it was a conversation between me and my mom?.. anyways then my mom delivers my message to this guy and kindly says “no thank you”, we were then told to “not TOUCH ANYTHING even if it says interact, you cannot wander without your parent and must stay very close at all times otherwise our cameras will alert and we will escort you out. Oh by the way no freaking refunds. Etc.. keeps on babbling”. After this long list of rights taken away from me in the land of the free, the woman behind the counter joined in and said harshly aswell “this museum is expected to be an hour long”. My mom agrees and asked if we can walk around at our own pace if we wanted too, then the women joins in again and says “well I guess if you want to waste $75 dollars just to rush through it then sure”. We continued standing there awkwardly like so 🧍‍♀️🧍‍♀️🧍and continue to be berated by the employee, at this point I think my rights were ripped away from me, and none of us reacted rudely at any point during this interaction. He insisted that we heard and agreed to these things verbally with a “AM I UNDERSTOOD”. Crickets and silence fill the air (at this point I don’t know who he’s talking to cause I was told my opinion doesn’t matter in this facility) “DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR” “yes…” me and my boyfriend both respond. To be completely transparent the museum was really awesome, I really enjoyed getting to know the history but was absolutely terrified the whole time that Mr. Sassy pants would walk in and escort me out. So I literally stuck inches to my mom and at a certain point it just became a joke. After we finished the museum and didn’t get a “come by again!” Or “have a good rest of your day hope you enjoyed the experience” we decided to look through the reviews to see if we were the only people to experience this, apparently we weren’t which isn’t surprising but I was hoping they were just having a bad day. A lot of the reviews dating back years have had similar experiences, the point of this review is to kindly get across that it was not necessary to be so rude to a customer considering it is a holiday weekend and I’m giving you my money… I also noticed that while reading these reviews the responses never seem to take full accountability of the situation and instead put it on the customer. Please reanalyze the customer service at this museum, considering the fun atmosphere of...

This museum was not worth the money whatsoever. The staff there was very petty and very pushy.I loved the items they had there to buy however with the staff acting the way they where I decide not to buy anything at all which is sad because there are quite a few these I was wanting to purchase. After all these reviews I saw I was expecting great things. It states the tour takes 2 hours . More like 15 minutes. I Will never stop here again. And there was no ghost portion which we paid for. I wish I could give a zero in stars due to my experience.

Im editing this review to respond to the owner. Thanks for your consideration on this matter . There was 2 guys there the day I made this post. The gentleman at the register was the actual issue. He was very overbearing, pushy ,and very repetitive. Not only with myself and my family but others as well. A vacation expierence should not feel as though I have to tip toe . My daughter is older and was viewing the merchandise as there where things she wanted to buy she is also in highschool not a elementry or middle school kid also 6 ft tall just as tall as any adult and her mannerism are that of a adult and not a child. My wife and I where maybe within arms length of our daughter while viewing the store. The rules he stated where strictly stated to be within the torture museum. He kept pestering my wife and I and even speaking to our daughter as though she was a 5 year old kid stating that she needed to stay near her parents multiple times . I belive that is way out of line and over stepping his duties to your establishment. I almost thought about asking for a full refund but do understand that I did partake in the expierence . Weather the expierence good or not. I understand buissness is buissness so I did not request money back. But I defintly agree with your game plan . Thank you for your time and acknowledgement. And have a...

Entertaining museum that’s decently priced. The staff was friendly and the displays were creepy and gore-y, but so is medieval torture so in that way it was immersive, informative, and fun to experience. However, my boyfriend pointed out an undertone in some of the paintings decorating the walls, separate from the main attractions, as well as in some audio descriptions that put a sour tint on my experience. Most paintings are of women chained, suffering “beautifully,” and in compromising positions, disproportionately from depictions of men and certainly without the same fetishized tone. Audio descriptions also tended to describe the torture of men and women in different lights, using descriptors like “ripping her dress off” and “thrusting hard, over and over” for women where these sexually-toned descriptions were not used for men. It’s subtle, but something that I had a hard time ignoring once I noticed it. Noticing this subtlety, you could call me over sensitive to the subject, but the topic demands sensitivity. It is true that the torture of women was disproportionately sexual, I’m sure, but this distinction was not brought to light and leaves me to believe it was incidental, not intentional. Not to say female torture, even sexual, should’ve been ignored, but it can be covered educationally without a continued exploitation of these real women; to die of torture and then have it recounted in a fetishized manner screams of misogyny and disrespect. Combined with sex torture devices being sold in the gift shop, which in itself I have nothing against, one can’t help but feel that the curator of the museum has let fetish peek through. I came more for a creepy educational experience and arrived to something seemingly kinky, perhaps my misunderstanding to begin with. But something I feel should be forewarned for anyone...