Trundle Manor
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Built in 1910, this historic home is operated as a house museum bu its current owners who refer to themselves as Mr. Arm and Velda von Minx. This pair of artists pride themselves on being a little eccentric and they opened their home to public tours in 2009. On the outside, passers-by may not notice anything too unique about the home, but once they enter the roadside museum they will be surrounded by the collection of oddities that Arm and von Minx have been working on and adding to for years, including a "singing" human tumor, a jar with two deer fetuses, and many other "horrible things." The Manor can be visited during several hours of the week, including weekends and evenings during the week, though other arrangements can also be made.
Images
Sign outside Manor
The owners, Mr. Arm and Velda von Minx
Inside Trundle parlor
Wall of oddities
Turtle and chick display
Poster for "traveling creepshow"
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Trundle Manor is a vintage house museum located in Swissvale, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Built in 1910, it is now owned by an eccentric couple who go by the names Mr. Arm and Velda von Minx. The pair, who are macabre artists of sorts, opened their home to public tours in 2009.
On the outside, passers-by may not notice anything too unique about the home. It tends to blend in with the other older homes of the area, that is, until they notice the "hospital hyperbaric chamber in the weedy front yard and the barbed wire and hurricane fence enclosing the front porch." However, once they enter the roadside museum they will be surrounded by the collection of oddities that Arm and von Minx have been working on and adding to for years.
Among their collection is "Olivia's Singing Tumor," which is a real human tumor that arrived at Trundle Manor in a Tupperware bowl, and now welcomes visitors when they enter the home. Before it was ready for showcasing, though, von Minx added her artistic effects to it by placing it in a magnifying jar with mood lighting and setting it up with sound so that, with just the flip of a switch, it begins "singing" an eerie song from the band Circus Contraption. Another obscure display is that of a jar with two deer fetuses that the couple bought from an "old hillbilly farmer" not far from Swissvale. To put it simply, dead things are a large part of the couple's collection of "horrible things," as they lovingly refer to it, many of which, as with the two above, were either given to them or found among flea markets and dusty attics.
The Manor can be visited during several hours of the week, including weekends and evenings during the week, though other arrangements can also be made. Tours can be made by contacting Mr. Arm at (412) 916-5544. Generally, tours are about 45 minutes long depending on the group, which can be anywhere between 1 and 15 people. Rather than charging for tours, the couple accepts donations, which can be "money, dead things, medical devices, old cleavers, booze (not beer), or anything creepy!"
On the outside, passers-by may not notice anything too unique about the home. It tends to blend in with the other older homes of the area, that is, until they notice the "hospital hyperbaric chamber in the weedy front yard and the barbed wire and hurricane fence enclosing the front porch." However, once they enter the roadside museum they will be surrounded by the collection of oddities that Arm and von Minx have been working on and adding to for years.
Among their collection is "Olivia's Singing Tumor," which is a real human tumor that arrived at Trundle Manor in a Tupperware bowl, and now welcomes visitors when they enter the home. Before it was ready for showcasing, though, von Minx added her artistic effects to it by placing it in a magnifying jar with mood lighting and setting it up with sound so that, with just the flip of a switch, it begins "singing" an eerie song from the band Circus Contraption. Another obscure display is that of a jar with two deer fetuses that the couple bought from an "old hillbilly farmer" not far from Swissvale. To put it simply, dead things are a large part of the couple's collection of "horrible things," as they lovingly refer to it, many of which, as with the two above, were either given to them or found among flea markets and dusty attics.
The Manor can be visited during several hours of the week, including weekends and evenings during the week, though other arrangements can also be made. Tours can be made by contacting Mr. Arm at (412) 916-5544. Generally, tours are about 45 minutes long depending on the group, which can be anywhere between 1 and 15 people. Rather than charging for tours, the couple accepts donations, which can be "money, dead things, medical devices, old cleavers, booze (not beer), or anything creepy!"
Sources
“Trundle Manor - House of Oddities, Swissvale, Pennsylvania.” RoadsideAmerica.com, www.roadsideamerica.com/story/25381.