Hell's Museum at Haw Par Villa

Court two freezes the corrupt in ice. The museum's job is to explain why, calmly.

Go with a curious teenager or a visiting friend who thinks they have seen Singapore, and take the free highlight tour. Hell's Museum is the serious-minded heart of Haw Par Villa: a museum on death and the afterlife that ends in the Ten Courts of Hell, the dioramas of punishments for earthly sins that give the park its reputation. The compromises: it is not recommended for under-9s, part of it is open to the elements, and the wider park has been partly closed for maintenance since December 2025, so check the closure dates before you set out.

Haw Par Villa has always been gloriously strange. The former Tiger Balm Garden was built by brothers Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par, and the official site calls it Singapore's oldest theme park and the last of its kind in the world. Its later history is nearly as odd. The government acquired it in 1985, a 1990s attempt to add rides as Haw Par Villa Dragon World failed, and heritage consultancy Journeys took over in 2015, since hosting raves and private events, kept well away from the religious displays, to win over younger visitors.

The museum opened in October 2021, and the official site bills it as the world's first museum on death and the afterlife, exploring how different religions, cultures and civilisations have approached the end. Inside are specially commissioned videos and replicas of altars, a burial crypt, a traditional Chinese grave and a void deck funeral, the last a familiar sight to anyone who has lived in an HDB estate. There is even a coffin in a pit sized to a local cemetery plot, which is more precision than most of us want from a day out.

Then the Ten Courts. The dioramas lay out punishments in eye-watering detail: court two freezes the corrupt in ice, and other scenes involve boiling oil and impalement. The museum's job is to explain the ideas behind the gore, and it does so calmly; its chief curator told AFP the sculptures are "a visual dissection of many classics, stories and moral values".

On children: the museum doesn't recommend it for under-9s, given the explicit scenes. Older kids with a taste for the macabre are another matter, and the free highlight tours, offered several times a day on a first-come basis, are the right way in for them, with someone on hand to field the questions.

How to do it well: it is by Haw Par Villa MRT on the Circle Line. Arrive at opening or in the late afternoon, bring an umbrella and insect repellent for the open-air sections, and allow two to four hours. It is closed on Mondays and on a long list of dates in October and November 2026, so check the official site and book online before you go. Expect to leave thoughtful, a little spooked and still talking about it on the train home.

Good to know By Haw Par Villa MRT. Closed on Mondays and on a long list of dates in October and November 2026, and the wider park is partly closed for maintenance; check the official site and book online before you go. Ticket prices and child rates are in the facts box.

Hell's Museum at Haw Par Villa | Haw Par Villa, by Haw Par Villa MRT, Singapore