Alabama’s Unclaimed Baggage Museum features the weirdest things found in a suitcase from a goblin puppet to gas mask

Mar 31, 2023

A NEW museum has opened up featuring the strangest things left behind in lost suitcases, including a goblin puppet and a gas mask.

The Unclaimed Baggage Museum is a collection of more than 100 bizarre items that have fallen into the possession of the store bearing the same name.

The museum, which opened its doors in Scottsboro, Alabama on April 21, is an extension of the Unclaimed Baggage Center.

Established in 1970, the Unclaimed Baggage Center began when Doyle Owens, an insurance salesperson, borrowed a pickup truck and $300 and used that to purchase 100 orphaned suitcases.

The luggage was left behind by travelers on the Trailway Bus Line in Washington D.C.

Owens brought the bags back to Scottsboro where they sold within that first day.

In the more than 50 years since Owens began the Unclaimed Baggage Center, the store has grown into a 50,000-square-foot facility that works with many major airlines.

The store purchases bags that have been left for more than 90 days, as is the industry standard for unclaimed luggage.

Even though less than 0.03 percent of all checked luggage winds up being truly lost, only one-third of the items that fall into the possession of Unclaimed Baggage can be sold.

Other items get repurposed or recycled, according to the store's website.

Among the strangest finds have been live snakes, shrunken heads, a 300-year-old violin, and even a puppet used in a Jim Henson film, according to AL.com.

More than 100 items will be on display at the museum, according to Unclaimed Baggage's Public Relations Manager Sonni Hood, per Fox News Digital.

The outlet reports that Egyptian burial artifacts have even been discovered in a bag - though replicas will be on display.

Also featured at the museum are also suits of armor, a Victorian-era handheld fan, a 1980s Hermes necklace, and even a basketball autographed by Michael Jordan.

"People are endlessly curious about the variety and wonder of items discovered in unclaimed bags," said Bryan Owens, CEO of Unclaimed Baggage, in a statement per Fox News Digital.

"We’ve seen it all," he continued. "Our store is like an archeological dig, with unclaimed treasures telling stories about people and culture over time and from all parts of the world."

The museum has become a permanent addition to its Scottsboro store.