Entry No. 4 — the Houston file — filed under: oddities

National Museum of Funeral History

A hangar-sized shrine to death culture holding twelve hand-carved Ghanaian 'fantasy coffins' shaped like a Mercedes-Benz, a shallot, a chicken, and a lobster; a 1916 Packard 'funeral bus' built to replace multi-car processions that famously tipped over on a San Francisco hill, spilling mourners and a coffin into the street; and a glass casket a Houston funeral home bought after Disney's Snow White made the idea briefly fashionable.

The move: Walk the hearse gallery (presidential funeral vehicles for Reagan and Ford, Grace Kelly's hearse) together, then the fantasy coffin room, and end at the gift shop under the museum's own tagline — 'Any day above ground is a good one' — for skull-and-crossbones mugs.

• 📍 Greenspoint / North Houston
• 💸 $$
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: 415 Barren Springs Dr, Houston, TX 77090

Hours: Added 2026-07-19 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: nmfh.org · Atlas Obscura · Roadside America · Wikipedia

last checked: 2026-07-19