The Bodmin Jail Experience 

Bodmin’s reputation is attached to a lot of dark symbolism and is entrenched in quite a depressing history - being a county town that holds the psychiatric ward, the regimental museum and the Jail. Today, as a group, we visited the “new and improved” Bodmin Jail to further explore the dark histories of the town as we move into creating a Halloween project. 

Walking through the Bodmin Jail felt unrecognisable to when I was last there. It’s now a rather large and impressive spectacle, with high tech animations, flashing lights and 4D experiences. Lots of stories were told as you walked through this pyrotechnic space and overall, the experience was remarkable. 

 

I kept finding myself thinking about how much money this must’ve costed the company to build? It definitely made me forget I was in Bodmin – as how can something this impressive be in Bodmin? 

 

Because of this, I suppose the whole experience felt a little ‘Disney’ in it’s approach to amusement, which made me feel a little uncomfortable at times? For example, we entered an experience where a hanging was re-enacted and the feeling of dropping was evoked. People exited the experience saying things like “Wow – that was really cool!” and “That was definitely the best part!”. But considering the Jail was the site of horror, torture and death - this ‘ride’ felt a little un-respectful and distasteful to all those that suffered there?  

 

Also, it often felt like the dark stories behind some of the convictions were overlooked? That they had chosen not to really dive into any of the dark histories, but instead, provided a cool haunting experience for tourists to do on a holiday. And without my over analytical hat on, this isn’t such a bad thing, as it really was an extraordinary experience that will bring money, tourism and “life” into the town. 

 

As we were walking down to the jail, we were greeted by a man who thought that “Bodmin was a shithole”. As we continue to speak and connect with the community, it seems quite apparent that people are not proud to be associated with their home town!! Therefore, it feels possible to draw a connection between Bodmin's dark and depressing history with this current dark and depressing reputation? What is this dark curse of Bodmin and is it even possible to lift it?