By Jake McMahon, Lexington Herald-Leader
In a small building tucked in a quiet Fort Mitchell neighborhood, more than 1,200 retirees have found a home.
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But they aren’t people — at least, not when they’re not on stage. They are dummies and dolls that serve as the largest collection of ventriloquism memorabilia in the world.
The Vent Haven museum in Northern Kentucky claims to be the only ventriloquism museum in the world. Open since 1973, it has grown from 500 dummies in founder William Shakespeare Berger’s collection to its current size of 1,242 dummies.
The museum was in Berger’s house until three years ago, when the collection was moved to a neighboring building. Lisa Sweasy, curator of the Vent Haven Museum, described the collection as the “Mecca of ventriloquism.”
“Every ventriloquist, whether they’re a hobbyist, amateur, paraprofessional or professional, has been here. This is their home,” Sweasy said. “There are lots of puppetry museums, but for ventriloquists, this is that narrow slice of the puppetry community where we focus strictly on ventriloquism.”
Sweasy said a common reason people visit the museum is the scare factor. She said guests are often made uneasy by the dolls’ uncanny valley effect — a phenomenon where objects become repulsive as they approach realistic, human-like features.
Lisa Sweasy, the museum curator, explains that the head is the main part off a doll during a tour on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, at Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. (Christian Kantosky/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS)
“When a face is static, like it is here, you perceive that you’re being stared at when you’re not,” Sweasy said.
That unease tends to dissipate, though, after the first exhibit, when the “brain becomes saturated of the normalcy of what you’re seeing,” Sweasy said.
The collection at Vent Haven stretches from the Civil War era to modern-day ventriloquism. Dummies used by popular modern ventriloquists like Jeff Dunham and Darci Lynne sit alongside dolls voiced by classic artists like Edgar Bergen and Paul Winchell.
Some of the older dummies in the museum, mostly in the vaudevillian era section spanning from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, portray racist stereotypes, which Sweasy said was common for ventriloquism acts of the time. Sweasy said ventriloquists often emphasized the stereotypes to showcase their “vocal gymnastics.”
The dolls take up spots in the exhibit and are viewable to guests in the museum. Sweasy said it was important for Vent Haven not to hide the history.
A wall of ventriloquial figures during a tour on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, at Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. (Christian Kantosky/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS)
“Most museum guidelines are to tell the truth about the pieces and tell them within context,” Sweasy said. “Hiding it is worse.”
Sweasy said the museum draws people of all ages, and sees people visiting the museum for many reasons. Some groups come with no knowledge of ventriloquism, and some come to reminisce on memories of watching popular ventriloquists of the past.
Along with the collection, Vent Haven hosts the annual VentCon, the International ventriloquism convention, and the Vent Haven 5k “Dummy Run.” Both events have already been held this year.
Sweasy said Vent Haven is a must see attraction because of its “uniqueness.”
“I think a lot of people like one-off attractions. You can go to an art museum in any city that you visit,” she said. “There are places in our country that are just these great little niche museums … I think we’re in that crowd.”
If you go
Vent Haven Museum
Where: 33 West Maple Ave, Fort Mitchell, KY, 41011
When: May-September, tours by appointment only
Online: https://www.venthaven.org/
©2025 Lexington Herald-Leader. Visit kentucky.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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