‘Mischief at the Mütter’ is canceled

One of Philly’s hottest Halloween parties is not happening this year.

The Mütter Museum quietly canceled its popular Halloween celebration, Mischief at the Mütter, last week. It’s the latest change to the uniquely morbid Philadelphia institution under new director Kate Quinn, who has said she wants the museum to focus more on health and well-being, not death.

The decision came after the museum held an internal meeting with staff in July to discuss the event, where officials say they sought feedback on whether Mischief at the Mütter or any Halloween-themed event was appropriate to host given recent conversations surrounding the ethical display of human remains in the collection. Anatomical specimens showcase rare diseases and unique medical history, and some believe that throwing a raucous party with circus performers in the same building was distasteful.

“We acknowledge that it’s important that the Mütter Museum reckons with some concerning collecting practices, specifically regarding the human remains in our care, and make changes focused on dignity and respect. As such, it was important to consider whether having a Halloween event in the Museum is in the spirit of that goal,” wrote Morgan Baird, interim chief operating officer of the museum’s parent organization, the College of Physicians, to staff in an email last Thursday.

Baird wrote that the group discussed “concern over public perception should Mischief not continue, the importance of hosting an annual event for the primary Mütter audience and members, and the necessary changes required should Mischief continue. The group’s consensus was that it was wise to move away from Mischief and focus attention on a new annual social event at another time of year.”

Mischief — one of the Mütter’s biggest fundraisers — will be replaced by “Marie Curie’s Radiant Ball” sometime next spring.

While the museum contends the decision was informed by staff input, one anonymous staffer who is not authorized to speak to the news media said that Baird’s email was misleading. At the July meeting, the events team informed staff of restrictions that would be in place if they chose to throw the party, like prohibiting Halloween decor featuring skulls or skeletons. “Because of that, staff decided that it was not worth doing,” said the staffer who attended the meeting.

“If we were to do a Halloween party, it would not be allowed to be called ‘Mischief,’ the museum would not be open, and it would not be allowed to have any direct affiliation with the museum,” the staffer said. “They didn’t want to say to us, ‘Mischief is canceled,’ but they effectively made it clear to us that Mischief would not be able to happen in the way that it had happened and would be unrecognizable.”

“It was just decided by staff that it’s pointless to bring it up,” said another staff member who was at the meeting and asked to remain anonymous. “‘Let’s not even have that fight, because we keep losing fights.’ Not a lot of us have a lot of fight left.”

The Mischief party began in 2014 and soon became a lucrative event where hundreds of costumed guests could sip cocktails and dance to a DJ upstairs and visit the collection downstairs. It frequently sold out. Last year, a $70 ticket earned partygoers nighttime admission to the museum along with spooky-themed bites and drinks, tarot card reading, costume contests, and access to the Benjamin Rush Medicinal Plant Garden. Circus performers including stilt walkers and a contortionist also attended, playing up the morbid curiosity factor.

For many years, the Mütter embraced its motto as “disturbingly informative,” but under Quinn, who declined to comment for this story, the museum has shifted from the macabre, tongue-in-cheek brand. Quinn has instructed staff to remove online images of human remains and is conducting an audit of the entire collection.

The vast majority of the medical history museum’s collection was obtained in the 19th and 20th centuries, which has raised concerns about unethical practices in some cases and scant documentation in others. Quinn recently said only a small percentage of anatomical specimens came from people who gave their informed and enthusiastic consent. The Mütter has announced a listening tour of town hall meetings and other events seeking feedback from the public on the future of its human remains collection.

Although the reaction to Quinn’s leadership from former Mütter staffers and museum fans has been overwhelmingly negative — 34,000 people including celebrity magician Teller signed a petition calling for her removal — the choice to move away from the circus freak show vibes of Mischief at the Mütter may be welcomed even by her critics. Some believe that the carnival-like party was distasteful and often got rowdy.

“To be honest, Mischief does need reevaluation,” said a former museum staffer who asked to remain anonymous. “People would come; they’d get very drunk. I think a re-navigation of what that event looks like would probably be a good thing.”

Mischief or not, the Mütter remains popular during Halloween season for obvious reasons. It’s unclear whether a springtime ball would garner similar attendance or replace Mischief’s profits.

“A lot of staff really enjoyed and had fun at Mischief, and certainly the public really enjoyed it over the years,” said a staffer.