Inside Britain's darkest exhibition: A museum dedicated to true crime displays relics of some of history's most disturbing cases

From the vats of acid used by serial killer John George Haigh to dissolve his victims to Rose West's underwear, Britain's spookiest museum contains some of the most disturbing artefacts, offering a journey back to some of history's darkest moments.

The True Crime Museum in White Rock, Hastings, is a treasure trove of gruesome objects from Britain's worst crimes.

Inside, visitors can see the bath that hitman John Childs used to dismember his victims, the skull of murderer and rapist Louis Lefevre, and gallows on which criminals were hanged.

Speaking to Metro Museum curator Joel Griggs said: “This is reality, part of history. I don't think you can wrap someone in cotton wool and pretend none of this happened. There are bad people out there.”

Joel said he did not want to trivialize the terror and said that an attempt had been made to present the exhibits tastefully.

He added: “When I look at crime magazines in shops, they seem to be in a similar category to soap opera and celebrity magazines and are therefore similarly viewed as a form of entertainment.”

The acid vats of John George Haigh, commonly known as the Acid Bath Murderer, are displayed in a spooky, dimly lit cave.

He was an English serial killer who was convicted of murdering six people, although he claimed to have killed nine.

Elsewhere, visitors can see love letters sent by US serial killer Richard Ramirez to British author Ricki Thomas.

Ramirez, known as the “Night Stalker,” terrorized Californians between 1984 and 1985 and was convicted of 13 murders and a series of home invasions, mutilations and rapes.

Ricki, who has written several best-selling books about serial killers, revealed that she made contact with the killer at a low point in her life and felt a strong physical attraction to him. She described her first letter to Ramirez as “a moment of madness.”

She told Sussex Press: “He was a good-looking guy, but I never felt like I was one of his groupies.”

Over the course of the nine-month correspondence between the couple, the correspondence became increasingly personal and intimate.

The acid vats of John George Haigh, commonly known as the Acid Bath Killer, are displayed in a spooky, dimly lit cave

A model of the skull of mafia boss Carmine Galante after his fatal shooting is on display at the True Crime Museum

It now houses boxing gloves signed by Ronald and Reginald Kray, also known as the Kray twins.

“He demanded that I spray my letters with my perfume, he wrote erotic poems and drew pictures for me,” she added.

The author decided to donate the letters to the museum in 2017 to provide insight into the monster's mind.

Meanwhile, the True Crime Museum is also exhibiting a pair of large white underpants worn by murderer Rose West, which were bought at auction for £2,500.

The trousers were purchased from a former prison guard who worked at HMP Bronzefield, where West lived for four years until 2008.

Joel also has some letters exchanged between West and the former prison guard, but decided not to show them because they were “banal” and “very boring.”

Fred and Rosemary West tortured and murdered at least a dozen young British girls in Gloucestershire between 1967 and 1987, including several of their own daughters.

Death mask of an unknown woman who committed suicide by jumping into the Seine (pictured)

Elsewhere in the spooky museum, visitors can see a real deathbed with lethal injection and read about the victims and suspects linked to Jack the Ripper from 1878 to 1898.

Fred was charged with 12 counts of murder, but took his own life in prison before his trial in 1995 at the age of 53. Rose was found guilty of 10 counts of murder in November 1995 and is serving a life sentence.

Most of the artifacts were either donated to the museum or purchased by Joel at auction.

Elsewhere in the spooky museum, visitors can view a real lethal injection deathbed and read about the victims and suspects associated with Jack the Ripper from 1878 to 1898.

Boxing gloves signed by Ronald and Reginald Kray, also known as the Kray twins, can now also be found there.

Fearsome Ronnie and Reggie were active in organised crime in London's East End in the 1950s and 60s before being imprisoned separately in 1969 and then both transferred to the high security Parkhurst prison in the early 1970s.

Ronnie eventually died in Broadmoor in 1995 at the age of 62. In August 2000, Reggie was diagnosed with inoperable bladder cancer and was given only weeks to live. He died at the age of 66, shortly after being released from prison on humanitarian grounds.

In the spooky museum, visitors will also find the schedule of Ronald's funeral in Bethnal Green.