Norman Bates would have been proud of this - the spectacle at the famous Cornwall coaching inn had a lot of visitors running for the door

Twenty years ago the incredible Victorian collection of disturbing stuffed animals from Potter's Museum of Curiosities went under the hammer and hundreds turned out to bid for them at Jamaica Inn on Bodmin Moor.

Pictured are some of the gruesome tableaux and individual animals that went off to new homes in 2003, ending a spectacle at the Cornwall coaching inn that had a lot of visitors running for the door.

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The band plays on at the Guinea Pigs' Cricket Match

The man who started it all, Walter Potter with foxy friend

Kevin Moore of Jamaica Inn gets up close to the Kittens' Wedding tableau

Something doesn't add up at the Rabbits' Village School

A lamb with two heads, dating from 1887, was one of the more disturbing exhibits

Inside Potter's Museum of Curiosities at Jamaica Inn, Bolventor, Cornwall in 2003

Red squirrels enjoy a more sophisticated club atmosphere, drinking sherry and playing cards

Brown rats playing dominoes. Apparently they were all cleanly despatched by a dog called Spot

The bear that stood in the sitting room in TV's Steptoe and Son was also one of the exhibits

Cute or macabre? Stuffed kittens dressed up to the nines share a cup of tea

A baby giraffe goes under the hammer at Bonham's auction at Jamaica Inn in 2003

Athletic Toads - an example of Walter Potter's work dating from 1850

Trying on a warthog head for size

A lot number goes around the neck of a member of the congregation attending the Kitten's Wedding, which was expected to fetch in excess of £8,000 at auction

Comedian Harry Hill was at Jamaica Inn for the sale of curiosities in 2003

Cats and kittens play croquet on the lawn

Big cats on Bodmin Moor? Just stuffed exhibits from the Potter's Museum of Curiosities at Jamaica Inn

Renowned photographer David Bailey was in the crowd at the Potter's auction in 2003

Stuffed for posterity, the ferret that starred with Compo in Last of the Summer Wine

A lot number dangles from the tooth of the stuffed polar bear in the Bonham's auction in 2003

Buyers carry away a baby camel and a llama, bought at the auction of stuffed animals at Jamaica Inn in 2003