There's only one response to make the photos on these pages. Yuck!

But that's the whole point...

For the last few weeks, curators at the Yorkshire Museum have been issuing challenges on Twitter to others museums across Yorkshire.

They asked them to come up with their #dullestobject,#prettiestobject, #deadliestobject and (for Easter Weekend) #bestegg.

But it is the most recent #curatorbattle challenge, launched last Friday, which has truly gone viral.

The challenge? Bring out your 'creepiest' object.

The Yorkshire Museum opened with this photo of a 3rd/4th century hair bun from the burial of a Roman woman. The jet hairpins are still in place, you might notice.

The York Castle Museum responded with a truly grotesque photo of two figurines playing cards. Nothing creepy about that, you say - until you notice the figures are made from crab claws.York Art Gallery then countered with a sculpture of a mysterious beast by Kerry Jameson - made from a real severed leg.

Fairfax House upped the ante with a silver snuffbox once said to have contained the pubic hair of one of George IV's mistresses. And then the challenge went international...

There have been entries from Sweden (a truly horrible harp made from the dessicated body of a cat); Germany (a plague mask from the Deutsche Historiches Museum); and Nova Scotia (nameless, pickled, cloven-hoofed objects kept in a jar).

There have also been a host of scary dolls, mummified cats - and even a pincushion with children faces into which you insert the pins...

Millicent Carroll, the digital engagement officer for the York Museums Trust, said the #creepiestobject thread had now been engaged with hundreds of thousands of times, with museums from Germany, France, Canada and the USA jumping on board to show off their objects - with often horrifying results.

You can see some of the worst of them here: twitter.com/YorkshireMuseum/status/1251074717408264192 But be warned - some of them really will creep you out...

"The curator battle has been gradually building as more and more museums and the general public look at our Twitter feed every Friday to see what theme we're going to pitch," Millicent says.

"The 'Best Egg' had replies from the Hermitage in Russia and the American Museum of National History. But the creepiest object has taken it to another level!

"It is great for us and other museums to be able to still share our collections with the public when our doors are closed - we just hope we haven't given anyone any nightmares!"

The Yorkshire Museum started off the thread with that photo of a 2,000-year-old bun of real hair found in the grave of a Roman woman buried in York. The Tweet got 5,000 likes and 2,000 retweets and the Yorkshire Museum gained 1,000 followers in a weekend.

Replies have now come from the German History Museum, Oshawa Museum in Ontario, Canada, the New York Historical Society and America's first museum - the Charleston Museum, am,ongst many others.

The thread has also been popular in the UK, with museums such as the Imperial War Museum and Bank of England Museum and curators from the National History Museum, the Ashmolean Museum and many Yorkshire museums getting involved.

Joining in the #curatorbattle challenge has also enabled Fairfax House to massively increase its social media presence.

"What started out as a small competition between a handful of Yorkshire museums has expanded into an international contest with world famous institutions fighting it out to claim victory," said the museum's Rachel Wallis.

To follow the next curator battle, don't forget to check the Yorkshire Museum Twitter feed this coming Friday morning. In the meantime, the Yorkshire Museums Trust has appealed for donations to help it weather the coronavirus pandemic.

It has set up a dedicated website where you can continue to 'engage' with its collections from home: yorkmuseumstrust.org.uk/museums-from-home/

"These are unprecedented times and the indefinite closure of York Castle Museum, Yorkshire Museum, York Art Gallery and Centre of Ceramic Art, York St Mary’s and York Museum Gardens presents a major financial threat to York Museums Trust," a spokesperson said.

If you are in a position to help we would be grateful for any donation you can make. Please visit our website for more information.