Sean C. Morgan
Ghosts from the past will appear in Sweet Home this month.
Drawn from Sweet Home history, various personalities will come to life in a Haunted House Ghost Tour that will focus on the old City Hall.
The historical ghosts will be joined by other scary personalities in a tour that will include other stops around town set for Oct. 18-19.
“It’s going to feature people from Sweet Home’s past,” said Chamber Manager Mackenzie Thomas. They’ll tell their stories “first-hand.”
They’ll tell those stories in their appropriate historical locations, said Shirley Austin, an event volunteer. For example, the Sweet Home Animal Clinic used to be a meat locker, and it will have a historic Sweet Home butcher and taxidermist on hand for the tour.
Colorful characters like Klondike Kate will be part of the fun, along with re-enactments of scenes taken from the pages of The New Era.
Linn Shuttle is providing transportation to the 10 stops planned at this point, Austin said.
Meanwhile, the old City Hall, 1140 12th Ave., will provide activities for children 12 and younger on the top floor, said event volunteer Angela Boyd. Admission is free, with games, candy, trick-or-treating and other fun activities.
In the basement, where the city Police Department and jail were once located, the stakes are higher. That will be a haunted house.
“Come if you dare,” Austin said, slyly.
“We’ve got jail cells we’re playing with,” Boyd added.
“If you can think of something that will scare you, it’s going to be in there,” Austin said, and everyone should keep an eye for red balloons.
Children must be at least 12 to enter, Boyd said, unless they have parent permission and are accompanied by an adult.
Thomas said the idea for the event started with discussions of ghost tours, which are popular elsewhere, particularly in the South. She and the other organizers decided Sweet Home could easily have one.
Austin ran with it, Thomas said.
“It evolved into a a haunted house when Angela stepped up and said, ‘Yeah, I can creep some stuff out.’”
Business falls off in Sweet Home in September, Boyd said, and the town needs a revenue boost in the fall.
The Haunted House Ghost Tour is an opportunity to draw people into Sweet Home, Thomas said. Not many other places are doing things like this in the area.
It also provides more to do than the downtown trick or treat and harvest festival events, Boyd said, though those will be held on Oct. 31.
And “we need more events,” Austin said.
Volunteer response has been good, Thomas said, but volunteers are still needed at the Haunted City Hall and the Haunted Ghost Tour, Boyd said. Anyone interested should contact the Chamber of Commerce.
Sponsorships also are available, Boyd said.
Families or businesses can set up space in the Haunted City Hall, and cash sponsorships are accepted, Thomas said.
The Ghost Tour runs from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 18-19. The Haunted City Hall runs from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. both days. Admission to the haunted house is $8. A ticket for the ghost tour is $10. The chamber requests those attending the tour RSVP because space is limited.
For more information, to buy tickets, to RSVP for the Ghost Tour, to volunteer or to become a sponsor, call the chamber at (541) 367-6186.