Published: October 13, 2009 12:40 am      

EVENTS: Scaring ourselves silly

Halloween isn’t like the other holidays.

It’s not about goodness and light. It’s not about beauty and hope. It’s about scaring the daylights out of ourselves. In a good way.

Drive down any street in any neighborhood during October and it’s easy to see that Americans have taken to the darkest of our holidays with increasing enthusiasm, similar to the holiday spirit that is unpacked mid-November for the Christmas season.

Instead of twinkling little lights that look a little like Heaven, there are orange and black lights everywhere and lawns sporting fake gravestones and giant spiders, making everything look a little like — the place that is definitely not Heaven.

Halloween is not just a children’s holiday. It seems that many adults celebrate Halloween with the greatest enthusiasm, offering up a wide variety of creative and creepy ways to celebrate a day that was born centuries ago to pay tribute to the dead.

It’s no different in the Niagara region where a number of events are being planned to delight, amaze and even put a little scare in people who have an interest in those who have come before.

Here’s a look at some of the happenings taking place during the Halloween season.



Raise Your Spirits

The Niagara Arts and Cultural Center

Oct. 24

Costumed guides dressed as famous and infamous Niagara Falls personalities will entertain visitors at a wine and cheese reception at the E.B. Green-designed mausoleum at the Oakwood Cemetery on Portage Road as part of an unusual fundraiser being held by the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center.

The event, hosted by the costumed spirits including Annie Edson Taylor and Lavinia Porter, is called “Raise Your Spirits.” The pair will be among the dozen or so people describing their adventures and their lives in Niagara Falls.

“People will learn about the marvelous history of Niagara Falls in a fun way,” said Kathie Kudela, director of the NACC.

The mausoleum reception will be followed at the NACC with a meal at the city’s longest dinner table, featuring one large table for 100 or so guests extending down the hallway at the NACC.

The food will be provided by The Catering Crew of Carolyn’s House, and include a harvest theme with stuffed pork, cranberry and turkey. Afterwards there will be a paranormal presentation in the Grand Theater.

There are 120 tickets available for $50 each. They can be purchased through the NACC by calling 282-7530 or at thenacc.org. Proceeds will benefit the NACC and efforts to restore the mausoleum.



Marble Orchard Ghost Walks

7 p.m. Saturdays through October

Village of Lewiston

A troupe of costumed personalities also lead tours during the Marble Orchard Ghost Walks every Saturday night in the little village.

The tours are led by nine volunteer actors, including Eva Nicklas who has been playing Sally Barton Tryon for about 15 years.

Tryon, whose father built the Frontier House, was a woman who was known to speak her mind.

“Sally is my alter ego,” Nicklas said. “I play her kind of as myself. A little gossipy a little flirtatious, a little irreverent.”

“I met her family a few years ago, I was really nervous about it,” Nicklas said. “They all came up after the show and said, ‘thank you, that’s just the way we thought she was.’ ”

Nicklas said all the actors give of their time to portray characters they’ve come to really enjoy and appreciate.

The one-and-a-half hour tours include details of tragedy, crime, mayhem and murder.

Tour takers are led through the village’s Historic District and to the Village Cemetery. The tours begin at the Lewiston Courtyard, 476 Center St. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children 12 and under. Rain or shine. 





Ghost Walks

7 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays

Throughout October

Village of Lewiston

Mason Winfield, a supernatural historian, is offering ghostwalks Wednesday and Friday through Halloween in the Village of Lewiston.

The walks, which begin at the Little Chocolate House on Center Street, are featuring the War of 1812, bringing events to life including an early morning skirmish where about 900 Native Americans invaders were fought off by a handful of valiant villagers who tried to hold them off while families tried to escape.

“I introduce it as the spot where dozens held off hundreds,” said Winfield, who has written a number of books on ghost stories throughout Western New York, including his most recent book called the “Ghosts of 1812.”

Winfield is a noted area “ghost hunter,” who runs tours throughout the region but finds he’s busiest during October. “I’m like a restaurateur or retailer at Christmas,” he joked. “When you’re in the ghost business Halloween is your Christmas.”

“My job is not to change or confirm people's beliefs about ghosts. My job is preservation: History, architecture, culture. If I get people out there talking about these subjects, I am succeeding,” he said. 

The tours are $10 for adults, $5 for children between 7 and 10, and free for children 6 and under.

For further information visit masonwinfield.com.





Haunted Post

VFW Post 54

Main Street, Niagara Falls

5-9 p.m. Oct. 29-30

For the second year in a row this benefit for the Niagara Falls Junior Military League Cadets will feature ghoulish creatures of darkness hiding throughout a decorated VFW post.

The cadets and volunteers dress up like ghosts and witches and move among fog to scare visitors.

“Last year’s event was awesome, I really had a good time,” said Christopher DiDonna, commanding officer of the cadets. “We spent about $500 on candy.”

The event is directed at kids who might typically go trick or treating, said DiDonna, adding that it is up to parents discretion as to whether a child might be old enough to understand the event is all in good fun.

“We wanted to provide the kids with a safe place for a couple of nights,” he said.

There will be a $2 donation requested at the door.

For more information call DiDonna at 990-5753.