The Last Haunting At Kirkside

Kirkside Project Executive Director Peg Ellsworth gives opening instructions to a tour group at the Lifting the Veil The Last Haunting of Kirkside event.

By Mary A. Crisafulli

ROXBURY - Before renovations begin, the Kirkside team is letting guests tour the upstairs of the estate. Not just an ordinary tour, though, this is The Last Haunting of Kirkside. A spooky Halloween-inspired peek at the historical structure.

Guests are invited to take the role of paranormal investigators. In your small tour group, you're handed a flashlight - which is greatly needed - an EMF (electromagnetic field) reader, and, if you choose, some holy water for protection. Our group did splash some holy water in the face of one of the dedicated "scarers," which I now feel guilty about, but she never broke character.

Although the late 1800s style mansion is historical enough to have an eerie feel, the team did a great job of playing into its spooky side. The first room on the tour is the bedroom of the former owner and heiress, Helen Gould Shepard, who lived there in the late 1890s. The room is said to have recorded paranormal activity. A few years ago, two paranormal investigators explored the home, explained Peg Ellsworth, Kirkside Project executive director. All doors were locked, so no one could come inside but the investigators. It was in Shepard's bedroom that they recorded a women asking for help, Ellsworth said. So the tour starts off with that creepy tale, and you are left to investigate on your own from there. I can't give away too many details as it might ruin the scare for attendees, but I will say this is a fantastic tour for those young teens or even a date night. My partner and I took the tour, enjoyed a drink at the end, and had dinner out. It was a fun way to spend the evening and stay local.

If you are unfamiliar with the estate, the original farmhouse was erected in 1857 and expanded into a mansion by Shepard in the 1890s. The Kirkside Project is working to transform the space into a hotel and restaurant. Once developed, the project goal is to offer training and educational opportunities for BOCES graduates or other graduates in the hospitality field. Proceeds from events like this Haunting are being used towards the project.

More Hauntings are scheduled for Friday, Oct. 24, Saturday, Oct. 25, and Halloween night, Friday, Oct. 31. For more information on the Kirkside Project or to purchase Haunting tickets, visit innatkirkside.org.