The weekend tours offer some pre-Halloween thrills.
Some of the town's first settlers are buried at Longmeadow Cemetery. Graveyards can be eerie places to visit, but on Halloween they take on a whole new spookiness.
Just in time for Halloween, the Longmeadow Historical Society, Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke and South Hadley Historical Society are offering graveyard tours in advance of the creepy holiday. But these events are more educational than a night or day of terror.
“I want drama, perhaps a hint of scandal,” said Linda Abrams, curator, Longmeadow Historical Society, about the tales to be told in the Longmeadow Cemetery.
Eight stops are planned in the graveyard where visitors will be met by the “ghosts” of those buried below who will tell their stories while dressed in appropriate garb for the times.
“I’ve done a lot of research over the years on those buried in the cemetery and have written about 60 scripts which can be used and that run just barely five minutes,” Abrams said.
“We don’t want those who come back every year to hear the same tales time after time, so there will be a few new ones this year. There will be a Civil War soldier and the mother of several men killed in the war, as well as a man who ran a shop here in Longmeadow who had two ships on the Connecticut River that would travel to England and the West Indies to bring back goods for sale in his store,” she added.
The tours, which begin on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and run until about 8 p.m., take place in the cemetery behind First Church, located at 763 Longmeadow St. There is a suggested donation of $5. Although lit by lanterns, visitors might want to consider bringing along their own flashlights to light their way.
Apple cider and donuts will be served for those who make it out of the graveyard unscathed.
The graveyard madness continues in Holyoke where Wistariahurst Museum will offer its Historic Cemetery Walks on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the safe light of day or on Monday evening at 6 p.m. for braver souls.
Reservations are required for the Holyoke tours, which are $7, by calling (413) 322-5660.
The tours begin at Wistariahust, located on 238 Cabot St., where participants will then walk to Forestdale Cemetery. At the graveyard, which was established in 1862, the history of some of Holyoke’s founding families such as the Parsons, Whitings, and Skinners will be revealed.
“In addition to hearing some tales about these people, we will be looking at the carvings on some of the gravestones. For example, we’ll be stopping at one for a Mr. Oakes, who had a bit of a sense of humor and had an acorn on top of his grave,” said city historian Penni Martorell, who will be leading the tour.
She will also talk about some of the diseased that people died of back then, such as whooping cough, measles, small pox and other afflictions.
“This is more about true history in a spooky setting. But, people can easily creep themselves out while there,” laughed Martorell.
There’s also another graveyard tour in South Hadley where the South Hadley Historical Society will host a Village Cemetery Lantern Walk on Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m. Rain Date is Nov. 3.
The event, all about South Hadley’s local history, will be staffed by Pioneer Valley Performing Arts students dressed as historical men and women from town. The program is for all ages.
The cost for the tour is $5 and first responders and anyone under the age of 18 are free. A South Hadley Senior and Cadet Girl Scout Troop will be assisting the historical society by selling baked goods and hot cider. Free parking is available at the Barchgrounds on Main Street.