Courtesy of the Campbell House
This Thursday, the Campbell House Museum opens its doors for a nighttime Halloween tour of the house. It begins at 7:30 p.m. and will last about 45 minutes, making it a perfect stop for trick-or-treaters and partygoers alike.
“It's a rare opportunity to see the house opened up at night,” says Samuel Moore, assistant director of the museum. “It’s a much spookier atmosphere than when people go through during the day.”
A museum may not seem like a very creepy place, but this house saw its fair share of tragedies during the 84 years of the Campbell family’s occupancy. Robert and Virginia Campbell lived in a continuous state of mourning. Of their 13 children, only three boys, Hugh, Hazlett, and James, survived past the age of eight.
“This is a chance to explore that loss—what conditions existed that led to so many deaths, and how it affected the wealthy, respected family,” says Moore. “It can be seen in some death-inspired artwork throughout the home and we even have one of Virginia's mourning dresses on display as part of the tour.”
The family’s hardships extended beyond the loss of children, though.
“Hazlett Campbell was seriously mentally unstable, and the family kept him shuttered away in the house for most of his 80 year life. He loved birds and had an enormous birdcage on the third floor of the house. He had his favorites stuffed and mounted and they can still be found scattered throughout the house today,” Moore says. He adds, “Basically, it's a closer look at the dark parts of the Campbell story. When people come through on one of our normal tours, they hear about Robert and Virginia's wealth and their home as a popular social center, but this house has seen an enormous amount of death, despair, and darkness.”
General admission for the twilight tour is $8; children 12 & under are free. Guests are welcome to come in costume. For more information, please visit campbellhousemuseum.org.
