LEYDEN — With Halloween drawing near, some of Leyden’s former residents will soon connect to the living not through a seance, but through the Leyden Historical Commission’s cemetery tours.
Held for the first time last year in South Cemetery on Greenfield Road, the tours involve actors and actresses who dress up like past residents. The actors and actresses then stand by their characters’ gravestones and tell their characters’ life stories, giving current residents an opportunity to learn about the town’s history through testimonials.
The event, which is called “Ghosts and Gravestones,” was so successful in 2016, attracting 105 guests, the Historical Commission decided to resurrect it for a second year. The cemetery tours will be held every half an hour from 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7.
“It’s as close to the full moon as we could get it,” Historical Commission member Thomas Foster said of “Ghosts and Gravestones.”
Last year, the $1,400 raised from the event supported the Historical Commission’s goal of raising a total of $200,000 to purchase and renovate the former blacksmith’s shop near the town center, hoping to use the building to store town artifacts. However, commission member Bob Snow said the group has since “kind of walked away from that” due to an increase in the seller’s asking price.
Instead, the Historical Commission has reached an agreement with the Leyden United Methodist Church, which is offering space for the commission to store artifacts and documents. Thus, this year’s event will support both archival digitization and preservation, and the church.
“They’re helping us out, so we want to help them out as much as possible,” Historical Commission Chairwoman Ginny Rockwood said of the church.
“We hope to raise $3,000 this year,” added commission member Marie Lovley.
Seven people have volunteered to be actors and actresses, even those who are not Leyden residents such as historic costume designer Reba-Jean Shaw-Pichette. Featured characters include Matthew Severance, a Vermont native who escaped from capture by Native Americans in 1758 and later settled in Leyden, and Harriet Severance, who was born in Leyden and kept a detailed diary illustrative of life in the 1800s.
Tours leave from the Leyden Town Hall every half an hour starting at 5 p.m. Guests will park in the town center and travel down to South Cemetery by tractor-drawn hay wagon. The tours are $10 for adults and $7 for children, and credit cards are accepted.
“Ghosts and Gravestones” includes more than simply cemetery tours. The locally produced, 1973 documentary on early farming life in the area, “Root Hog or Die,” will be screened continuously at Leyden Town Hall, where guests can enjoy refreshments, purchase T-shirts or participate in a raffle.
Children can get creative with Halloween-themed crafts at Town Hall as well, and the Historical Commission is considering screening an after-tour spooky film. Outside, the Leyden Fire Department will oversee a bonfire.
Because the Historical Commission has a new website this year at www.leydenhistory.org, those interested in signing up for a tour can now do so online.
Attendees are encouraged to bring umbrellas because the tours are held rain or shine, as well as sturdy shoes and flashlights. While registration is not required, guests are encouraged to reserve a seat on the hay wagon in advance online, by calling Ginny Rockwood at 413-774-2694 or by emailing her at wings@mtdata.com. Those interested in donating high-quality items as raffle prizes are also encouraged to contact Rockwood.