‘After dark’ tours at Perkins house

The Perkins House is getting in on the Halloween festivities with “after dark” tours scheduled for the last week of October, Theresa Dale, Perkins House coordinator for the Whitman County Historical Society, announced Monday.

“Since visiting hours have expanded we have a regular stream of visitors coming to the house. Many of the guests coming through are asking if we have after dark tours similar to the St. Ignatius Hospital tours and those of the historic buildings downtown,” Dale said through a press release.

The tours are booked for Oct. 27 to 31 with three tours each night. Groups will be limited to six people, and the tours will last for approximately 45 minutes.

“The house is not huge by today’s standards, and people might feel more comfortable asking questions in smaller groups,” Dale explained.

The tours will be conducted by “modern candlelight,” meaning by a flashlight. Open flames are not allowed in the house, and all the other lights will be turned off.

The tours will go from room-to-room, and participants will be able to learn about the history of the house and the people who lived there.

“They might be able to see what it was like to live in the house without electricity,” Dale noted.

She added participants will be able to decide for themselves if the house is haunted.

“I personally feel that stuff all the time in there,” said Dale. “The house has been here for 130 years. It is bound to have had something happen in it.”

The tours on Oct. 27, 30 and 31 will begin at 8 p.m. each night, with the next two tours slated on the hour, at 9 and 10 p.m. On Oct. 28 and 29, the tours will not begin until 9 p.m. because Best Western has rented the space from 5 to 8 p.m. for a murder mystery night. Those nights, the last tour will begin at 11 p.m.

Dale said she is also looking for volunteers to help with the event, as well as candy distribution on Halloween night. The trick-or-treating at the Perkins House will be at the south side front door and begin at 3 p.m. Dale said they will be handing out old-time candy.

Funds raised for the tours will benefit the house. Dale said she has been looking into proper supplies for storing and caring for old clothing at the house.

“We have a huge clothing collection, and no one has ever organized it and sorted it by era,” said Dale. “It’s a little costly to buy some of those supplies to store it correctly. I want to do it up the right way so it lasts.”

Dale hopes to decorate the house for Halloween with pumpkins, corn stalks, gourds and hay bales. She said she is looking for donated items or time to help accomplish this.

The after dark tours will cost $25 per person, and it can be paid by cash or check at the door. Reservations need to be made ahead of time by emailing or calling Dale:

[email protected]

509-397-2555