For those of you in the Alfred area who are interested in history and ghost stories, the Saxon Historian’s Annual Historic Haunts Tour is available. The Saxon Historians club (Alfred University’s history club) holds a historic haunts tour each year around Halloween time. The tour involves taking a group of people to a series of buildings, telling the history of the buildings and various ghost legends surrounding them. It combines interesting campus history and folklore in an entertaining form. The event is open to the public, is free to attend, and will have free treats and refreshments.
This year’s historic haunts tour will be on Thursday, October 27th at 7:00pm. It will begin at the King Alfred Statue on Campus.It is recommended that those who wish to attend the event show up a few minutes before 7:00 to avoid missing the tour before it departs. Also, be prepared in case it ends up raining, since there involves some walking between buildings. This year’s tour will continue with its traditional visiting spots. The tour will visit Herrick Library, Kanakadea, the CDC, and the Brick. These buildings are within a relatively short walking distance from the Alfred Statue and each other. The tour will finish with a small gathering for treats and refreshments.
On the History side of things, the tour offers some illuminating information on the history of the college, its buildings, and its people at various times. What sort of things had the key figures in the college done? How has Alfred contributed to social justice and progress? What were things like in Alfred in the civil war or the world wars? Some of that will be answered on the tour. Along with other things. What sort of odd things did our science department used to collect? Why did a local restaurant once find a skeleton at one of their tables, decades ago?
On the ghost story side of things there are a variety of tales. Featuring a variety of figures, from early college leaders, to a nurse, to a Seneca man seeking peace of mind, to two men taking a feud over a woman too far, and others. And involving all sorts of things, from the weird things the college used to collect, to the effects of disease and war, as well as other things. Though if you wish to find out the rest of the stuff, that will require going on the tour.
For those who have already been on the tour, there is still a chance to find out some new stuff. Further research has been conducted to help update the script. Also, there is still going to be plenty of the stuff from previous tours which you may have liked.
So for those who would like to learn about Alfred university history, hear ghost legends, here about their interconnection, would like some Halloween type fun, and/ or get some free treats and refreshments, the historic haunts tour is an option for you.
