With centuries of existence, countless events have taken place at Liberty Hall Museum including major life milestones of multiple families, British invasions, and even seventeen deaths that have occurred in the house. Guests and workers have made allegations regarding sightings of floating orbs, random people/spirits roaming the house and other super natural occurrences after hours.

For this reason, Liberty Hall Museum opens its doors for one night only in the Halloween season to the public to explore these haunting concepts. This year, the event took place on Friday October 23, 2015, from 5 p.m. until  9 p.m.

The event began with a small introduction to the museum, as well as a back story on the reasoning for the occasion. The introduction went into detail concerning the multiple claims of ghost sightings, as well as super natural behavior that has plagued the mansion. After the introduction, guests were escorted to a hayride around the property. The hayride succeeded to provide an escape from the hectic nature of Union City and allowed participants to further immerse themselves into the Halloween spirit of the occasion. Upon arrival, visitants were divided into multiple groups and given private tours around the 50 plus rooms, Victorian styled mansion. Tours consisted of the backstory of the families that once occupied the house, as well as all of the accusations of paranormal conduct within the confinements.

With all of the action that the house has seen throughout the years, multiple stories have surfaced regarding haunted occurrences of ghosts, ghouls and spirits. John Lestrange, tour guide of Liberty Hall Museum, retold a story pertaining to such occurrences, “A ground keeper of the estate has worked since the most recent Kean family inhabited the mansion. The man claimed to have incidents with a record player on the top floor of the house that would seemingly turn on by itself and make horrible scratching noises.” Lestrange also spoke about the sightings of previous occupant, Captain John Kean, who has been deceased for quite some time, as well as the presences of an unknown African American male roaming the house and being caught by workers peripheral vision.

Following the festivities, the tour ended on the back porch of the mansion where desserts and fresh apple cider was served. During this time, guests were encouraged to ask questions and discuss anything relative to the aforementioned ghostlike behavior, history of the Kean family and the museum as whole. Conner Granato, senior psychology major, commented on the event after attending, “I’m a huge American history buff so I always enjoy attending Liberty Hall functions. I also enjoy the Halloween season so this is right up my alley.”

 Liberty Hall Museum is a historical setting. The ground holds antiquity of America’s founding fathers and most prominent men including, but not limited to: William Livingston, Alexander Hamilton and even George Washington. The Museum previously housed numerous generations of the Kean/Livingston families, dating back to the 1700s. Liberty Hall Museums’ official website states that guests will “discover a treasure trove of American history with forgotten letters from the likes of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.”

More information regarding Liberty Hall Museum and their numerous events can be found by click here.