Front of Old Burying Ground.
WESTFIELD—The Westfield Historical Commission is once again getting ready for their successful Ghost Tours at the Old Burying Grounds in September.
This year’s Ghost Tours, which will be the sixth annual, will be occurring Sept. 29 and 30, with a rain date of Oct. 1 and, due to overwhelming demand, double the amount of tours will be offered. The event will feature actors portraying previous inhabitants of the city, along with stories about them, special effects and also renovated stones within the Old Burying Grounds. However, volunteers are still needed for the event.
“This is our big moneymaker, our big weekend,” Cindy Gaylord, chairperson for the Westfield Historical Commission, said during the commission’s meeting yesterday.
A couple of ghosts haunt the Old Burying Ground. (Photo submitted)
Tickets are still $10 each, with the recommended minimum age of guests being 8 years old but tickets will not be on sale for another 11 days, on Sept. 1 at the Westfield Athenaeum.
“We’ve already had calls for people wanting tickets,” she said.
Over the past six years, tours have been provided through the Old Burying Grounds, a roughly 350-year-old cemetery on Mechanic Street. The cemetery holds the remains of several notable figures in Westfield and regional history, including General William Sheppard and colonial American poet Reverend Edward Taylor.
Mike Knapik readies himself to make his presentation to the visitors of the annual Ghost Tours. (WNG file photo)
Gaylord said that last year the Ghost Tours raised about $5,000 for the Old Burying Ground, all of which goes back to the Old Burying Grounds.
This money could become crucial to the commission in the future, since Gaylord said that community preservation grants, which are being used to help rehabilitate and repair stones and other markers, as well as wrought-iron fencing in areas, is expected to end following the upcoming final phase of the Historical Commission’s rehabilitation project at the cemetery.
According to Gaylord, the amount of tours given this year will double, happening every half hour as opposed to every hour, which could mean more money toward the maintenance of the Old Burying Ground and the repairs needed still.
“Constant work that needs to be done,” she said.
If you would like to volunteer, which Gaylord said may include work as a “ghost,” guide or set-up of the event among other positions, email her at [email protected] for more information.
