Have an historic Halloween at the “Mansion After Dark” in Sacramento

September 23, 2008

Experience Sacramento’s Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park in a whole new light with the "Mansion After Dark" tour. During this "lights out" adventure, be prepared for bats, pumpkins, coffins, and Halloween ghost tales!

"Mansion After Dark" gives families a fun alternative to the usual haunted house. If gore and fright just isn’t for you, join the Mansion docents dressed in traditional Halloween costumes and listen to their tales from the past. These stories cover the period when California governors lived in the home with their families, and the ghosts that roam there. Be on the look-out for an encounter with the Invisible Man — what governor’s long-lost relative wanders the halls? The mansion will be decorated for the harvest season to complement the darkened rooms for the tours.

Come dressed as one of your most beloved historical figures, in your favorite haunting attire, or just as yourself. Have your future told by a clairvoyant or sit on hay bales in the dark as a storyteller reads from spooky children’s classics.

Beginning with Governor George Pardee and his wife Helen in 1903, the stately Governor’s Mansion served as the home of 13 California governors and their families until 1967, when then-Governor Ronald Reagan and wife Nancy became the last to live there. Now operated by California State Parks, the Governor’s Mansion is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Guided tours are offered hourly from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.