Just in time for fall and the spooky season, the Ximenez-Fatio House Museum, a circa 1798 former boarding house located on the oldest street in America, will hold candlelight tours titled “Mourning and Mortality — A Century of Death.”
Tours will take place on select dates from Sept. 30 through Oct. 30 at the Ximenez-Fatio House Museum, 20 Aviles St., St. Augustine.
Enjoy a guided spooky candlelight tour through the 224-year-old historic house museum and learn about the ways that St. Augustine townsfolk of the 1800s practiced medicine and mourning rituals from Spanish-American last rites, Victorian spiritualism and Afro-Caribbean practices.
Learn how illnesses were treated with at-home remedies from the colonial garden and original 1798 kitchen. This is a family-friendly nighttime activity for anyone looking to get into the Halloween spirit.
Tours will take place every Friday and Saturday, Sept. 30-Oct. 30, at 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 per person. Tickets are available in advance. RSVP at ximenezfatiohouse.org/mortality-mourning.
A combo ticket that includes “Everyday Life” daytime museum tours and the “Mourning and Mortality” tour can be purchased for $20 per person. Details at ximenezfatiohouse.org.
In addition to the “Mourning and Mortality” tours, other Halloween activities in October will include:
- True crime author Elizabeth Randell will give a talk about “Murder in St. Augustine: The Mysterious Death of Althalia Ponsell Lindsley” at 4 p.m. Oct. 8 at the Ximenez-Fatio House Museum. The murder remains unsolved. Discover the details of the murder that took place in St. Augustine, learn about the investigation and who may have committed the crime — through research done by the author. The author will sign copies of the book, along with additional titles, “Women in White” and “Haunted St. Augustine and St. Johns County.” Call 904-829-3575 or go to ximenezfatiohouse.org
- The first-ever overnight paranormal investigations of the Ximenez-Fatio House will be offered by A Night Among Ghosts from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. on select dates in October. Reserved for ages 18 and older, this experience will include the use of ghost hunting equipment, a guide familiar with the history of this house and free roaming time throughout the property. The former boarding house has 13 documented deaths. Snacks, bottled water, sodas, coffee, midnight pizza and a light continental breakfast also are included. Tickets and details at theoddmacabre.com/category-halloween.
- A Night Among Ghosts will host a Victorian Parlor Night combined with a “Mourning and Mortality Tour” on Oct. 22. Experience the candlelight tour and then enjoy a Victorian Era Parlor Night of séance-style investigation. Details at theoddmacabre.com/category-halloween
- Trick-or-Treating for children will be available from 1-4 p.m. Oct. 29 and includes a courtyard Harvest Festival with crafts, games and a candy-apple bowl bar. Children can wear costumes and go trick-or-treating at every door of this three-story former boarding house. Admission is free. For more details, go to XimenezFatioHouseMuseum.org or call 904-829-3575.
