Historic Mayslake Hall Announces Halloween Experience

The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, in association with First Folio Theatre, will present "Searching for Peabody's Tomb", an interactive Halloween experience, for the haunting holiday season. With show times every half hour, groups of 15-20 will join the mansion's ghostly butler as he guides you through historic Mayslake Hall, in search of the spirit of F.S. Peabody, the coal millionaire who built the mansion in 1921. Tickets are $10, with a recommended minimum age of 12. Reservations are encouraged.

Directed by Alison C. Vesely and written by Chrissie Howorth, "Searching for Peabody's Tomb" will take the audience from room to room as they encounter spirits from Mr. Peabody's family, the mansion staff, and even the specters of the Franciscan monks who inhabited the mansion for six decades.

"This is not a haunted house," says playwright Howorth, "but rather an eerie homage to both Mr. Peabody and the Franciscan monks who lived here. For decades residents of the western suburbs have tried to delve into the corners of the estate on dark evenings, in an effort to test the truth of the ghost rumors. Now they have a chance to experience the mansion for themselves at the perfect time of the year for apparitions to manifest themselves."

All performances take place in Mayslake Hall, a 39-room Tudor Revival style mansion originally built by coAl Baron Francis S. Peabody. Completed in 1921, the mansion is on the National Register of Historic Places. Mayslake Hall is located on the grounds of the Mayslake Peabody Estate, which is owned and operated by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. Located at 31st St. and Rt. 83 in Oak Brook, First Folio is easy to get to from either the East-West Tollway (I-88) or the Stevenson Expressway (I-55). Free parking is available on the grounds. First Folio Theatre is supported in part by grants from the Illinois Arts Council, a State Agency, and the DuPage Community Foundation.