Even in the middle of summer during the Aurora Historical Society’s Fourth of July celebration, Tanner House can be a little bit spooky, long-time volunteer and current Historical Society Board of Trustees President Mary Clark Ormond said.
The house, which was donated to the Historical Society in 1936 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the backdrop for a historical perspective of death and mourning practices in the Victorian Era through its Death At The Tanner House tour for the Halloween season.
For the last five years, a “substantial crew of volunteers” re-enact “Tanner House as it might have been on the night after Mr. Tanner died back in 1892,” Ormond said.
The tour isn’t a standard haunted house that includes sounds of maniacal laughing or scary creatures jumping out armed with chain saws, she added.
More Top Picks Ratings
Utilizing one of four rotating scripts, the group uses props donated from local businesses including a coffin from Daleiden Mortuary and antique undertaking instruments loaned by Healy Chapel, which handled the burial of William Tanner back in 1892 to provide a glimpse into what could have transpired after William Tanner died.
The re-enactment shows how Victorians approached death, Ormond said. “Death was ever present.”
In Victorian times, it was commonplace for a photographer to take pictures of the deceased — sometimes propped up and surrounded by family members for a family portrait, she said.
Hair often was taken from the deceased and made into ornaments or jewelry, she said.
“It was a way to keep people close,” she said.
This really is a history lesson, Ormond said. “But it also is very atmospheric with dim lighting and draped mirrors.”
Although the Historical Society takes no official stance on whether the house is haunted, several ghost hunter groups have investigated the house and some guests claim they have seen a woman standing outside one particular bedroom looking down the stairs, Ormond added.
Tanner who passed away from a urinary tract infection and three other family members died in the home which now is the site for many of the organization’s events.
Ormond first came to Aurora 45 years ago to work as the head librarian for the Aurora Public Library. After marrying, she remained in the area raising her three children, who all attended Aurora schools.
“I find everything about the Historical Society interesting and rewarding” she said, and now the 40-plus-year member devotes much of her free time volunteering for the group.
The Aurora Historical Society operates with only two full-time and one part-time staff member, Executive Director John Jaros said.
Volunteers log in about 2,500 hours each year helping out as tour guides, archiving and cataloging materials, or helping out with special events.
Without the volunteers, he said, “We couldn’t get along.”
In existence for over 100 years, the Aurora Historical Society is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and interpreting the history of Aurora.
“The vast majority of materials in the collection have been donated over the years,” he said.
Now with the collection that numbers into tens of thousands of items, it still receives a couple of offers for new materials each week that are reviewed by a collections committee.
Having documents that extend back to the settlement period of Aurora in the 1830s, Jaros said the nonprofit continues to collect not only the past, but it also collects the present for the future.
After all, he said, “History is being made every day.”
Aurora Historical Society
What: Death Comes to the Tanner House program
When: Oct. 22, 23, 24, 29 and 30. Seatings at 6:30 and 8 p.m.
More Top Picks Best Smart Baby Monitors With Breathing Detection
How much: All tours $15; $12 for Aurora Historical Society members