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Beware! Octobernight is just around the corner

Octobernight Banner
(Photo courtesy of the Monroe County Museum System).

Mysterious characters are lurking around River Raisin Territorial Park at night, and for two nights only, they’ll be out to play.

The Monroe County Museum System is presenting Octobernight, an interactive Halloween-esque event showcasing local folklore and fright, on Oct. 22-23.

The event will run from 6-10 p.m. at River Raisin Territorial Park with live music from Emily Slomovitz and Billy King. 

Tickets are only available online and won’t be sold at the event, according to the museum’s website. Tickets are $10 for people ages 13 and up. Admission for children 12 and under is free.

nain rouge drawing for octobernight
A drawing of La Nain Rouge done by a museum staff member. (Photo courtesy of the Monroe County Museum System).

“Visitors can enjoy live music with light refreshments and witness spine-tingling scenarios spaced about the dark corners of the park,” the museum’s website said. 

Octobernight is a new take on the museum’s traditional lantern tours, said JJ Przwozniak, deputy director of the Monroe County Museum System

Przwozniak is in charge of planning and executing the event.

“What we wanted to do after taking a year off because of the pandemic was look at a few things again, sculpt a few things differently and kind of give lantern tours a fresh look,” Przwozniak said. “Because of that, we decided to completely have a new name and bill it as a new event, a new experience that is pretty different from what lantern tours was in the past.”

map of octobernight event
The Octobernight Site Map. (Photo courtesy of the Monroe County Museum System).

Octobernight will be scarier than past lantern tours, so visitors should beware of haunting characters lurking in the dark, Przwozniak said.

The same things that people would’ve been scared of here in Monroe 200 years ago are what we are going to be engaging and presenting to people on Octobernight,” Przwozniak said. “These are tried and true frights and scares that we’re bringing new life into.” 

The Loup Garous Hunter and Ghost of Monguagon are just a few characters to look out for.

“The most terrifying, horrible, awful, disgusting little imp, the Nain Rouge is going to be there,” Przwozniak said. “It’s one of the most colorful, most unique, I think, and locally pertinent Halloween stories that comes from very much our own backyard.”

As for coronavirus restrictions, the museum is following the county’s guidelines, Przwozniak said. 

Przwozniak commended the museum’s staff for their collaborative efforts in utilizing different skill sets to bring Octobernight to life.

“Remaining authentic to our local history and also being creative and new and exciting, that was a fun challenge,” Przwozniak said. “We want to mark our place amidst those excellent regional attractions and just make an unforgettable experience.”

Additional information about Octobernight can be found on the museum’s website and Facebook page