Haunted History Tours Take Place This Month At National Museum Of Civil War Medicine

There are two tours taking place this Saturday, Oct. 22nd.Frederick, Md (KM) The National Museum of Civil  War Medicine in downtown Frederick is holding its annual Haunted History Tours. There are two  scheduled for Saturday, October 22nd from 5:30 PM until 7:00 PM, and 7:00 PM until 8;30 PM. Other Haunted History Tours take place on Saturday, October 29th from 5:00 PM until 6:30 PM; and Sunday, October 30th from 5:00 PM until 6:30 PM.”The building where the National Museum of Civil War Medicine is is known as the most haunted building in Frederick,”: says John Lustrea, the Museum’s Director of Education.He says during the Civil War, the building at 48 East Patrick Street housed furniture and coffin makers. But Lustrea says one of the most notorious tenants was Dr. Richard Burr who practiced embalming. “Not a great guy. He kind of cheated s lot of grieving families out of money, would sell wooden headboards to families who couldn’t afford to have their family members embalmed and sent home to them. And after the families leave town, he would sand the wooden headboard off and resell it to people,” he says.Over the years, Lustrea says staff members at the Museum reported hearing sounds of children on the third floor when no one was in the building. They’ve also mentioned lights turning on and off by themselves, things falling off of shelves, and clocks abruptly falling off walls. “People have seen a lady in black. Sometimes people have seen her walk through walls,” he says.Lustrea says he too has experienced some unusual things happening at the Museum. “There’s one time I turned on one of the exhibit lights. And it’s one with a pretty firm on-off switch. When I came back in the room 30-seconds later, it had turned itself off, and I know no one else had been in the room,” he says.The Museum started offering haunted history tours a few years ago. “We usually used to just do them on Halloween nights. But last year, we did two different dates and both dates sold out. So we’ve expended even further,” he says. .Anyone who wants to go on the tour needs to get their tickets as soon as possible. “We’ve got about 30 spots per tour because that’s the amount of people we can comfortable fit in one room. And they pretty much always sell out,” he says.To purchase tickets, go on line to www.civilwarmed.org, or call the Museum at 301-695-1864. The cost is $30 per person; $20 per person for Museum members.Lustrea says those who go on the tour will visit all of the exhibits, and take a tour of the third floor where most of the spooky happenings have taken place at the Museum.By Kevin McManus