Scary tales add to farmhouse mystery

Phantom footsteps, doorknobs rattling, ghostly images, stationary objects moving and voices of mysterious children are just a small part of the rumored paranormal activity in Brigham Young's Forest Farmhouse.

And when it came time for this year's Haunted Deseret at This Is the Place Heritage Park, for the ultimate scare, the old farmhouse is being opened for the first time in years and a scary story has been written based on the reported hauntings witnessed by park employees, guests and even ghost hunters.

"It's supposed to be the most haunted house in Utah," said Michael Bennett, a professional actor who helped write the scripts and train actors for the storytelling experience for the park's Halloween event. And whether or not you believe in ghosts, "We've taken those little adventures and turned them into a great story. It's a new way of doing the haunted house — a classic ghost story."

Guided by the glow from a lantern and the faint lights of downtown, guests take a hayride through the park, stopping at three historic homes along the dark, tree-lined route. The apparition of Young's 19th wife, Ann Eliza Webb, purported to be lingering in the old farmhouse, is just one of the myths, legends or ghost stories actors tell in first-person accounts.

If anything, the 76-year-old Bennett says, "we give them an alternative to the murder and mayhem" Utahns can find in local haunted houses. There's a truly spine-tingling chill in an old-fashioned ghost tale, he said.

"We might not have told the stories as scary as they could have been told, but (the guests') minds make it much, much worse," said Curt Lytle, one of the storytellers. Lytle's deep voice, trembling laugh and story "Undertakings" (which begins: "I have an obsession with coffins") put guests on the edge of their seats during one storytelling session.

"Sometimes what we imagine is worse than what we see in a movie," said actress Debra Flink, who tells the story "The Warning," about the murder of a 19-year-old woman on her way to Salt Lake City. The eerie setting of an old home and Flink's terrified facial expressions, lit by a few candles, left guests gasping in disbelief at the end of her story.

A Young Women's group from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Winder 9th Ward found the evening entertaining. Festivities start with music from a live band, square dancing, hot cider and warm doughnuts. But once the sun begins to set, the park is transformed from a historical village into a spooky ghost town.

"It's so scary because it's possible it could be real," said Kathryn Klossner, 13. Friend Chelsea Gourley, also 13, agreed: "It's something you'll be thinking about later."

Youth leader Suzy Bierman joked she'd be checking under her bed that night. "All the stories were so different. And these are real old houses. They're creepy and fun."

The group, from Holladay, said they picked Haunted Deseret as their Halloween activity because the young women wanted to be scared.

"In spook alleys, you just expect gore and things around the corner," said youth leader Sue Perry. "This is very fun for Halloween."

Haunted Deseret continues through October, with additional storytelling sessions Oct. 24-29. They begin at 7 p.m. each night, admission is $15 and the shows are not recommended for children under 12. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 582-1847.

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E-mail: astowell@desnews.com