Long Lost Hall tours will begin at 5 p.m

All Hallows’ Eve is the day that initiates the triduum of Hallowmas, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs and all the faithful departed believers.

Scholars say All Hallows’ Eve is a Christianized feast initially influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, with possible pagan roots. Whatever its origin it is the day — Oct. 31 — the deceased are remembered. For those who aren’t remembered or whose passing was not mourned, it’s a day angry souls rise up and haunt. The portal for these ghouls’ entrance and exit — in Lincoln County, at least — has been the Long Lost Hall of Asa Wood.

So, come out to Asa Wood on Halloween to see for yourselves, and bring the children, if you think they can handle it.

What evil lurks within this Long Lost Hall? For generations, the passageways have been locked, secured on Oct. 31. Certainly, when it was an elementary school, even janitors did not work on All Hallow’s Eve. They knew better. And later, the Long Lost Hall was closed off. Permanently.

For 40 years, the Long Lost Hall of Asa Wood has been secured, sealed with those trapped between death and the hereafter locked inside.

Certainly, no one talks about the noises and voices that emanate on All Hallow’s Eve.

Rattling chains, shadowy figures and even screams have gone uninvestigated on that night.

This year, however — this All Hallow’s Eve — a brave few are willing to go behind the shuttered steel door.

Admittedly, a trip beyond is not for the faint of heart. There will be tricks and treats for those who prefer a more mundane All Hallow’s Eve.

However, for the brave hearts, this will be their only chance this year, or until next Oct. 31, to venture beyond the steel door. For when it’s closed and the ghouls rest for another year, the Lost Hall will fall silent.

An invitation to Geraldo Rivera has been extended but not accepted. They say, Rivera has another date with a second finding of Al Capone’s safe.

For those who want the experience, come dressed for cold, as that’s the way the ghosts prefer it, cold enough to see your breath. Beware, though, your breath is all you might see, for these ghouls no longer breathe.

For the young, tours will be given while there still is daylight — from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. However, after 7 p.m., when the last of the day’s sunlight has dissipated, the most-ghoulish tours begin.

The tours are free. However, the spirits request a donation of a canned good for admittance. After all, the Libby Food Pantry is just a scream away. Don’t worry, though. These ghouls don’t eat canned goods, they prefer — fresher delicacies. Consider this a fair warning: Those attempting to enter without a donation may be asked to donate blood or a body part.

Come early, for the doors will shutter at 9 p.m., just three hours before midnight, sealed for another year.

Just know the street in front of Asa Wood also will be closed to traffic, so anyone or anything who escapes can be captured before it reaches the general public. There will be “trunk or treating”  along the street for those too timid to venture down the Long Lost Hall.

 For more information, call Kaide at 291-1871 or Keith at 293-9277.