A scary rundown of town’s Halloween events

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

What is likely the scariest collection of ghoulish, haunted events the town has ever seen is on tap for Halloween 2025.

The early response to the newest Halloween event, called Eerie Encounters, has been overwhelming. This event is essentially the town’s first-ever guided ghost tour. Naomi Dube, Downtown Tillsonburg BIA Marketing coordinator, came up with the concept, seeing many towns have a ghost tour.

“Tillsonburg has a lot of ghost stories so why aren’t we doing this,” she said of her original idea.

Dube, who is the daughter of former Rolph Street Public School teacher Dan Dube, said her father and other teachers had “spooky encounters” in the school. This was the start of her research. She quickly added other locations such as Seven Gables, Station Arts Centre, and the Copper Mug building.

Dube had assistance from historical writer Jason Pankratz and started working with paranormal investigator Sarah Kennedy, who was originally from Delhi.

“When she saw this opportunity was there, she was excited,” Dube said. “She has done her own investigating in these buildings, so it’s kind of cool she has her own stories to share.”

Kennedy will lead tours on Oct. 23, 24, and 25. Dube described the tour as a mixture of ghost stories, local legends, history, and tales of secret societies. The concept is so popular, it’s already sold out.

A bigger haunt

The haunted house in the Tillsonburg Town Centre is going to be the largest to date.

“This is our biggest haunt yet,” said Vanessa Fortner, events and marketing coordinator for the BIA.

Last year’s haunted house was on the main floor of the Tillsonburg Town Centre. This year, it’s moving to the second floor into a space that’s three times larger.

The haunted house is a team effort from Scott Foster and Bruce Bennett of Coffin Man Inc., Chip Barkhouse and Mike Bolt. In addition, Stacy Hantz donates many of the props, and several local businesses contribute supplies, while the Tillsonburg Town Centre donates the space.

Admission is a donation to the food bank or $2. The haunted house will run on Thursday, Oct. 23, and Friday, Oct. 24. On Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m., the haunted house will have its scariness scaled back for younger ghosts and goblins, but the full scare will be on from 5 to 9:30 p.m.

For witches and more

Witches Night Out last year was an event at the Station Arts Centre with vendors tailored to the night. However, Fortner said the event has taken “a wicked turn” this year and will now include the entire downtown area.

“Whether than bringing in businesses from outside of town we wanted to support businesses within the BIA zone,” she explained.

And, to be more inclusive to other scary creatures, it’s being opened up to other terrifying creatures.

“We’re advertising it as witches and warlocks, ghouls and goblins to bring everyone downtown,” she explained.

The event will feature late-night shopping in downtown with one of the locations featuring a potions bar, another bringing in a tarot card reader, and many restaurants offering drinks with a

Halloween twist.

Downtown Spooky Town for trick or treaters

The continuation of this event from 2 to 5 p.m. will welcome families and young trick-or-treaters to the mall, where they can go store to store collecting goodies. A costume contest with online voting will take place in the mall, and participants can opt to purchase a photograph for a fee. Apple cider and pumpkin carving are also part of the event.

Overall, Halloween will have a larger presence in downtown Tillsonburg this year.

“With this being the third year, we have a record number of participants in all events,” Fortner said. “It shows what we can accomplish when we all work together.”