October Ghost Tour at Ventfort Hall

Print Story | Email Story
LENOX, Mass. — Join Robert Oakes, author of "Ghosts of the Berkshires," who will lead tours through the rooms and halls of the historic estate sharing tales of its alleged hauntings.
 
The tour will take place at 7 pm on Saturday, Oct. 26. 
 
This is not an active investigation.
 
Admission is $30 and minimum age to attend is age 12. Reservations are strongly recommended as tickets are limited. Walk-ins accommodated as space allows. For reservations, visit  https://gildedage.org/pages/calendar or call 413-637-3206. Note that all tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Payment is required to make a reservation for an event.
 
Robert Oakes is an author, teacher, storyteller, and performing songwriter. He has written three books, "The Ghostly Tales of the Berkshires" (2023), "Ghosts of Northwestern New Jersey" (2022), and "Ghosts of the Berkshires" (2020), all published by Arcadia Publishing. 
 
Since 2010, Robert has led ghost storytelling experiences at historic locations in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, including Ventfort Hall and Edith Wharton's The Mount. He has also given talks and readings and led a writing workshop at Arrowhead, home of Herman Melville. 
 
He has appeared on Syfy's Ghost Hunters, Jeff Belanger's New England Legends series on PBS, and The Apple Seed show on BYUradio and has been featured in The Boston Globe, The Berkshire Eagle, and numerous other media outlets. 
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Dalton Fire District Voters OK Annual Meeting Articles

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — Voters approved all articles but one on the warrant at the annual Fire District meeting on Tuesday night at the Stationery Factory.
 
Some 48 voters attended the meeting, which lasted an hour and 40 minutes, to vote on several articles that make up a total budget of $3,663,081. 
 
However, that amount was reduced to $3,660,581 after voters decided the town would assume responsibility for funding the required 50 percent match for a state Department of Conservation and Recreation grant.
 
If approved, the grant covers forest fighting in fiscal year 2027. The Fire District and the town are separate governing entities, and under state law, responsibility for funding the Forest Warden position and all related expenses falls to the town.
 
Historically, the district has included a $2,500 article to fund the match, but this year the request was "tabled." However, because articles at annual meetings cannot formally be tabled, the action effectively resulted in the request failing.
 
"The Forest Warden budget does provide enough money to supply. I believe it's $3,900 … within the budget to cover that amount of money," the town's Finance Committee chair  William Drosehn said. 
 
Drosehn, who also moderated the annual meeting, clarified before making the comment that he was speaking in his capacity as finance chair.
 
View Full Story

More Lenox Stories