Oct. 20, 7pm.  Enjoy the evening at Charlie the Butler Ghost Party with Jared the Magician and Mentalist, at the Spooooooky Governor Sprague Mansion Museum, 1351 Cranston St., Cranston.  Don’t miss this all new review --- you will be mesmerized! Can he really read your mind ~ A Ghostly Good Time!  A Little About Jared:  An interest in magic since age of 10, Jared DuBois -- well-known RI magical entertainer and mentalist -- has honed his skills performing mind-reading curiosities that will entertain and amaze our guests. His sleight-of-hand magic with cards, coins, borrowed objects will make you wonder “How does he do that?”

Event Details: Tickets: $20 non members; $17 CHS members.  RSVP: (401) 944-9226 – Limited seating. Costumes optional—no Halloween masks. Have your future read by intriguing foretellers  for a separate fee. Age appropriate: 16 yrs.+. Accessible access/parking in back of Mansion (enter at 1353 Grand Ballroom door). Light refreshments. Checks by October 15 to Cranston Historical Society, 1351 Cranston Street, Cranston, RI 02920 (401) 944-9226. (After Oct. 15, call Charlie to make sure tickets are still available.)

About our Haunted Mansion: It has been known since the 1920s that there are mysterious “souls” residing at the Governor Sprague Mansion. Maybe it is Amasa Sprague, Gov. William Sprague’s IV father, who was murdered not far from the home just beyond the Print Works; Maybe Charlie the Butler ~ we call him ~ he took care of a very wealthy family who resided at the mansion during the Victorian era; What about Kate Chase, herself, considered the Bell of Washington, D.C. during the Civil War; Maybe it’s the Lady in Black usually looking out of the cupola windows when the moon is full; OR the little girl someone heard asking for “mama, mama”.  About Charlie the Butler: The history behind Charles at the Mansion goes back to the 1880s. He was a butler at the mansion and had two daughters. He wanted the eldest to marry the son of the wealthy owner of the mansion. Unfortunately, it saddened Charles that it never came to fruition. It is thought he is still “roaming” the mansion distraught – he thought that if the daughter married the son, he would be rich, too! In an incident with a Ouija Board in 1968, Charlie’s name was spelled out and “tell my story”.   

About Governor William Sprague and the Mansion: Located in what was once called Spragueville. The federal style Sprague Mansion (built in 1770/1864, stands as a tribute to Rhode Island’s textile history. Three generations of the Sprague family resided here. In 1808, it was from this house that the Sprague family established a calico cloth printing mill. Today, known at the Cranston Print Works, it is one of America’s oldest continuously operating textile printer. Governor William Sprague IV was Rhode Island’s 27th Governor during the Civil War, 1860-1863 and US Senator 1863-1875. He married the beautiful and politically-minded Katherine Jane Chase, daughter of Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase. He was 33 and she was 23 when they married on November 12, 1863. As a wedding gift, William gave Kate a diamond and pearl tiara valued at $50,000, and had the “Kate Chase Wedding March” waltz written for his bride.

Cranston Historical Society is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit educational and historical organization. Proceeds support 1860s Governor Sprague Mansion Museum & 1770 colonial Joy Homestead. Host your special event, meeting or tea at the historic Sprague Mansion. Now reserving for holiday gatherings! 944-9226     cranstonhistorialsociety.org