The Library Vault

Welcome to Fall! Or, as we call it at Russell Library, Secrets Season. This will be our second year of October spooky/historical tours in the library. The Secrets team has been working all summer to come up with new stories, new decorations, and a new route.

This year, the tours kick off on Friday the 13th. The tours will be a little shorter to allow for more tours every evening. Instead of four tours per night starting at 5pm and ending at 8pm, we will offer five tours each night starting at 6pm and lasting until 8:30pm. That way, we will be able to showcase the library at its spookiest: in the Fall twilight and the true dark. Thanks to the generosity of Russell’s Friends of the Library, the stacks will also abound with new spooks and tricks.

The last tours of the season will end on Friday, October 27th. October’s Full Hunter’s Moon should be visible through our stained-glass gothic windows that night. After the final tour, we will be hosting our first ever After Party, which we called Secrets After Dark. Join the Secrets of Russell Library cast and members of the Eastern Connecticut Paranormal Society for a fundraising event that kicks off at 8:30 P.M. Tickets are available now.

The Youth and Family Learning department has also been brainstorming all summer. This year, we will be offering Secrets, Jr. tours designed for kids and families. Kids will explore areas of the library not normally open to the public, and look for hidden ghosts to win prizes. The Secrets, Jr. tours run the mornings of Saturday, October 21st and Saturday, October 28th.

Sign-ups for tours will begin two weeks before each tour date through our Secrets page and Events Calendar. Two special Accessible Secrets tours will run the evening of Wednesday, October 18th. Both tours will be specially adapted for participants who need strollers, walkers, or wheelchairs. Secrets, Jr. will run at 6pm and teen-adults Secrets will run at 7pm. To sign up for the Accessible tours, please call 860-782-4722 or email us.

The Eastern Connecticut Paranormal Society will return to Russell Library on Saturday, December 9th for a presentation on their findings at Russell Library and the methods that they used that we call Spirits of Russell Library. This event will be free and open to the public. Can’t wait that long to find out more? You can listen to Russell Library’s latest podcast episode, where the Middletown Strong team interviews the Eastern Connecticut Paranormal Society for a sneak preview.