Learn about spooky Oswego history — if you dare

Editor's note: This story appears in the October edition of LO Monthly.

Lake Oswego residents are invited to immerse themselves in the thrills and chills of local history Saturday evening, Oct. 19 at the Oswego Heritage Council’s “A Haunting History.”

The spooky event is set to take place 6-9 p.m. at the Oswego Heritage House. Tickets are available at oswegoheritage.org/event-5863770.

At “A Haunting History,” attendees can meet the ghostly figures from Lake Oswego’s past, participate in “fear-filled” activities and learn about the culture surrounding death in Lake Oswego during the early 20th century.

This will be the heritage council’s second year hosting “A Haunting History” after Executive Director Katherine Sinor came up with the idea in 2023 as a way to combine local history with the spirit of Halloween.

“Last year we were opening an exhibit on death in early Oswego and how the community gathered around taking care of each other when that happened, and so we did a reenactment of a 19th century seance to show how it was done,” Sinor said. “This year we are pulling out part of that exhibit just for a day because it’s the spooky season, but instead of that reenactment we’re going to have the ghosts of the Heritage House come out and walk the halls and have some scenes based on local history.”

Each of the moments from Oswego history that the event will highlight are stories with some sort of spooky element. Sinor mentioned attendees will encounter a grave-robbing Oswego resident and his band of bandits from the 1890s, as well as the ill-fated subjects of a late 19th century painting the heritage council recently restored.

“We chose stories within our collection that we thought would be fitting for the season,” Sinor said. “Who doesn’t love a fun Halloween event? It will be a really interesting, engaging way to connect with local history through Halloween.”

The heritage council is also asking residents to share ghost stories of their own, which can be done at the link above.