As Halloween approaches, representatives of Chestnut Square Historic Village are welcoming guests to experience a nighttime tour of historic houses that are said to be home to lingering spirits.
The Ghostly Hauntings tour begins with showcasing audio and video clips that include what Chestnut Square officials say is evidence of paranormal activity. Later, attendees are guided through the historic homes within the village in the dark.
Information shared on the tour, which is led by Executive Director Jim Doyle, blends claims of hauntings with lessons in the history of Chestnut Square’s homes.
The approach
When Doyle first got involved with Chestnut Square by answering an ad for a volunteer maintenance worker, he didn’t believe in the paranormal, he said. As he spent more time on the property, he started noticing things he couldn’t explain, like a heavy door being pushed open while he was working in a bathroom.
Another staff member who coordinates weddings on the property reported putting a tablecloth on a table, walking away and coming back to find the tablecloth had been removed when there was no one else in the house, Doyle said.
“If you can’t logically explain what has happened, then you start meeting the definition of paranormal,” he said.
After having more experiences he believed to be paranormal activity, he began leading a tour where guests have had haunted encounters of their own.
The tour begins with Doyle sharing audio and video clips while he explains the difference between what he believes to be real paranormal activities and fake or manipulated experiences.
He shows two videos of a swinging candelabra at the Faires House. The first video was captured by a member of TexPart Paranormal, the only paranormal investigation group allowed at Chestnut Square. In the video, the candelabra is moving gently with a slight twist and is in what Doyle calls a controlled environment with no one else in the room but the person holding the camera.
The second video was captured during a tour and shows the candelabra is moving more abruptly and without a twisting motion. He said this was an uncontrolled environment and suspected the tour guests pushed the candelabra. He went back the next week to test the theory, and when he pushed the light fixture, it moved the same way.
TexPart Paranormal is the only group allowed to investigate at Chestnut Square because they’re “very trustworthy” and “don’t fake evidence,” Doyle said.
Diving in deeper
Staff and visitors at the village have shared claims of paranormal activity in buildings on the property, some of which are more than 100 years old. Learn more about the history of the homes that guests see on the Ghostly Hauntings tour, and the accounts of paranormal experiences that have occurred within them.
Faires House
John Faires built his home in McKinney in 1854 after moving to Texas from North Carolina with his seven children, according to Chestnut Square’s website. When the home was first built, it was described in the newspaper as a “mansion,” Doyle said.
The Greek Revival-style home is the oldest home in McKinney and still has its original front door that was hand-chiseled by Faires. He lived in the home with his wife, three of his sons and several boarders. He worked as a blacksmith and operated a shop on Tennessee Street.
In addition to the swinging candelabra, individuals have noticed a door knob rattling with no one on the other side, doors closing with no explanation and shadow figures, Doyle said. He describes shadow figures as similar to a shadow puppet, but with no human body attached to it.
“We’ve had a shadow figure stand right there and I’ve had a staring contest with it,” Doyle said. “You ever have that feeling that you’re being stared at? … That’s what that was doing.”
A disembodied male voice has also been heard saying, “Leave now,” inside the Faires House, Doyle said.
Dulaney Cottage
Built in 1870, the cottage was home to Civil War surgeon Joseph Dulaney, his wife Lucy Ann Field Dulaney and their three children, according to Chestnut Square’s website. The Dulaneys’ bedroom has a closet, indicating that they were wealthy enough to have many items of clothing, Doyle said. The house also features high ceilings in an attempt to cool the house as the heat rises.
Joseph Dulaney died of pneumonia in 1877 and his wife and three children caught the illness in 1883, Doyle said. Annie Mary Dulaney, who was between 8 and 10 years old, died from pneumonia in the house and Doyle said her spirit lingers in the space.
Individuals have seen shadow figures in the house, including one running up the stairs, Doyle said. Investigators also caught audio of a tapping sound on a glass butter churn after asking Annie Mary to make a sound, he said.
In addition, Doyle said he heard a disembodied voice saying, “It’s been a good night,” in the Dulaney Cottage.
Dulaney House
John Field built the Prairie-style home in 1916 for his widowed sister Lucy Field Dulaney and her two children, Joseph and Corinne, per Chestnut Square’s website. Joseph became a pharmacist and worked in downtown McKinney at the Smith Drug Store and one of the rooms in the home is now dedicated to his career, the website states.
Visitors have reported seeing a figure dressed in white looking out the windows, hearing notes on the piano playing by themselves and doors closing on their own, Doyle said.
During the beginning of the tour, Doyle plays a recording from the Dulaney House where someone said, “Tell us your name as loud as you can,” and a disembodied female voice responded by saying, “Sarah.”
Upstairs inside a closet, a paranormal group claims there is a vortex—a portal into the dimension where the spirits live, Doyle said.
Get involved
The Ghostly Hauntings tour is offered monthly during nine months of the year with extra tours in October. Private tours are also available, Doyle said.
Attendees ages 12-17 must be accompanied by an adult, and children under 12 are not permitted, the business’s website states.
Chestnut Square also offers the Haunted Trolley tour, where guests hear spooky stories of ghostly legends in Historic Downtown McKinney. For more information, visit www.chestnutsquare.org/events-and-tours.
