Historic Toronto building transforming into haunting theatre experience

With Halloween just on the horizon, the time is now to plan out everything for the scary season. Luckily, Toronto hosts an abundance of events that range from campy scares to genuinely frightening experiences.

If you’re looking for something in the middle, the White Mills Theatre Company’s production of Edgar Allen Poe’s Tales of the Grotesque may be the perfect place. 

The theater group will be taking over the Campbell House Museum located at Queen and University. The building is historically significant due to it holding the titile as the “oldest surviving building from the Town of York.”

In this theatrical adaptation of several works by Poe, spectators are invited to join the many characters at the fictitious House of Usher for a funeral.

The large team of actors play an array of guests, including a doctor and murderer, all the while interacting with audience members. Over the course of the production, participants will unearth the dark secrets and mysteries of each character. 

Co-directors and local Toronto creatives Shannon Hills and Brandon White aim to take audiences “on a candlelit journey into the macabre,” according to the production’s website. 

The immersive play production had a sold out run last year and has since had audiences waiting for more. For experienced audience members, the promise of “new twists” are sure to keep things fresh. 

The immersive, Halloween experience will run from Oct. 16 to Nov. 2 with productions running from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.