There is an ever-changing variety of special events at Hearthstone.
Please scroll below for details.
Select Your Date for Tickets
October 4
October 10
October 11
Note: Museum members are eligible for 15% rebate at the door (one rebate for a singles membership, two for a couples membership, up to four for a family membership). Please show your membership confirmation at the greeters table upon arrival. Thank you for your support of Hearthstone!
Featured Event:
Sequential Killers of the Victorian Age - Season Eight
FRIDAYS AND SATURDAY EVENINGS from OCTOBER 3 to November 1
Hearthstone’s most popular event is back and more chilling than ever in this new theatrical performance that brings you face-to-face with Victorian serial killers.
Vignettes in each room of the museum bring to life (so to speak) sequential killers - they weren’t called serial killers at the time - and their nefarious deeds. As you tour the historic mansion decorated according to Victorian mourning traditions (see below) led by Victorian police detectives, you will meet the killers and their victims, hearing their tales of maliciousness and murder. Based on the newspaper accounts of the day, the scenes tell of villains, victims, and the beginnings of our fascination with true crime.
Death was so commonplace that it permeated every aspect of Victorian life and led to a morbid fascination with the macabre and elaborate rituals to commemorate the dead. Ticket holders for Sequential Killers will be able to explore Victorian ideas on death and mourning in two special exhibits included in the ticket price.
First, the entire house is decorated according to Victorian norms including windows and mirrors draped in black, clocks stopped at the time of death of a loved one, photos overturned, and a casket on display in the parlor.
Second, prior to the tour, guests can view exhibits of Victorian memento mori (items made to remind the living of the dead) including jewelry made from the departed loved one’s hair, post-mortem photography, and other funeral items - all on loan from the remarkable Loomis Family Collection. Mourning clothing, which was highly regimented, is also on display.
Each new season brings to life a new cast of real-life murderers. This year’s production features a vignette of a killer that still lives in infamy today as well as new retellings of two other famous killers, one with a direct connection to Hearthstone.
Be a part of the show…
Guests are encouraged become part of the show by wearing their finest Victorian costumes, especially as Halloween approaches.
Performances are presented every Friday and Saturday night from October 3 to November 1 starting every twenty minutes from 6:00 pm to 8:40 pm. Tours are about 60 minutes long.
Please note:
Because of the dark subject matter, this event is for ages 13 years and older. No one 12 or under will be admitted. Minors must be accompanied by an adult.
To fully participate in the tour, guests must be able to climb a set of stairs from the lower level to the first floor and a long set of stairs to the second floor.
The parking lot fills up quickly with these tours but there is ample free parking one half block away from the museum on State Street.
Because of high demand for this event and the potential for overcrowding, all tours tickets must be purchased on-line through this website.
Tickets are for specific dates and entry times as listed on every confirmation email (please make sure that your email address is accurate when buying tickets).
Unfortunately, our ticketing system does not permit tickets to be changed or refunded after the purchase is made.
Tickets MUST be used for their stated times and dates. Unfortunately, there can be no exceptions.
Click to purchase tickets for all Friday and Saturday dates.
Additional tour dates and times may become available if tours sell out.
Horrors of the Household
October 10 AT 2:00 PM October 11 at 11:00 AM
October 17 AT 2:00 PM October 18 at 11:00 AM
Victorian homes could be deadly… as there were perils lurking in every room. Poisonous wallpaper, adulterated food, killer cosmetics, even exploding plumbing were just some of the dangers that filled gorgeous Victorian mansions like Hearthstone.
Back by popular demand, this tour, which sells out every year, is led by Hearthstone’s Executive Director George Schroeder. The 90-minute tour follows a day in the life of Henry and Cremora Rogers as they move through their home and encounter hidden dangers at every turn. The tour is alternatingly horrifying and hilarious as guests wonder aloud, “What were they thinking!?”
As a backdrop, Hearthstone will be decorated to feature many of the practices Victorians followed when they mourned as part of its Victorian Mourning exhibit.
Please note:
To fully participate in the tour, guests must be able to climb a set of stairs from the lower level to the first floor and a long set of stairs to the second floor.
The parking lot fills up quickly with these tours but there is ample free parking one half block away from the museum on State Street.
Because of high demand for this event and the potential for overcrowding, all tours tickets must be purchased on-line through this website.
Tickets are for specific dates and entry times as listed on every confirmation email (please make sure that your email address is accurate when buying tickets).
Victorian Mourning Explained
unfortunately, we have had to cancel this presentation due to illness. Ticketholders will be notified.
WE apologize for the inconvenience.
scheduled for October 16, 6:00 pm
Hearthstone Parlor
As illustrated in Hearthstone’s exhibit Victorian Death and Mourning, death was so commonplace in the Victorian Era that it permeated every aspect of Victorian life. This led to a morbid fascination with the macabre and elaborate rituals to commemorate the dead. In many ways, coping with death became an art form.
Spend an unforgettable evening with Jason and Kate Loomis as they separate fact from fiction while they discuss Victorian mourning customs, funerary traditions, Spiritualism, and their mourning collection. Their presentation will feature many of the artifacts on display at Hearthstone as well as fascinating pieces that will be available for viewing only during the presentation.
Rescheduled Featured Event:
Oktoberfest & Beyond: Thoughts on the German-American Experience in Appleton and its Meaning for Our Octoberfest
rescheduled for october 23, 6:00 pm
Hearthstone Parlor
What is the significance behind Appleton’s largest civic celebration being named after a German festival and what, if any, meaningful connections are there to the Oktoberfest in Munich?
There is a real irony that Appleton’s biggest civic celebration is named for a German festival, considering the tumultuous German-American experience in Appleton and the decades of discrimination that those of German descent faced in this city. And yet, when you compare the Munich celebration to ours here, there is actually a deeper meaning that makes it all too fitting and which Appleton can really take pride in.
Join Hearthstone’s Executive Director George Schroeder as he explores these connections and the history of Appleton as he injects some German-American themes into a community event with a German name but which is otherwise devoid of any connection to German culture and history.
The event is open to the public and free of charge. However, seating is limited. Please click below to reserve a seat.