Museum grounds haunted by hundreds of little goblins at the 7th annual Halloween Night at the Museum

(Lander, WY) – The Lander Pioneer Museum’s annual Halloween Night at the Museum drew 851 folks over Friday and Saturday nights last weekend.

Little witches, goblins, ninjas, bees, and more had a ghoulishly good time doing the spooky maze, the hayride, the marshmallow roast, listening to spooky western stories and doing Halloween crafts.

“The weather couldn’t have been better,” said Museum Director Randy Wise. “Clear and cool October evenings, perfect for a Halloween event.”

Wise noted that this year all of the Halloween events were held outside on the grounds of the Museum of the American West.

“It was great to be able to spread out and use the whole historic complex,” he said.

A huge hit was the hayrides given by Justus Jacobs from the Lander State Farm office and his team. The ride wove through the museum grounds and through the colorfully lit-up Pioneer Village.

“Sign me up for next year!” Jacobs said. “This was great. We gave hundreds of folks rides.”

Another popular attraction was the Spooky Maze in the Livery Stable. The Lander Valley High School National Honor Society students put together a fun haunted maze that wound through the livery with dark passages, spooky scenes and weird lights.

“The students worked very hard setting up and running the maze,” said Wise. “They put in a huge amount of work, and people loved it, many going through multiple times.”

There were also spooky stories told on the porches of some of the historic homes including “the Haunted Jail Cell”, about Butch Cassidy’s ghost encounter in the old Lander jail, “the Haunted Apple Orchard” and “Frankenbunny.”

The Museum would like to thank all the volunteers who came out to make the event happen.

“Without the support of the Pioneer Association, the Museum of the American West, the storytellers, and all the other volunteers who came out to help, we couldn’t do this event,” Wise said.

All money raised by Halloween Night at the Museum goes directly to the museum for displays and programs.

Up next at the Museum is the Old Fashioned Christmas Open House on December 18th. There will be live music, carols, crafts, treats, hot spiced apple cider (freshly pressed by the museum’s cider press), and holiday cheer will be abundant.

For more information call the museum at 307-332-3373 or check the Pioneer Museum Lander Wyoming Facebook page.