Got ghosts? Tour these haunted houses

In a place as historically rich as Morris County, historic houses — and the ghosts who haunt them — abound.

This Halloween season, the public is invited to partake of tours and presentations in some of the county’s most high-profile haunted houses.

For those who dare, there’s even a paranormal investigation.

Ghostly Revelations of the Ford Mansion

WHERE: Morristown National Historical Park, 30 Washington Place, Morristown

WHEN: 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10

COST: $20 per person

RESERVATIONS: http://morristourism.org/events/ghostly-revelations-at-the-ford-mansion

Gordon Thomas Ward, an independent and well-regarded author/lecturer and paranormal investigator, will give a 45-minute multimedia presentation in the Washington’s Headquarters Museum about what ghosts really are and review procedures for conducting credible research.

“I’ll also be talking about experiences that rangers and visitors have had,” he said.

Immediately after the presentation, visitors can join Ward at the Ford Mansion, where he will share audio evidence collected by him during the few times he has investigated the site in the past five years.

“I don’t think you can argue against the existence of ghosts,” Ward said, “but there are many possible explanations for them. You run the gamut from people’s imaginations to the other end of the spectrum — the spirit of a person who used to be alive that has a consciousness that can come back and interact with you. In between, there are lots of other explanations, too.”

The Ford Mansion is a Georgian-style home, built in the early 1770s for the family of Jacob Ford Jr., an iron manufacturer. In December 1779, his widow, Theodosia Ford, let Gen. George Washington use the home as his headquarters during the famously bitter cold winter of 1779-1780 when his troops were encamped at Jockey Hollow during the American Revolution.

Ward  also will present “Ghosts I’ve Come to Know” 1-3:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, at the Kinnelon Public Library, 132 Kinnelon Road, Kinnelon. Information/registration: 973-838-1321.

Paranormal Evening at The Frelinghuysen Mansion

WHERE: The Frelinghuysen Arboretum, 353 East Hanover Ave., Morris Township

WHEN: 7:30 p.m.- 11 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21

COST: $45 per person

INFORMATION/RESERVATIONS: Katie Humphreys at the Morris County Park Commission, khumphreys@morrisparks.net

The Island Paranormal Society, a New York-based paranoramal research group with more than 20 years of experiences, will conduct an investigation at the Frelinghuysen Mansion, a Colonial Revival-style mansion. As they do, participants in the evening will learn the techniques and tools the group uses.

The evening, led by the society’s expert staff, will explore various area in the mansion. At the end, the team will share what they’ve uncovered during previous investigations and answer questions about participants’ experiences.

The mansion was commissioned in 1891 by George G. Frelinghuysen and his wife, Sara Ballantine, who used it as a summer home. Frelinghuysen, a patent attorney, was the son of Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, secretary of state under President Chester A. Arthur. His wife was the granddaughter of the founder of P. Ballantine Brewing Co.

The couple left the mansion and surrounding farmlands, known as Whippany Farm, to their only daughter, Matilda, who bequeathed both to Morris County for use as a public arboretum.

Many Dreadful: Tales from Yesterday and Today

WHERE: Vail House at Historic Speedwell, 333 Speedwell Ave., Morristown

WHEN: 6-9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30

COST: $5 per program per person

INFORMATION/REGISTRATION: Maressa McFarlane at the Morris County Park Commission, mmcfarlane@morrisparks.net

Amid the historically accurate atmosphere of the Vail House, a costumed interpreter will entertain visitors in the parlors of the house by telling horror stories — some true, some not — from the Victorian era.

The same tales may have scared former owners Stephen Vail, and his wife, Bethiah, in their day.

In the meantime, across the hall, visitors can take in other special presentations in the dining room and the sick room, the name given the first-floor bedroom after Bethiah Vail suffered a bout with tuberculosis there.

The Vail House, originally a farmhouse, was renovated by Stephen Vail in 1841. Vail’s Speedwell Iron Works introduced many innovations in the steam engine. It manufactured parts for the first American locomotive, the Tom Thumb, built in 1830.