Every year, during a weekend in October, a little library branch in a rural Northern Kentucky town becomes the county’s haunted hot spot. This year will be no exception.
The Haunted Library will open to the public at the Kenton County Public Library’s Independence branch on Friday, October 21, and Saturday, October 22 from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The event is free to attend. This is the first time the Haunted Library is being held in person since 2019 due to the pandemic.
This year’s theme is Escape from Siesta Calavera where a once thriving wildlife sanctuary is suddenly closed to the public. Visitors should be on the lookout for abnormal creature sightings and missing scientists during their tour.
This year staff has also added a Kostume Kave to the event. Patrons can donate gently used costumes by placing them in a mining cart. They are also welcome to enter the cave and select an item to take home with them during each visit. One per person, supplies are limited. Costumes are available while supplies last. Donations of costumes will be accepted until mid-November.
The Haunted Library was created in 2007 by Joel Caithamer, Children’s Librarian for the Independence Branch, who begins working on the Haunted Library months in advance. Transforming itself from a community programming and service hub to a haunted library is no small undertaking. For weeks, staff and volunteers construct sets, props, costumes, and more in advance of the hundreds of people who will enter their doors.
This not-so-scary event has become a must-attend program for families across the region. In addition to this being the only free haunted house type program, it is also family-friendly with the theme changing each year.
Themes have included Mythology, where visitors embarked on a trip through the underworld from the Minotaur’s dungeon to Medusa’s hair salon, there was a little something for everyone. The event is best suited for those ages six and older.
The Haunted Library is at the Kenton County Public Library’s Independence Branch, 1992 Walton-Nicholson Road in Independence. To learn more, call 859-962-4032 or visit kentonlibrary.org.
Kenton County Public Library