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It's always Halloween in a corner of W.Va.

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  • KERI BROWN/None
  • Originally published October 30, 2009 at 7:18 a.m., updated October 30, 2009 at 8:40 a.m.

BENWOOD, W.Va. (AP) — A Benwood woman has turned her passion for collecting Halloween vintage, antique artwork and memorabilia into a museum that boasts more than 35,000 pieces.

Five years ago, Pamela Apkarian-Russell, and her husband, Chris, bought an old school building on Boggs Run Road in Marshall County. They made the upstairs their residence and dedicated the bottom floors to showcasing Pam's Halloween artwork, collectibles and costumes. They named the building the "Castle Halloween Museum."

"This is one of the original crepe paper dresses made from the Dennison materials, and there is one of the original boxes that teachers would have taught people with their ten-cent courses how to make a costume. That was a great find," said Pam.

Her collection includes more than 1,000 Halloween costumes from as far back as the late 1800s.

"There is a Ben Cooper, early Mickey Mouse Disney one there. A Dukes of Hazard, which is signed. We are 250 years of Halloween, so we go from the early part to contemporary," she said.

There are a few scary, animated figures for fun, but Russell said the Castle Halloween Museum isn't a haunted house. She said it's a celebration of the holiday's social history.

"We hit on all of the social history for all of the different holidays, and for what touches on it, like the Salem Witch trials. Now, the Salem Witch trials have nothing to do with Halloween, but the motif does."

Folk art is displayed throughout the museum, from devil-faced pottery jugs and wooden skeletons to paintings and hand carved wooden statues.

"This is the entrance to the Crypt," she said. "It is the sacred to the profane, the sublime to the ridiculous."

One of the most interesting displays in the museum is in a room called the Crypt, where wreaths and jewelry made from human hair during the Victorian era can be found.

"Here is a hair piece done with a cross a necklace, but the things you see most are the watch fobs. because when women died, especially during childbirth, which was prevalent during Victorian era, they would have their hair made into watch fobs," said Russell.

As you make your way into the old school building gymnasium, Christmas trees on the stage are decorated with Halloween-related ornaments and characters. There is a church pew in the hall that came from Scotland dating back to 1680.

There also are lots of games and toys throughout the museum, even a fortune teller's booth.

"There is a signed Andy Warhol Dracula. Above, you can see the fortune telling cups and saucers. Halloween was a time that was a mating holiday, and they would find out if having a good or bad husband or wife. This was part of the mating ritual of Halloween."

Russell is known as the Halloween Queen by her family and friends, and has even made the name a registered trademark.

Her fascination with Halloween started while growing up in New England. She loved the fall season and even played Abigail in a community production of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible." She became interested in the paranormal and has written several books on Halloween.

Russell has been collecting Halloween vintage and artwork for the past 40 years. She travels all over the country and world to find unique pieces for her collection and has received many of them thanks to donations and gifts from family and friends.

"This is what I work for and as long as I can physically stand on my feet this is what I will do. I will go hungry first. We have eaten a lot of pasta over the years to buy some of these pieces. We have been very fortunate and people have really indulged my insanity."

Russell is outgrowing her museum space but hopes to add on to the building in the future.

The Castle Halloween Museum is open all year round and tours are given by appointment.

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On the Net:

The Castle Halloween Museum: http://www.castlehalloween.com/

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Information from: WVPN-FM, http://www.wvpubcast.org



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