An Eerie adventure: The Brewerie at Union Station celebrates half way to Halloween tours
We are almost halfway to Halloween, and The Brewerie at Union Station at 123 W. 14th St. is celebrating by bringing back its Haunted History Tours.
The Haunted History Tours usually take place in October, closer to Halloween, but because of their popularity Brewerie owner Chris Sirianni wanted to add on to the annual tradition, so he added April tour dates over 10 years ago.
“So this is the spinoff of the 20-year tradition of our Halloween Haunted History Tours which sell out very quickly," Sirianni said. "So we saw that there obviously was a want and a demand for it. So something fun to do in the spring and we would mark halfway to Halloween with these tours."
The 2-hour Halfway to Halloween Tours are similar to the tours given in October, but Sirianni said he can never guarantee what you will see when walking around the building.
“Odd things go on here, and I wish I could explain that," Sirianni said. "I let all the people on the tour understand that I’m not making anything up. We don’t populate the place or decorate the place or have anything mechanical or anything hidden. It’s all natural.”
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What the Haunted History Tours entail
The Haunted History Tours begin by explaining the history of Union Station along with what has gone on before The Brewerie came along. This includes the people who have traveled through, certain urban legends and stories that have been passed along.
"So we talk about stories that have been passed along the way," Sirianni said. "But we talk about some of the obituaries, the oddities, the mystique and all these things that we’ve been fed over the years and we’ve read about. We package everything together in a two-hour tour.”
How did these tours begin?
The Haunted Tours generated from popular demand, starting as simple brewery tours that generated interest about the building and urban legends that have been around for decades.
Visitors passing through whether for a meal or for Amtrak found interest in the eerie tales about the building.
The tours have generated interest from local paranormal activity groups, or ghost hunters, as well.
Mike Brennan from Eerie Unknown once investigated The Brewerie with his group. While investigating, Brennan wandered off near the bathroom where he suddenly heard a noise that brought him to a halt.
Brennan heard sticky footsteps coming from inside the bathroom. When he opened the door, no one was there.
Dozens of other ghost investigating groups, coming from different regions along the East Coast, have checked out The Brewerie.
"Stand alone the tours have been great," Sirianni said. "You have beer enthusiasts, you have ghost hunters, you have historical enthusiasts, you have railroad people, you have people in town, you have people from out of town. We have people that come every year on this tour because it changes just a bit every year with the more information we get and the more history we have to share. It is so revolving and so cool to see people get excited.”
Staff ghost stories
The staff at The Brewerie can even share some personal hair-raising stories of their own when you come for a meal or drink.
"One story I have is I was in early at 5 a.m. and I got a phone call, but it wasn’t a call, it was a page from my office," Sirianni said. "Only no one was in the building and no one has a key to my office. It was not only improbable but impossible that that could be happening. I even had a ghost hunter with me when it happened."
Bartender Mike Dobson recalls opening the restaurant one morning and finding a light on in the back room. He turned it off only to find quickly after it was back on. He later confirmed with his general manager that he was the only one in the building.
The legend of Clara's stairs
One urban myth shared on the tour is a story concerning a young girl by the name of Clara.
Clara was traveling with her parents at Union Station. When they were walking up the back stairwell, Clara's father was carrying the luggage and quickly turned around to check on her, not realizing she was right behind him.
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The legend then states that the luggage struck Clara and knocked her down the flight of stairs which resulted in her death.
Sirianni says that they do not have any articles or obituaries tied to the death, but there are multiple stories tied to a Clara that died upstairs at the station.
Take the haunted tour and see for yourself
Tours begin on April 17 at 7:30 p.m. They will continue on April 19 at 7 and 9:30 p.m., April 25 at 7:30 p.m., and April 26 at 7 and 9:30 p.m.
You can purchase tickets on The Brewerie website, or for $20 in person at the restaurant. For more information, call 814-454-2200.
Contact Nicholas Sorensen at Nsorensen@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie PA hauntings: Brewerie continues Haunted History Tours in April