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Saginaw’s 1929 Montague Inn will host three days of psychic readings, wellness sessions, artisan vendors, workshops and paranormal-themed activities Oct. 23-25.
SAGINAW, Mich. — One of Saginaw’s notable historic homes will take on a different role just before Halloween when the Montague Inn hosts Mystical Mansion Weekend, a three-day gathering built around paranormal-themed activities, intuitive readings, wellness programs and specialty vendors.
The event is scheduled for Oct. 23-25 at the Montague Inn, 1581 S. Washington Ave. Hours are 5-9 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, according to the inn and event organizers.
Holy Moly Promotions is presenting the event, which uses rooms throughout the historic mansion rather than setting up a conventional exhibit hall. Participants are expected to include psychics, mediums, palm and tea-leaf readers, wellness practitioners, artisans, and vendors selling herbal products, teas, and other specialty goods.
Historic mansion becomes part of the event
The location is a major part of the weekend.
The Montague Inn is a Georgian Revival mansion commissioned for Robert and Edwina Montague. Architectural records date its construction from 1929 to 1933 and identify Saginaw architects Robert B. Frantz and James A. Spence as its designers. The red-brick house sits on property extending to Lake Linton and includes formal interior woodwork, fireplaces, servants’ quarters and a large garage.
The inn says the approximately 12,000-square-foot house originally occupied eight acres and cost about $125,000 to build. Robert Montague made his fortune in the sugar beet processing industry, including a formula that used a beet byproduct in hand creams and soaps.
The Montague family lived in the house until the late 1950s. The city of Saginaw later purchased the property and used portions of the mansion for its detective bureau and public health department for about 15 years. After sitting vacant for several years, the house was restored and reopened as the Montague Inn in June 1986.
Today, the property operates as a bed-and-breakfast with 16 guest rooms across the mansion and carriage house, along with gardens and grounds bordering Lake Linton.
Readings, workshops and a ghost hunt planned
Mystical Mansion Weekend will use that history as a backdrop for a wide range of activities.
Published schedules include crystal ball readings, palm readings, tea leaf readings, aura photography, massage, yoga, breathwork, sound sessions, drumming circles, workshops, and demonstrations. Other offerings include what organizers describe as Akashic Records sessions, message circles and table tipping.
An after-hours ghost hunt is also planned inside the mansion, according to a Sept. 24 event preview. The ghost hunt is being offered as one of several paranormal-themed experiences during the weekend.
The event’s format is designed to encourage visitors to move through different rooms rather than remain in one exhibition area.
“We wanted to create something people could actually experience rather than simply walk through,” a Holy Moly Promotions representative said in the event announcement.
The weekend also includes artisan and apothecary vendors, making the event partly a seasonal market. Some readings, classes and private sessions may carry additional fees beyond general admission.
Admission starts at $10 per day
Go Great Lakes Bay lists admission at $10 per day, with an early-bird three-day pass for $15. Visitors interested in individual readings, workshops or other sessions should check prices separately because some activities require additional payment. Go Great Lakes Bay
The event arrives the weekend before Halloween, placing it among a growing list of October attractions in the Great Lakes Bay Region. But its setting separates it from a typical haunted house or seasonal festival.
Visitors will be attending activities inside a nearly century-old Saginaw residence that has served as a private family estate, municipal office building and bed-and-breakfast during its long history.
Mystical Mansion Weekend runs Oct. 23-25 at the Montague Inn, 1581 S. Washington Ave., Saginaw.
Official Montague Inn event information
Mystical Mansion Weekend visitor information
