2025 Phantoms By Firelight (Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, MA)

Date Of Event: Oct. 11, 2025

Location: Old Sturbridge Village, 29 Stallion Hill Road, Sturbridge, MA (for GPS directions)

Cost: Prices ranged $28 to $45 for this event (members get a discount)

Parking: Lots of free parking

Universally Accessible: Since most of the events are outdoors, the event was universally accessible. But, many of the buildings at the village are not universally accessible.

Website: Old Sturbridge Village

Summary: Performers showed off their gravity defying, fire breathing and feats of strength at the Phantoms By Firelight event at Old Sturbridge Village.

Old Sturbridge Village transformed into a fiery family friendly festival. Alliteration aside, performers with a diverse set of skills enthralled the audience of people of all ages.

Fire breathing, knife juggling and gravity defying tricks were just a few of the performances on display during the October event at Old Sturbridge Village.

People at the event got into the Halloween spirit. These people cam to the event in their own Halloween costumes!

At the Meetinghouse, there was a display with common fears people had back when in the late 1700s and early 1800s, proving people today are not so different from people off this earlier era. We all have many of the same fears and worried about the same things. Fear of the dark, spiders and heights were some of the fears on display at this exhibit. I have some of these very same fears. Ok, make that all of them. In fact, add rollercoasters and Chucky to the list.

The fear of spiders, also known as Arachnophobia, is a fear many people have. Although some spiders can be venomous, this fear is largely unfounded. See how cute they look!

Claustrophobia, or fear of enclosed places, was, and still is, a very reasonable fear especially since people often worked in confined spaces.

Thanatophobia, the fear of death, is a fear all of us probably have.

Acrophobia, the fear of heights, was another common fear in the 1700 and 1800s. Early New Englanders had to navigate many steep and dangerous cliffs and ledges. Folklore and superstition claimed the “Devil’s Footprint” were on some of these precipices. People were said to be facing tests of faith on these cliffs. People that fell were said to have faced “divine punishment.”

Nyctophobia is a fear many of us probably suffered from as children. People who have a fear of the dark are not necessarily afraid of the darkness. Rather, they fear what may lie in the darkness like n in-law or the tax collector!

People, like these visitors, could write down their biggest fears and add it to the collection box.

If you saw my previous post about last year’s Phantoms By Firelight (2024) event, you may notice many of the events were similar, or the same. But, the performers added different twists, in some cases literally, to their performances. And, in one case, different people were performing.

The first performer was Alexander The Upside Down Man. Or sideways man for that matter!

The musical act Fox and Dragon provided the music for Alexander’s performance.

Philomena and her magic rope kept the audience riveted with her climbing and acrobatic skills. As her entrance, she did a freaky spider walk!

Philomena dazzled the audience with her mastery of the rope!

The highlight for many of the visitors were the “Masters Of The Flame”. These performers were playing with fire. Literally. These talented daredevils put on such an amazing show. Finding the best photos of their feats was very challenging.

Richard Hankes and Ashlee Morgan performed at the finale of the event. Ashlee is a Cirque du Soleil alum and a finalist from Season 19 of “America’s Got Talent.” Hankes and she hold the Guinness World Records holder for “Longest duration balancing on pointe on the shoulders,” with a recorded time of 4 minutes and 2.75 seconds. More on that later.

The finale began with an introduction of the performers. And some dancing by Ashlee and Richard.

Ashlee and Richard showed off some of the skills that put them in the record books.

Ashlee was not done dancing. After she carefully got off Richard’s shoulders, Ashlee did some hot stepping on the stage!

But, Ashlee wasn’t done. Drawing on her Cirque du Soleil experience, she showed off her skills on the rings!

Besides the featured artists, there were many other attractions. For instance, the bridge at the village was lit up and a mysterious fog hung around the entrance.

Inside the bridge were actual portraits from the houses at the village.

This is a portrait of Hannah Elizabeth Tucker circa 1843 (artist unknown). Born June 11, 1836 to Thomas and Nancy Tucker of Newton, MA, Hannah died of marasmus, a deficiency in all the macronutrients that the body requires to function, including carbohydrates, protein and fats, on December 30, 1843. The portrait was probably commissioned by her parents after her death. The portrait shows her marking a spot in her book with her finger. It is a symbol of her life interrupted. Her short life shows how difficult it was to survive and provide what we would consider the basics of nutrition during those times.

This portrait of Maria Brown was made circa 1835 by an unknown artist. Maria and her twin sister Maranda were born in Wendell, MA, on March 19, 1820. At some point they moved with their parents Jonathan and Abigail to Gardener, MA. Maranda died of consumption on April 23, 1844 at the age of 24. Eight months later on January 6, 1845, Maria died from inflammation in her lungs. They are both buried in Gardner, MA, under one headstone.

This is a family portrait that was also hung on the inside of the bridge.

The blacksmith was also busy at work. They always seem to be working on one thing or another whenever I visit the village.

From the pumpkins, flames and the buildings, there were many photo opportunities at the village.

Finally, there was a new attraction at this annual event; Halloween wreaths! After viewing the wreaths, people could vote for their favorite wreath.

This wreath made by Danielle Peters is called “Fall On The Farm.” The theme of the wreath is Autumn. She used blown eggs from her creme legbar chickens and feathers from her heritage breed turkeys.

This wreath had a spell to keep evil away on Halloween attached to the wreath. You may notice some of the elements of the spell, such as the fox and the vulture, are included in the wreath’s design.

For those of you who may be fans of the Nightmare Before Christmas, this wreath made by Jeremy Levesque was titled, “It’s Jack-O-Ween Time!”

“Witch Dream” by Jamie Black was made in honor of his mother. According to Jamie, she loved to be a witch for Halloween and she taught him many of the skills he used to make the wreath.

“The Witches Garden” by Alyssa Kellogg is a hidden garden where witches cast spells, mix potions and deadly foliage grows. The wreath features natural elements such as empty wasp nests acorns, dead hydrangeas and dry leaves.

Kristina Tyree made “Fall-O-Ween as an expression of her love for fall and the beauty it brings. Each piece was cut and stitched by hand from a pattern that she created.

“Ghost Witch Riding On Her Pet Bat Deliver A Wreath” was made by Elaine Hartman. She said she hoped the wreath made people smile. It was her first craft project.

“Pretty Deadly – Midnight Apothecary” by Danielle Ballard was inspired by the Asa Knight Store (more commonly known as the “Village Store” at Old Sturbridge Village) after dark. Danielle described it as a mournful bed of cracked flowers and tulle, dried roses and flowers are interspersed with handmade clay frames and original graphic art from an imagined Midnight Apothecary.

The theme of “Creepy Welcome” is simplicity with a touch of glam. Nadine Bransky enjoyed repurposing found objects into fun home decor.

“Bubble, Bubble, Toil & Tinsel” by Monica and Brandyn Greeno is about witches, potions, brewing and spells.

These are a few more of the wreaths that were on display!

There were some very impressive works of art. I do hope they continue this part of the event!

There were so many events and interesting attractions at the Phantoms By Firelight event. That’s why it took so long to post. I’ll jus try to post the photos more quickly after this year’s event!