Guided Flashlight Tours Offered At Marietta’s Root House Museum

MARIETTA, GA— A Marietta museum will offer flashlight tours as a way to show how families would mourn a death in the 1800s.

© Shutterstock / Kryuchka Yaroslav
Marietta’s Root House Museum will offer flashlight tours in October.

The William Root House Museum & Gardens will hold the guided tours from 5-8 p.m. Oct. 3, 10, 17 and 24.

Visitors will be able to view embalming equipment from the 19th century, mourning jewelry made from human hair and “other curious artifacts related to death and mourning in the Victorian era,” the museum said.

Hannah and William Root shared their home with their children and extended family. Hannah Root’s father, Leonard Simpson, lived with the family and passed away on October 11, 1856. For the month of October, the rooms inside the Root House will be decorated as they would have been following Leonard’s death. Curtains will be drawn, and rooms will be adorned with black crepe and ribbons.

Guests will need to bring a flashlight and are expected to follow the social distancing guidelines. Masks also must be worn inside. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased either the day of the tour or online.