Lantern-lit tours through a cemetery dating back to 1849 are set to wind through Honey Creek Park in West Allis this month, part of a sprawling Halloween event that mixes local history with seasonal scares. Haunted Honey Creek returns to the park at 8405 W. National Ave. on October 23, running from 5 to 9 p.m., according to a post from the City of West Allis, WI Government on Facebook.
The evening centers on three historic structures sharing the same municipal property. Lantern-lit cemetery tours run from 5 to 8:30 p.m. and walk visitors through Honey Creek Cemetery while sharing stories of West Allis's original settlers, according to the city's Facebook post. The cemetery itself was formally established on April 23, 1849, when the local cemetery association purchased one acre of land for $25, and its first recorded burial came weeks later on May 10, 1849, when three-year-old Minerva Johnson was laid to rest, according to the West Allis Historical Society.
A Cemetery With Civil War Ties
Among the roughly 383 adult burials recorded at the cemetery, which holds more than 500 graves total, are five Civil War veterans along with a memorial marker for soldier Ira Woodcock, who died in Arkansas in 1864, per the historical society's account of the site. Those military and biographical details add weight to the docent-led storytelling that anchors the evening's tours.
The Honey Creek Log Schoolhouse Museum's log cabin has an origin story tied to state history: it was relocated from Sheboygan County to Honey Creek Park in 1998 during Wisconsin's Sesquicentennial, giving local students a hands-on look at 19th-century education, according to the historical society.
Fire Pits And Historic Buildings
Campfire Stories & S'mores rounds out the evening's spookier offerings, with scary stories told around a fire and s'mores provided by After Hours Rotary of West Allis, the city's post states. The West Allis Historical Society Museum also has history worth noting: it was built in 1887 as the Greenfield Township Fifth District School in Romanesque Revival style using Cream City brick, and it earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, according to Wikipedia.
For those who want more than a self-guided walk-through, paid after-hours paranormal investigations are also on offer. Following the public event, the Paranormal Investigators of Milwaukee host two ticketed sessions between 9:30 p.m. and 1 a.m., covering the museum's main floor, lower level, exhibits and attic for $40 per ticket, with proceeds benefiting the West Allis Historical Society, according to the City of West Allis.
Live Music, A Movie Screening And Free Shuttle Rides
Daytime and evening festivities also include food, beverages and shopping throughout the park, per the city's announcement. Live music from Sweet Sheiks runs from 6 to 9 p.m., with the group performing early jazz, blues and Americana-inspired sets.
Getting there doesn't require fighting for a parking spot. A free continuous hayride shuttle runs from 5 to 9:15 p.m. from Mount Hope Lutheran Church at 8633 W. Becher St., where organizers are also collecting canned food donations for Hope Ministries, according to the city.
A Park Rooted In West Allis History
The 3.7-acre park surrounding the museum and cemetery features brick walking paths, a gazebo and a mix of mature trees including linden, Norway maple, spruce, pin oak and cedar, per the historical society. The Honey Creek name traces back to the late 1830s, when European pioneers first settled the area as “Honey Creek Settlement” before it was incorporated as the Village of West Allis in 1902 and became a city in 1906, named for the nearby E.P. Allis manufacturing plant, according to WUWM 89.7 FM.
West Allis, now the eleventh-most populous city in Wisconsin with a population of 60,325 per the 2020 U.S. Census, has hosted Haunted Honey Creek annually since at least 2022, gradually expanding the autumn gathering to include food trucks, craft beer gardens and community pumpkin carving displays, according to city records. This year's edition keeps that tradition rolling, blending the park's 19th-century roots with a night built for modern-day thrill seekers.
