OCTOBER 22, 23, 29, 30, & 31, 2021

Unburying Montana’s Bone-chilling History

Sponsored by:Dr. Philip & Marlene Saccoccia with additional support from Stockman Bank.

All proceeds benefit Museum of the Rockies, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

FRIGHTENING FOLKLORE

1 Museum of the Rockies

Welcome to Haunted Mountain Theater Dear Fellow Mortals,

T hanks for joining this year’s production of Haunted Mountain Theater and helping to support Museum of the Rockies (MOR). Tonight, come face to

face with spine-tingling stories that haunt our region - and our nightmares.

The Rocky Mountains are filled with ghastly historical events, unsettling tales, and supernatural creatures that are beyond our mortal comprehension. Although we have dramatized the vignettes in this live production, Haunted Mountain Theater is based on the research of actual historic events and traditional legends. These stories and incidences include disasters, untimely deaths, ghastly creatures, and more.

I hope you are prepared to learn, to be surprised, and – a little – frightened. Your participation underwrites the kind of lifelong learning in history and culture that MOR offers year after year to our community. Whether you sponsored these performances, helped research our stories, have a friend in our cast, or are simply bracing yourself for the upcoming show, your help is deeply appreciated. I would like to single out our lead sponsors, Dr. Philip and Marlene Saccoccia, for underwriting this original production. Their support has allowed MOR to resurrect the dead and share their lives with you.

When we launched this production in 2019, we realized that MOR is likely one of the only museums combining live theater and a state-of-the-art planetarium. Since then, we have continued to explore new stories and look at innovative ways to share our region’s culture.

In large part due to COVID, last year we worked with brilliant students from MSU’s College of Arts and Architecture to bring the past to life through sculpture. This year, we have merged the planetarium production with original art. Following the formal show, we invite you to tread carefully down to the historic 1889 Tinsley House to enjoy a unique opportunity to see the house by lantern light, get your fortune read, and meet this year’s sculptures.

Please sit back and enjoy the show and then explore the Tinsley House… If you dare.

Thank you,

Christopher DobbsExecutive Director

2021 Haunted Mountain Theater 2

Museum of the Rockies would like to express sincere gratitude to the following people,

boards, and organizations.

The Volunteer Cast and Technical Crew!

Artistic Director Michael Peterson.

Acting Coach Peggy Jensen.

Visuals by Taylor Planetarium Program Manager J. Eric Loberg, Graphic Design Manager Shawn Raecke, and Michael Peterson.

Creative writing by Artistic Director Michael Peterson, Executive Director Christopher Dobbs, Director of Philanthropy Kathryn Hohmann, and Curator of History Michael Fox.

Stage Manager Erin Tope and Director Assistant Halley Perry.

Illumination of our planetarium stage by Jonathan Dove and historic lighting by Dave Swingle at the Tinsley House.

Management of Tinsley House events by Outreach Program Manager Ashley Hall.

Producer and Director, Christopher Dobbs.

Tinsley House sculptures by students from MSU’s College of Arts and Architecture.

Museum of the Rockies, Inc. Board of Trustees and National Advisory Board.

MSU’s Shakespeare in the Parks for the loan of props and costumes.

In-kind support from Safeway.

Special Thanks to our SponsorsDr. Philip & Marlene Saccoccia

and Stockman Bank

2021 Haunted Mountain Theater 43 Museum of the Rockies

SCENES & ACTORSBe Warned . . . This production contains some flashing light effects, sudden loud noises, gunfire, mature content, and ghastly ghosts.

Friday & SundayScene One – The Seance Announcer Dave KelsenMadame Manna Eleanor InglisAnnie Jade HarringtonFanny Ruby Lammers

Scene Two – Montana State OrphanageJune Jade Harrington Will Liam TalbottGreta M. RixeDanny Daniel PerryCorpse Child Played by himselfKeys Man Michael Peterson

Scene Three – Custer Creek Disaster Wilburn Isaiah DuffRadio Announcer Richard TalbottViolet Moriah SchuttOdquist Connor Tweet

Scene Four – Bone CollectorEllis Liam DobbsLyman Harrison JacobsLucy Ruby LammersBone Collector M. Rixe

Scene Five – Lost SoldierSamantha Kyrie DawsonRadio Announcer Richard Talbott

Scene Six – Wendigo Jacobs Connor TweetCane Michael PetersonTerrance Isaiah Duff

Scene VI – The EndSpirits Liam Dobbs Harrison Jacobs

Moriah Schutt M. Rixe

Kyrie Dawson

SaturdayScene One – The Seance Announcer Dave KelsenMadame Manna Janelle BoothAnnie Jade HarringtonFanny Ruby Lammers

Scene Two – Montana State OrphanageJune Jade Harrington Will Liam TalbottGreta M. RixeDanny Daniel PerryCorpse Child Played by himselfKeys Man Michael Peterson

Scene Three – Custer Creek Disaster Wilburn Isaiah DuffRadio Announcer Richard TalbottViolet Hannah OvertonOdquist John Olson

Scene Four – Bone CollectorEllis Liam DobbsLyman Harrison JacobsLucy Ruby LammersBone Collector M. Rixe

Scene Five – Lost SoldierSamantha Kyrie DawsonRadio Announcer Richard Talbott

Scene Six – Wendigo Jacobs John OlsonCane Michael PetersonTerrance Isaiah Duff

Scene VI – The EndSpirits Liam Dobbs Harrison Jacobs

Hannah Overton M. Rixe

Kyrie Dawson

Please note that the actors listed are subject to change.

5 Museum of the Rockies

After the show, please explore the historic 1889 Tinsley House and our Haunted Sculptures made by MSU students in the College of Arts and Architecture’s School of Art’s Intermediate Sculpture Class. Special thanks to Associate Dean James Zimpel, Instructor Ryan Parker, and all of the students, volunteers, and staff for making this production possible.

The Flathead Lake Monsterby Jodi Harkness and Katie O’MalleyBetween 1889 and 2017, there have been 109 “unusual sightings” of sea animals on Flathead Lake in western Montana. About 70 percent of these sightings involve a large, eel-shaped creature measuring between 20 and 40 feet in length. The Flathead Monster has been seen by fishermen, boaters, and even a water skier who neatly collided with “something big” near the lake’s Big Arm on the west shore. Perhaps the most famous sighting of the affectionately named “Flessie” was reported in 1889 when Captain James C. Kerr and the 100 passengers of the steamboat U.S. Grant saw an unusually large, whale-like creature in the water. Passengers fired rifles at the animal, and it reportedly dove beneath the waves to safety.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarecrowby Diana Peyton and Katelyn Bauer

In 1852, Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of America’s greatest storytellers, published a short story called Feathertop. In the tale, Feathertop is a scarecrow brought to life in human form by a witch. The scarecrow believes himself to be a human but can only keep his human form while puffing on a magic pipe provided by the witch. At the witch’s insistence, he courts the daughter of a local judge. However, when the couple gazes upon themselves in a mirror, Feathertop’s true identity is revealed. The judge’s daughter rejects Feathertop in horror, and in despair, he drops his pipe returning forever to his true form as a lifeless scarecrow.

The spookiness continues...

HAUNTED TINSLEY HOUSE:

2021 Haunted Mountain Theater 6

The Mystery of the Montana Cattle Mutilationsby Chelsea May and Alicia June CourseyRoberta Donvan and Keith Wolverton recount a series of bizarre cattle mutilations in Cascade County between 1974 and 1976 in their book Mystery Stalks the Prairie. These were neither the first nor the last animals found dead in the area under mysterious circumstances. Most of the cattle were missing a portion of their jaw and sometimes an eye as well. No blood was found on or near the carcasses; they were sometimes entirely drained of blood. In some cases, the hide had a “crisp” feel to it, like it was heated. The mysterious mutilations sparked all sorts of theories as to how and who had killed the cattle. Perhaps the most fanciful of these suggests that space aliens had harvested the animals for organs to study. These mysteries remain unsolved.

The Frenchwomanby Mia Alexson and Angela CateoraThe August 28, 1868, issue of the Deer Lodge Weekly Independent newspaper provides an account of the death of Madame Guyot (first name unknown) at her ranch, hostel, and toll house. While accounts vary as to the specifics, Guyot was murdered in her log cabin on MacDonald Pass between Deer Lodge and Helena, where she collected tolls on her husband’s nearby toll road and hosted guests. She was thought to have squirreled away thousands of dollars in gold dust in her rustic home. One account tells of a traveling miner who sighted an unusually giant elk near the residence, then discovered the body of madam Guyot. She had been murdered with an ax. Frenchwoman’s Road near the pass marks the site of her unsolved murder.

Please note that the actors and crew listed are subject to change.

Tinsley House Actors and CrewJanelle Booth • Eleanor Inglis • George Lafaye • Ryan McAlindin

Kaitlin Murdy • John Olson • Hanna Overton • Alycia PatencioMoriah Schutt • David Swingle • Connor Tweet • Ashley Hall

Sculptures, Fortunetellers, Death, & Storytellers

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