Ghost Story Evening 2024

On this evening, every visitor is welcomed in eerie attire and an unusual atmosphere to listen to and tell stories, participate in the Ghost Workshop, and enjoy delicious ploppen.

The Ghost Story Evening at Dzukste Fairy Tale Museum gathers storytellers from various places in Latvia to experience a communal storytelling event and to maintain and promote storytelling skills. The museum aims to engage especially the younger generation not only in listening to stories but also in letting their imagination run wild by telling them, thereby contributing to the preservation and continuation of Latvian folklore and traditions.

The storytelling event at the museum has been taking place for 13 years, traditionally on one of the weekends during the Time of the Dead. As known, during the Time of the Dead, major tasks were not to be undertaken. Usually, daily chores and handicrafts were allowed. A significant tradition of the Time of the Dead was the feast for the dead, where food and drinks were left in the room, barn, cellar, sauna, cemetery, or elsewhere to gain their favor and blessing, ensuring the health of livestock and crop yield. The Time of the Dead also involved riddle guessing, leisurely sharing of memories and fairy tales.

The main storyteller of the event, Guntis Pakalns, shares about the upcoming event: “The boundaries between Ghost and Time of the Dead stories are widely understood at the Ghost Story Evening. This encompasses tales of eyewitness experiences or stories heard from others about possible communication or encounters with the deceased, souls, and ancestral spirits, about ghostly places and peculiar dreams. The Time of the Dead is associated with mysterious legends and myths. And, of course, the terrifying and spooky ghost stories, particularly beloved by children, to explore their fears and learn to overcome them. And in life, something may happen that seems even scarier than ghost stories… Hence, there will also be some lighter tales for relaxation. It's usually the case that each story inspires the next – one can never predict what the shared journey in the world of stories will be like this time and where it will lead. Listeners are, of course, encouraged to participate in storytelling at any moment.”

As usual, storytelling will be maintained by folklorist A. Lerha-Puškaiša's relative Guntis Pakalns. This year, storytellers from various Latvian locations are invited: Maija Migla-Streiča (former journalist of “Panorāma”, author of the book “Matilda's Century” from Riga), Ivita Kalnozola-Kalsere (Fairy witch from Sēme), Aelita Ramane (librarian from Pilsrundāle), as well as Māris Burmeisters, Ārija Klēvere, and Ināra Salava from Ventspils. Young storytellers will have a special half-hour segment from 5:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on this evening.

Guests at the museum are expected to come in eerie attire on this evening. The Ghost Workshop will be open for the youngest museum visitors. There will also be a photo corner. At the end of the evening, storytellers and listeners will have the opportunity to enjoy the special power porridge, known as ploppen in Zemgale.

We recommend arriving on time for the event to have time to explore the entire museum. In the recently modernized main exhibition “Anss Lerhis-Puškaitis and Fairy Tales”, after a journey of more than 100 years to Anss Lerha-Puškaiša's desk, a symbolic copy of the handwritten book from Volume 7, Issue 2 of “Latvian Folk Tales and Fairy Tales” has returned, which can be browsed through; the original is kept in the Latvian Folklore Repository.

During the evening, there will also be an opportunity to view the splendid exhibition of the rock opera “Lāčplēsis” with the magnificent costumes created by Anna Muna, and the doll exhibition “For Margarita Stāraste – 110” created by the “Animation Brigade” studio.