31.10.11 Chatsworth at Halloween: “the sacrifice of
a toad”
A
book of spells called the ‘Key of Soloman’ or ‘Clavicula Salomonis’ will
be one of many items on display for the first time at
Chatsworth this Halloween.
Dating back to the 16th century, and acquired as part of the 6th Duke’s
library collection, the book contains spells, written in Latin, to
summon spirits to help find stolen items, make people fall in love or to
become invisible. The spells have to be cast at a specific time in a
particular month and require the sacrifice of a toad!
Running from 22 – 30 October, this year’s Halloween Trail promises to be
the spookiest to date and includes an autopsy report on a previous
Duchess and a former
Chatsworth Librarian’s death mask.
The chilling autopsy report addressed to Lord George Cavendish on the
death of his mother Catherine Cavendish, the Dowager Duchess of
Devonshire, 8 May 1777 will also be on view. Catherine Cavendish was the
wife of the 3rd Duke but despite the thorough nature of the autopsy and
the graphic detail in the report, no firm conclusion seems to have been
reached on the cause of death.
Sandford Arthur Strong was Librarian at
Chatsworth, and when he died in 1904 a ‘death mask’ was made of his
face which will be on display in the Oak Room. Masks were made during
this period as either mementos or to create portraits of the deceased.
In the sculpture gallery visitors will be treated to a model of Madame
Langhans’ tomb. Magdalena Langhans was married to the pastor of
Hindlebank in Switzerland but unfortunately she and her baby died in
childbirth on Easter night in 1751. The tomb was carved to show her
bursting out of the grave with her baby.
Visitors will be regaled with ghoulish stories about other items on
display such as Tuccia the Veiled Vestal – Tuccia was a Roman priestess
of Vesta who was accused of rule breaking; the punishment for her crime
was to be buried alive. To prove her innocence she had to carry water
from the river Tiber to the temple of Vesta in a sieve.
The Palissy dish on the Great Stairs Landing was created by Bernard
Palissy. He produced his designs by taking casts from the corpses of
dead lizards, snakes and shellfish; and the State Bed of George II which
was given to the 4th Duke of Devonshire after the king died in it in
1760.
Chatsworth will be tricking and treating visitors in a week of
spine-tingling family activities this Halloween. Spooky sights will
include everything from pumpkin hunts, a secret tunnel; a pumpkin maze;
scarecrows in the kitchen garden; to broom stick making; a new Zombie
dance workshop; Fright Flights; creative Halloween crafts; spider and
reptile handling sessions and face painting.
The farmyard is also playing host to the Warlock Walk, a spooky evening
journey into Warlock Wood, home of the spell weaver. Visitors are
encouraged to wear their scariest fancy dress, and armed only with a
torch and a water pistol, they will follow the lanterns through the wood
where our farmyard fiends will be there to help along the way. The
bravest will even be taken into the Deadly Dell. Tickets for Warlock
Walk are pre-booked on the
Chatsworth website.
Please visit
www.chatsworth.org for more details including dates, times and any
additional prices. Chatsworth house, garden, farmyard and adventure
playground are open every day to 23 December 2011. For more information
and ticketing options including a 10 percent discount for online
booking, visit
www.chatsworth.org
