New York Spirits REALLY Draws In Adults!
Stories of Real Haunted New York Homes & Places!
Exhibits of Ghostly Artifacts!
Interactive Audience Participation!
Spooky Events May Occur!
Suitable for Any Setting or Size of Audience!
This One Hour Long, Self-Contained Program Comes to YOU!
Easy to arrange – just email Cris at cris@elementaryschoolassemblies.com
or phone 716-940-8963!
Gurnsey Hollow
Fort William Henry
Shea’s Performing Arts
Red Coach Inn
Adults are often one of the hardest group for libraries to reach. They are too mature for your children’s programming, and not interested in most of the topics that appeal to older kids or teens. Many presenters do not know how to reach and appeal to their needs and interests.
That’s where this program comes in. I’m school assembly presenter and library performer Cris Johnson. I’ve always been fascinated by the subject of hauntings and ghosts. I devoured every non-fiction book I could find on the subject. Over the years managed to attend a few live lectures on the subject when I could find them. Usually these live lectures were dry as dirt! There had to be a better way.
Fox Sisters
A few years ago, my wife and I attended some ‘ghost walks’ in the Western New York area. The combination of the spooky stories along with actually seeing many of these locations was a step in the right direction. But I wanted to go even further.
Over the years, I’ve collected an eclectic series of artifacts that in some way are linked to the stories of hauntings in New York that your patrons will here. There’s a dusty wooden box that contains an artifact that allows communication with the spirits of Fort William Henry. A rusted padlock holds the secrets to the Old Ulster County Jail. A wooden jewelry box with strange carvings supposedly once belonged to the Fox Sisters who were responsible for starting the entire Spiritualism movement. A small wooden jailhouse reveals the true horrors of the Amityville Murders. There’s so much more. In the years since I’ve introduced this program, it has become my most popular adult program by far. Look at all of the comments from local libraries touting just how effective this program is not only drawing in big groups of adults but captivating them from beginning to end. People walk in expecting a lecture but what they get is…something else indeed. I don’t want to spoil it, but let’s just say strange things happen at each show involving these artifacts.
Now YOU have the great opportunity to bring in this one-of-a-kind adult program to YOUR library. It’s the perfect Halloween program. Also, it has real LOCAL appeal. I call it:
As I’ve been leading up to, “New York Spirits” is a 60-minute collection of stories and legends taken from non-fiction accounts of ghostly investigations and haunted happenings. In addition to revealing the nature of the artifacts mentioned above, I tell tales of spirits who supposedly haunt Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, Fort William Henry Museum, the Utica Lunatic Asylum, the Red Coach Inn of Niagara Falls and other places, Tales of the Fox Sisters who were at the forefront of spirit communication, the truth about the Amityville Horror house, and many more. New York Spirits is a presentation adults will love. Here’s a few more highlights:
Amityville Horror House
- Does a wooden toy box hold the spirit of a young girl who died violently?
- Can a child return from the dead through a bell?
- Will a murdered British soldier leave a written message for the living?
- Can a mysterious lock guide spectators to the correct key?
- Does the spirit of a murdered bride possess a wooden box?
- What is the truth of an old artifact of a self-described spirit medium?
Ghostly Tales of Haunted Places
Old Ulster County Jail
“New York Spirits” is a fascinating look into legends of the spirit world in New York. Your guests will hear stories and see displays, but they will be INVOLVED, too. Some just may be too frightened to participate!
Of all the programs I’ve created, this one required the most research and because of my life-long interest in the paranormal, it’s the library program most dear and dear to my heart. Your guests will love it, guaranteed.
The “New York Spirits” program is ideal for adult audiences. It will not only attract them to literature but encourage them to use the library to find out more about topics which really appeal to them.
Utica Lunatic Asylum
I bring my own tables, spooky music to set the mood, photographs of the haunted locations, and of course the spooky artifacts. The only thing I need from the library is a place to present the program! I’ve designed this show to easily fit in the coziest of meeting rooms. And I guarantee my programs: if you do not feel I delivered an amazing evening of chilling entertainment of haunted lore to your guests, not only will I return your check but I will also donate $500 to your library, and after 20 years of professional work, and performing an average of 250 shows a year, not a single client has ever taken me up on my guarantee.
October always sells out, and that’s when most clients want to book “New York Spirits,” so call (716) 940-8963 (that’s my cell number) or email me at cris@elementaryschoolassemblies.com right away to lock in your preferred date.
“Thanks again for Friday night’s performance! Here’s what our patrons had to say: ‘I enjoyed putting the props with the stories, it made it seem more real that way!’, ‘The doll in the cage scared the **** outta me!’, ‘I loved everything he said!’, ‘When is he coming again?'”
Heide Robinson, Library Director
Wimodaughsian Library
Canisteo, NY
“Cris was a very self-sufficient and flexible performer. The audience was very engaged and entertained, with several true shocks and surprises. Great mix of history, surprises, and the supernatural.”
Kirstra Otto, Librarian
Greece Public Library
Greece, NY
“This was one of our most popular programs of the year! Our patrons enjoyed the audience participation and were very happy with the program. Highly entertaining and educational. Thank you so much!”
Carol Ellen Kowalik-Happy, Librarian
Olean Public Library
Olean, NY
“I loved your program–it was a great mix of spooky and fascinating and informational. The patrons loved it, too! The props were amazing! I was thinking about them all weekend. It was great to work with you–your online forms were very helpful and you always responded very promptly to emails. Thanks so much!”
Amy Henderson, Adult Services Librarian
Irondequoit Public Library
Rochester, NY
“Fascinating history of sites, regardless of whether you believe in ghosts or not! Great thrills and scares!”
Theresa Streb, Library Director
Lyons Public Library
Lyons, NY
“Last night’s event was such a great experience – I had patrons coming up to me afterward wanting you to come back for another program. There are typically two types of programs – ones that are interesting and ones that are fun. ‘New York Spirits’ was that rare experience of being both. With your retelling of New York’s interesting history paired with the surprising spooks the show had to offer, every left engaged and happy.”
Patrick Montanaro, Library Director
Ogden Farmers’ Library
Spencerport, NY
“Thank you again for the great program. Here are some of the comments from our patrons that attended: ‘Very Entertaining,’ ‘Clever way to tell stories – loved the artifacts,’ ‘It was a fun hour-great time of year for the subject matter.’ Everyone thought you did a good job.”
Melissa Lindberg, Librarian
Clifton Springs Library
Clifton Springs, NY
“It was mind-boggling – I don’t know how you did what you did! It was awesome, I loved it!”
Stacy Wicksall, Library Directory
Macedon Public Library
Macedon, NY
“It was a great performance! He kept me wondering what was next! Cris was very knowledgeable. I thought it was very interesting and informative.”
Nancy Raymond, Library Director
Genesee Public Library
Little Genesee, NY
“This is a perfect program to get in the ‘spirit’ of the Halloween season. The way the ‘artifacts’ come to life is amazing! Cris is a joy to work with. I can’t wait to host one of his programs again. Great program!”
Glenice Peel, Library Supervisor
Big Flats Library
Big Flats, NY
“Teens and adults loved the Spirits program. They jumped when the spooky artifacts moved on their own. They leaned forward in their chairs during the stories and demonstrations. Cris is great to work with – he helped arrange tables, talked at length with the teens afterward, and was very engaging.”
Doris Jean Metzger, Teen Librarian
Steele Memorial Library
Elmira, NY
“Cris Johnson does an excellent job captivating and entertaining the audience. His storytelling is superb. It’s clear he knows his material well and does a wonderful job educating while entertaining. I jumped in my seat more than once as his paranormal happenings thrilled and entertained.”
Tina Dalton, Youth Services Coordinator
Cuba Circulating Library
Cuba, NY
“Cris Johnson was awesome performing the NY Spirits program for my Historical Group. They loved all his facts about local NY spooky houses and places. With his twists of magic and some interactive fun- it was fantastic! Thank you Cris for another wonderful program!”
Nancy Bailey, Library Director
Byron-Bergen Public Library
Bergen, NY
“WOW! Thank you SO MUCH for the fantastic, incredible performance you gave with your New York Spirits program at the Eden Library on Halloween night. Attendance exceeded our expectations and your rapport with the audience kept everyone on the edge of their seats! Patrons loved the show. You did a fantastic job engaging everyone in the tales – I’m hearing so much great feedback from community members who attended and even MORE buzz from those who didn’t make it (lots of ‘well, when is he coming back?’) We truly appreciate your taking time to visit us that evening. I’m definitely looking forward to working with you again!”
Donna-Jo Webster, Library Director
Eden, NY