The Kent Stage’s Ghost Walk took patrons around older places in downtown Kent Oct. 13 and 14. Some stories involved familiar locations like the Phi Sigma Kappa and Alpha Tau Delta fraternity houses on Main Street. 

The tour began by taking guests to the Kent Historical Society, located next to the Alpha Tau Delta house. Here, Richele Charlton, assistant director at The Kent Stage and host of the tour, recited stories related to the house. 

“This house was not always a fraternity house, it was owned by a man named Co Livingston… he had a men’s fine store,”  Charlton said. 

Livingston is said to have worn the clothes and accessories he sold and was the first person in Kent to install electric lights. His favorite piece was a cane he carried everywhere with him, Charlton said.  

“Livingston was a very organized person,” Charlton said. 

After his death, future residents of the house claimed to have found a cane neatly tucked away in an upstairs closet. 

One of the most shocking revelations of the night was the reveal of the headstone built into the wall outside of the Phi Sigma Kappa house. 

“A lot of people have been living in Kent for years and never realized there was a headstone there,” Charlton said. 

Charlton told the story of a fraternity brother who worked at a cemetery and found a cracked tombstone that needed to be replaced. The fraternity brother opted to take the old tombstone back with him as a prop for a Halloween party. As time passed, the fraternity needed to build a retaining wall to support the collapsing yard.

In search of materials to use, they turned to the old Halloween decoration. 

“When they decided to put the wall in, being the fraternity brothers that they were, they decided to stick the headstone in the wall,” Charlton said. 

The headstone can still be found in the wall today, painted over. It is the reported cause for a number of rooms in the house to give off a feeling of uneasiness and dread. 

Charlton said he spoke with past and current residents of the house who have reported strange noises from the kitchen at night as well as rooms that feel off. 

The rest of the tour traveled throughout downtown Kent, recalling its history and hauntings in some of the older buildings including Pacific East and the Hometown Bank Plaza. 

The hosts of the tour said remembering stories, even the gruesome ones, is important for preserving history. 

“Spirits bring the past into the present,” Charlton said. 

Andrew Bowie is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].