Tour Mayslake Hall in search of 'Peabody's Tomb'
Trained as a nurse, Chrissie Howorth's life has taken her in some strange directions.
Her latest projects? Managing operations at the Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook and, after hours, writing.
Those two passions come together in First Folio Theatre's “Searching for Peabody's Tomb,” an interactive play she wrote that was inspired by — and is being staged at — the very estate she is working to restore.
“I have been working with First Folio on their other productions,” Howorth explains. “And over the years we have talked about the many urban legends associated with Mayslake.”
Mayslake Hall was built in 1921 for coal magnate F.S. Peabody, who was, at the time, one of the richest men in the county. After Peabody's death, the building was occupied by a religious order, the Franciscan Order of Friar's Minor, who turned the estate into a retreat house.
One of the most often repeated urban legends about the estate was that Peabody was buried on the premises. And not just buried, but interred in a very bizarre fashion.
“Many believed he was buried in a glass casket, floating in oil,” Howorth says. “We have lots of stories of people ‘breaking in' when Mayslake operated as a Franciscan monastery, searching for Peabody's Tomb.”
“There are various stories about what would happen if the monks found you,” Howorth laughs.
The odd thing was that Franciscan monks did have a glass casket with a body floating in it — only it was a relic of St. Innocentius.
Howorth collected her favorite urban legends about Mayslake Hall and, working with director and First Folio founder Alison Vesely, turned them into “Searching for Peabody's Tomb.”
The 20-minute show/tour combines the chills of Halloween with the experience of seeing a fine building.
Restoration of the building came naturally to Howorth, who grew up on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Her father specialized in rehabbing historic homes. So when Howorth moved to the United States to be with her American husband, restoring the Peabody mansion was a natural fit.
“I spent my whole life in homes that were in disrepair,” she laughs.
Mayslake Hall is a striking spot — and a good place for interactive theater.
“It is not a haunted house; it is an interactive Halloween experience,” Howorth says of her show. “We are taking our visitors on a tour of the Mayslake Hall in search of the spirit of F.S. Peabody. We are aiming at creating an eerie chill as opposed to a really scary scare.”
If you go
If you go
What: “Searching For Peabody's Tomb”
When: 7 to 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday; 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday through Oct. 30; 7 to midnight Monday, Oct. 31
Where: Mayslake Hall, located on the grounds of the Mayslake Peabody Estate, 31st Street and Route 83, Oak Brook.
Tickets: $10
Details: (630) 986-8067 or <a href="http://www.firstfolio.org">www.firstfolio.org</a>