Council adopts new paranormal tour fees for Zalud House

City hopes increase will encourage public to be more respectful of museum

The Porterville City Council agreed Tuesday to adopt a new fee schedule for paranormal tours and investigations at the Zalud House Museum.

For the longest time, $25 would pay for a fourhour paranormal tour for one adult. The cost now is $20 per adult and the tour is only for two hours.

Nevertheless, a fourhour paranormal investigation is still available, but

instead of $40, the cost is now $50 per adult.

It is important to note, however, that any professional investigation request will be negotiated.

The cost for a regular tour for children is $1 instead of $.50, and is $3 per adult instead of $2.

Donnie Moore, the city’s Parks and Leisure Services director, said city staff will be present for all tours and investigations only if there is a minimum of four people present.

The main reason for the fee increases, Moore said, is to encourage the public to be more careful and respectful of the museum during tours and investigations, which he said has been a problem in the past.

To get an idea of how much to increase the fees, Moore said the city’s Parks and Leisure Services commission evaluated fees from eight museums throughout the state that offer paranormal tours and investigations.

Porterville resident Richard Marrero, who frequents the museum, said he and other paranormal investigators haven’t been able to conduct an investigation for some time and wondered when the city will start allowing residents into the museum.

Moore said he has been getting a couple of calls from paranormal enthusiasts like Marrero, and noted that he will start scheduling appointments.

Moore said there are three types of paranormal requests that are fielded by staff. The first, he said, are individuals that do not own investigative equipment who are interested in a tour led by Heather Huerta, the curator of the museum.

The second, Moore said, are focused on amateur paranormal groups with equipment who are interested in conducting their own investigation. The third is from professional groups interested in conducting an investigation.

Moore said the museum started offering the

tours in 2010, along with regular tours. He said city council approved the paranormal tours as an additional revenue generator.

He said the Zalud House was officially opened as a museum on May 1, 1977 to preserve the legacy of the Zalud family.

Such a legacy, Porterville resident Brock Neeley said, could be capitalized on to attract more people to the museum.

“One thing for marketing that I would suggest is to go through the family records of the Zalud family and find significant dates within that family that could lead to certain deaths,” Neeley said, adding, “Promote that on some of the paranormal sites and make those specific dates the big events that maybe you can get some draw.”

Neeley said, nevertheless, that he likes the direction the Zalud House Museum is moving in.

The next city council meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. on April 4 in the council chambers at Porterville’s City Hall.