The restoration of Falcon Rest began in 1989. When the mansion opened to the public after 4-1/2 years of hard work, over 1,000 local people toured during the first two days. 
     But it was the state's electric co-op magazine that started the love affair between Falcon Rest and tour groups.  Tennessee Magazine has over 400,000 readers, and when the Victorian Gentleman and Lady appeared on its cover a few months after the mansion opened, the church and senior groups started calling.  They had two reactions: "This is one of our favorite mansions we ever toured" and "Where do we go eat?"  It didn't take long to figure out the correct answer was, "Right here!"
     It came in handy that The Victorian Lady grew up in South Louisiana and was born with a talent for great food, and that The Victorian Gentleman has been accused of being a born storyteller.  Murfreesboro Magazine called him "a walking encyclopedia in a tuxedo."  Last month's Group Tour Magazine said, "Tales roll off his tongue as easily as butter off a hot knife."

Face #1:  The Victorian Gentleman
Meals were served on the mansion's veranda when those first groups came, and the Gentleman had a revelation -- 30 or 40 people can't fit in one room for a mansion tour, much less see and hear.  So the Vaudeville Style History Show was born, with the fun-loving, full-figured, fast-talking Victorian Gentleman weaving funny stories about the mansion's history while folks were seated comfortably for their meal.  Then they were turned loose to spread out in the mansion, seeing everything at their own pace without having to look over somebody's shoulder.  The groups were soon coming year round, and a large and elegant Victorian Carriage House dining room followed -- complete with a stage where the Gent could spin his tales.

Face #2:  Buffalo Bill (aka Mr. Faulkner)
A former employee who had become director of a local charity came to the Victorian Gentleman several years ago, asking him to put on a Victorian play she had found as a fund raiser.  He said, "I've been thinking about doing a murder mystery based on the real history of the mansion for a long time.  Let's do that instead."  He and his wife played Mr. and Mrs. Faulkner, the former employee became Mag the Cook, and all the local people in the audience were assigned real characters from 1897.  By the time Mag discovered Mr. Faulkner dead in her kitchen, and Buffalo Bill Cody (who really was in Middle Tennessee in 1897) showed up to solve the murder, the audience was rolling with laughter.  Murder at the Mansion has been performed hundreds of times since, participated in with delight by groups aged 10 to 90 from all over the country.

Face #3:  The Clay Ghost
Falcon Rest's employees also inspired its newest show, Ghost at the Mansion.  The building was known for its spirits even before it was restored, and the staff kept insisting, "Do something about the ghosts."  At "the Victorian mansion where history is fun," a spooky show didn't seem appropriate, so this one is designed to tickle the funny bone as well as the spine.  Stories about the mysterious, unusual happenings at Falcon Rest and other Tennessee  locations are woven into a light-hearted ghost convention set in the modern era.  Everyone in the audience gets a character, only in this show, they're all dead.  The Victorian Gentleman and Lady are Mr. Faulkner and his mother-in-law Darthula, and the governess Georgia Cox takes on the personality of  the employee who often plays her: "she's looking for a man, and any man will do."