Post by Joanna on Oct 24, 2018 21:41:19 GMT -5
Graveyard Tours on Which You May See an Actual Ghost
A cemetery offers a chance to learn history, admire scenery and maybe, encounter a spirit or two. “When I first started paranormal investigations, that’s where I would go,” says Chris Smith, a member of the Tennessee Wraith Chasers, which uses electronic equipment to detect energy they believe could indicate the presence of a ghost. The group also hosts Haunted Live, an interactive series on the Travel Channel and live-streamed on its Facebook page. He and his fellow chasers Steven “Doogie” McDougal and Scott Porter, share some favorite graveyard tours, including several tied to Halloween.
Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia. If this Spanish moss-draped graveyard looks familiar, it’s because it played a key role in the book and movie, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. But the cemetery’s fame isn’t just hype, McDougal insists. “Everyone knows Savannah to be very haunted. There are bodies buried everywhere.” The highlight of the tour is the statue of Little Gracie (above), which reportedly cries bloody tears. www.bonaventurecemeterytours.com/
Chicago History Museum Cemetery Tours, Chicago. You can explore the spooky side of the Windy City on a series of special day and evening cemetery tours offered by the Museum. Outings include an Art Deco tour, visits to Graceland cemetery and graves in Lincoln Park. Porter is particularly enthused about the haunted possibilities of the Bohemian National Cemetery tour. “People are always reporting stuff,” he says. “It’s a great location to go visit.” www.chicagohistory.org/
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It’s no surprise that one of America’s bloodiest battlegrounds is ground zero for paranormal activity, the show hosts claim. “All that energy was realized there,” says Porter. “Ghosts still walk the battlefields. Ghosts still walk the cemeteries.” Indeed, visitors have reported encountering men in uniform who talk with them and then simply disappear. www.gettysburgghosttours.com/cemetery-tour/
Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York. With more than a half-million permanent residents, this National Historic Landmark is larger than most cities. “I was shocked when I saw that number,” Porter declares. “It has everything from Civil War generals to baseball players to politicians and entertainers.” But it’s also the site of the Revolutionary War Battle of Brooklyn, which accounts for a massive release of paranormal energy, he claims. The cemetery sponsors nighttime shows and trolley tours on which you will see many noteworthy tombs, including the Reed Mausoleum, where Jonathan Reed lived for years with his dead wife. www.green-wood.com/historic-trolley-tours/
Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles. Celebrities are no more than six feet away at this final resting of entertainment legends such as Rudolph Valentino, Judy Garland and even punk rocker Johnny Ramone. The cemetery hosts public events and a Day of the Dead celebration. “You can take the tour there and stick around for movies and music,” McDougal says. www.cemeterytour.com/
Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, South Carolina. While listening to the stories narrated during the annual Confederate Ghost Walk, held each October, some have seen a young girl in old-fashioned attire walking with a gentleman in the gray uniform of the Confederacy. Most assume the pair are reenactors ... until they vanish into thin air. In fact, the cemetery (above) is haunted by the spirit of a child who drowned in the nearby Cooper River after dropping her doll into the water and attempting to retrieve it. The Confederate soldier is believed to be her father. www.magnoliacemetery.net/
St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans. With ornate above-ground tombs and mausoleums, New Orleans’ cities of the dead are brimming with history. Visitors come daily to St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 to see graves of politicians, musicians and, most notably, voodoo queen Marie Laveau. “Everybody thinks she still has power over the city, which is creepy itself because it means she’s pulling strings from beyond the grave,” McDougal asserts. “Take pictures, look around and use your senses. This place has some deep history. There’s no telling what’s going on there.” ghostcitytours.com/
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Cemetery, Key West, Florida. Hauntings at this historic cemetery may be linked to changes made to the property over the years. “They’ve been having so much paranormal activity since its renovation,” says Smith, who reports numerous electronic voice phenomena (ghostly recordings known as EVPs), and sightings of a man in 19th-century clothing, who could be John Fleming, one of the original founders of Key West. www.viator.com/Key-West-tours/Ghost-and-Vampire-Tours/d661-g4-c118
Sunrise Cemetery, Fortuna, California. This northern California resting place celebrates Halloween with a tour called “Grave Matters and Untimely Departures.” Costumed reenactors recount tales of early settlers and notorious residents, including bootleggers, jilted lovers and heroes. According to Smith, “It’s’ almost like going to a show and having that creep factor there.” www.visitredwoods.com/event/grave-matters-%26-untimely-departures/5029/
UTC Cemetery Ghost Hunt, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Prospective ghost hunters can get a taste of a paranormal investigation on this fully-equipped tour through the 130-year-old University of Tennessee campus and several area graveyards, including a pauper’s cemetery, which, according to legend, was robbed by medical students seeking cadavers for dissection. Participants have the opportunity to use infrared temperature guns, electromagnetic field detectors and other specialized equipment. “It kind of puts you in our shoes,” Smith says. www.chattanoogaghosttours.com/hunts
Williamsburg, Virginia. This colonial capital is home to several haunted sites including the Bruton Parish and Galt Family cemeteries. “Some of the tour guides report being touched,” Smith claims. Tours also visit the Peyton Randolph House, home to what has been called one of the most haunted buildings in the country, possibly because it’s partially built on an American Indian burial site. colonialghosts.com/cemetery-tours
Sources: Larry Bleiberg, USA Today, October 19, 2018; US Cemetery Tours, and The Confederate Heritage Trust.