Ghost tours return despite pandemic

By Joe Earle

Come October, ghost tours seem thick as pumpkins around metro Atlanta. So many pop up that it can feel like about every metro community is haunted by that spectral someone just waiting to tell his or her story or produces an eager tour guide willing to tell the living about the dead.

This year is different, of course. Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, many tours are being cancelled, presumably so this year’s ghost fans won’t show up on future tours in a different way.

Still, it’s hard to keep a good ghost story buried, and some metro guides and tour-hosting institutions are going ahead with their shows, which can offer a good way to learn a little local history. Some tours have moved online, while participants in other tours are being asked to don masks and socially distance themselves for inperson strolls through their haunted hometowns.

Here are few tours that, as of mid-September, organizers were planning to present this year. If you want to join one, check the company’s website to make sure the tour still is on and that tickets still are available.

Capturing the Spirit of Oakland Halloween Tour

Oakland Cemetery’s popular tour, a major fundraiser for the cemetery, is scheduled to return Oct. 15-Nov.1. Visitors who take the tours meet ghosts who inhabit the historic cemetery and retell the tales of their lives. Due to the pandemic, fewer tickets are being sold for each night this year than in the past to allow for greater spacing between people on the tours. Participants will be required to wear masks. The cemetery will offer hand-sanitizing stations, not use paper tickets for the tours, and require payment by credit or debit card. It also is making videos of the ghosts’ presentations, in case the tour must move online. Tickets cost $40, $28 for children aged 4 to 12. On VIP night, Oct. 16, admission includes a three-course meal and tickets cost $150.

For more: oaklandcemetery.com/event/capturing-the-spirithalloween-tours-2020

Decatur Ghost Tour

This guided walking tour covers a little more than a mile as

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participants stroll around downtown Decatur and visit sites such as the DeKalb County Courthouse, High House and the city cemetery. Tour guides retell the stories, both historical and paranormal, of some the city’s haunted spots. Masks are recommended, but not required, and tour groups will be limited to 25 to allow for social distancing. Tickets cost $15 for adults, $12 for children 10 and younger. For more: decaturghosttour.com

Lawrenceville Ghost Tours

The Aurora Theater presents 90-minute tours on weekend evenings through Halloween of reputedly haunted spots in downtown Lawrenceville. Tour groups will be limited to 15 people, guides will wear face shields, and participants are asked to wear masks and stay at least 6 feet apart. Advance reservations are required. Tickets cost $20 for adults, $15 for children.

For more: https://www.auroratheatre.com/productions-andprograms/view/lawrenceville-ga-ghost-tours

Ghosts of Marietta

Don’t let this 5-month-old sweetheart’s grumpy face fool you- Coventry may be a bit shy at first, but she loves to play with all sorts of toys and is learning more about how to be a cat every day. Coventry originally came to the Atlanta Humane Society as a tiny newborn kitten who had been abandoned by her mother and needed to be nursed around the clock. This little girl is a fighter who pulled through against all odds, and now she’s looking for a home to call her own. As she was growing, we noticed that she had some slight tremors and an abnormal gait, and some tests revealed that little Coventry has cerebellar hypoplasia, which is a neurological condition. Her case isn’t too severe, and she will still live a normal, healthy life… she just might wobble a little bit! Because she’s a bit shy, Coventry is looking for a patient adopter. She is spayed, microchipped, up-to-date on vaccinations.

Georgia, an affectionate, 6.5-year-old Boxer mix is hoping her perfect match is out there somewhere. She’s potty-trained, crate-trained, knows basic manners, loves going on long walks and doesn’t pull much on the leash, and she’s looking for a low-key home where she can relax, get as many cuddles as hear heart desires, and go on a nice long walk every day. Since she has done so well with her foster brothers, we believe Georgia would likely be successful with another dog. Georgia is spayed, microchipped, up-to-date on vaccinations.

While the Atlanta Humane Society is closed to the public, you can apply to adopt a pet by visiting atlantahumane.org/adoptionapplication.

Guides lead a 90-minute, lantern-lighted tour through downtown Marietta. Ghosts of Marietta says its guides base their presentations on documented sightings, first-hand experiences and local history. During the tours, they scare up a ghost or two at some of the Cobb County city’s best-known spots. Tours are held year-round on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, starting at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $17 for adults, $12 for children 12 and younger.

For more: ghostsofmarietta.com

Roswell Ghost Tour

Owner David Wood said his company shut down its tours for several months this year because of COVID-19, but now is back in operation. They re-started in June, he said, because of popular demand – customers kept calling and saying they wanted to take part in outside activities again. “It an outdoors exercise thing,” he said. “People are just dying to get out of their homes.” Guides lead groups of up to 40 or so tourists on a 1.5-mile walking tour and share local ghost stories as they pass landmarks such as Bulloch Hall or the founder’s cemetery. Masks are recommended, but not required. Tickets cost $20 for adults, $10 for children 12 and younger.

For more: roswellghosttour.com

Tour of Southern Ghosts

For its 35th anniversary, the ghost tour put together by ART Station in Stone Mountain is going online because of the pandemic. The tour will include ghost stories from across the South. To link to this year’s tour, presented Oct. 15-31, go to artstation.org, Tickets cost $17.

For more: www.artstation.org/current-events