2022 Haunt Walks: what to expect

Sep. 21—Tina Morrison from The Athens Visitors Center and local author Shane Black were recent guests on "Between the Stacks" to discuss the upcoming Haunt Walks scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays through October. They spoke about what Haunt Walk guests can expect this year, including the ghostly tales of Athens.

"Between the Stacks" is a local podcast presented by the Athens-Limestone Public Library and is hosted by Jen Baxter, the library's director.

"We are really excited about it. Its a two hour walking tour, and you get to hear about the spirits of Athens," Morrison said. "You need comfortable shoes, and dress for the weather. They will continue in a light drizzle. It makes it a bit spookier, I hear."

A new feature this year is the wagon tour with Wild Hearts Cowboy Carriage rides for those who aren't interested in walking the tour. Two tours conducted in Spanish have also been added.

An effort began approximately ten years ago to collect local ghost stories and folklore. "The only way a story dies is if it's not written down," Black said. An ad was placed in the paper asking the community to share their stories and Black described the response as "overwhelming."

"Many of these stories had been passed down within people's families, and many had never shared those stories with outsiders. They did, and we collected them all, put them in a book called The Spirits of Athens, and out of that came the ghost tours.

As for the places you can expect to see, Black said, "We typically tell five or six or stories and walk around the downtown at night telling them. It's great. You learn a lot about the history of Athens with these stories. All of them are rooted with detail."

One of the stops on this year's tour is the beautiful McCandless Hall that was the center of the performing arts many years ago and welcomed many traveling groups and performers. "One of the most well known ghost stories that we have in this town comes from one of the greatest performances that we have ever had in McCandless Hall. That is the tale of Abigail Lydia Burns."

Burns, an aspiring opera singer, performed shortly after McCandless Hall opened in 1912. She would sing and perform and she "captured the hearts of the townsfolk," Black said. After three sold out shows to adoring crowds, the traveling group departed for Florence when tragedy struck.

Abigail had promised the fans back in Athens to return, even if it was the last thing she ever did. Legend says her last words as she passed away that night was, "I have a promise to keep." Has she kept that promise?

Wagon tours for the Haunt Walks are available on EventBrite and must be booked by midnight the day before. The walking tours can be booked up to noon the day of the tour. Tickets are on sale now.