US Airways - October 2013 - (Page 35)
explore
Diversions
Pursuits of
Pleasure
Catching
the Spirit
A ghost tour is the
perfect Halloween
treat. Here are a few
of the eeriest.
by Jeff book
Our fascination with those
who can’t quite quit this
mortal coil is undying. We love to
get spooked by tales of apocalyptic
zombies, bodice-ripping vampires,
and especially — eternally —
ghosts. Plagued by troubled pasts,
doomed to dark mischief, these
unmoored souls are all too human
in their need to act out and act up.
They capture our imagination
when we’re young, and they never let go. One sign
of this is the spate of TV shows such as Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters, which use high-tech gadgets to detect spirits. There are even apps that claim
to communicate with the dearly departed.
Small wonder that across America, ghost tours
have sprung up like toadstools after a rain. So popular are these spiritual scavenger hunts that you can
find them in almost any place with a history and an
evocative setting. According to the Ghost Tour
Directory (ghosttourdirectory.com), the U.S. is now
possessed of 375 such outings. Mingling historical
facts with supernatural stories and macabre humor,
the tour guides aim to entertain — and raise goose
bumps. On some tours they bring along instruments
to record evidence of spectral activity: electromagnetic or thermal energy, orbs and other optical traces, and electronic voice phenomena, also known as
ghost chatter. The tours are typically conducted in
the evening; daytime just doesn’t work.
A ghost tour is always open to the unexpected.
Tour-goers sometimes share their own otherworldly
★
illustration by Frank stockton
anecdotes. And sometimes they encounter something truly weird and spine-chilling.
“I was starting a tour in front of Colonial Park
Cemetery on a chilly November night, when the
temperature dropped suddenly,” recalls James Caskey, historian and tour owner of Savannah’s Cobblestone Tours (ghostsavannah.com). “I noticed nobody
was listening to me — they were all staring into the
cemetery with their mouths open. I turned around
and saw columns of mist, the size and shape of people, rising from the graves. We were all speechless.”
Freaky, weather-related fog? Or something more
spooktacular? Founded in 1733, Savannah has been
called America’s most haunted city, with good reason. “It’s a city marked by tragedy, from the many
who died in the Revolutionary War to countless
victims of disease and disaster, including plagues
and huge fires,” Caskey explains. “As Savannah
grew, it was built on the dead.” Indeed, the city is
home to Native American burial grounds, graves of
colonists and slaves, a Jewish cemetery, and other
skull-and-bone zones.
usairwaysmag.com
october 2013
35
http://www.ghostsavannah.com
http://www.ghosttourdirectory.com
http://www.usairwaysmag.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of US Airways - October 2013
Table of Contents
CEO Letter
From the Editor
Did You Know?
Making It Happen
Hot Spots: Top Spas at Top Resorts
Wine & Dine: Mail-Order BBQ
Wine & Dine: Hard Cider
Golf: The TOURAcademy at TPC Sawgrass
Adventure: P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
Style Spotlight: School Colors
Diversions: City Ghost Tours
Gear Up: Just for Sports Fans
Down to Business: Columbus, Ohio
Chefs Tell: Smith & Wollensky
Charlotte USA
Travel Feature: Maui
US Airways: BE PINK Campaign
Down to Business: IPNav
Going the Extra Block: Philadelphia Neighborhoods
University Spotlight: University of Dayton
Best of Health: Miami Beach Foot and Ankle Surgery
Best of Living: Eagles Nest
Great Dates
Puzzles
Readers Resource Index
Your US Airways Guide
Video Entertainment
Audio Entertainment
U.S. and Caribbean Service Map
International Service Map
Airport Terminal Maps
US Airways Fleet/Customs & Immigration
Passenger Info/Contact US Airways
US Airways MarketPlace®
Window or Aisle?
US Airways - October 2013
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