Haunts Walks

For the past nine years, the annual Haunts Walks have been popular attractions in downtown Athens, and organizers are gearing up for a new season.

The spooky excursion leads guests on a 90-minute walking tour that uncovers paranormal activity and hauntings in the historic downtown area. Tickets are $5 per person and advanced purchase is required. Tickets are sold from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the Athens Visitor Center at 100 N. Beaty St.

“What is a better way to learn about your town than to walk the streets in the dark and have a stranger set the scene where you are immersed in the characters and lives of the past,” said Teresa Todd, director of the Athens-Limestone County Tourism Association. “It’s so much better than those thick history books in school, and kids learn the history quicker, easier and it stays with them.”

During the Athens Haunts Walks, experienced and entertaining tour guides tell stories of paranormal activity at 13 local structures. Stories include the college student who fell to her death and is said to still roam the halls at Athens State University’s Founders Hall, and the great 1893 fire that burned the wooden buildings on Marion Street.

Tours include a stop at Founders Hall, where the students of the then-named Athens Female Institute watched Union and Confederate soldiers do battle during the Civil War. It also includes a stop at the Houston Library, where a crowd gathered on the night voters elected George Houston as the state’s first governor after reconstruction.

In the past, tour participants have included believers of paranormal behavior and some skeptics of the supernatural.

“Many participants come for the education, and they see the tours as a way to get to know Athens,” Todd said. “With previous tours, we have had new residents participate so they can learn as much as possible about the history of the town they now call home.”

Suitable for adults and students in grades 4 and up, the Haunts Walks take place every Tuesday and Thursday night in October, with the first walk beginning at 6:30 p.m. followed by a second walk at 7.

Leading the tours are Bill Ward, Shane Black, Garth Lovvorn Jr., Mindy Slinkard, Anna Gibbs and Jerry Barksdale. All tours depart from the Visitors Center. Guests are asked to arrive 15 minutes before scheduled tour time. Each one-mile walk takes approximately 90 minutes.

For more information, call the Athens-Limestone County Tourism Association at 256-232-5411.