The Haunted Downtown Tours of Cape Girardeau will take place throughout the month of October.
For over five years, these tours have brought the tales of Cape’s past to the present. From haunted buildings to Civil War ghosts, the downtown area continues to intrigue crowds.
Christy Mershon is the Assistant Director of Extended and Continuing Education at Southeast Missouri State University as well as a Haunted Tour leader.
She says over the years, the interest in local ghost stories has grown rapidly.
“The interest in everything from ghost hunting 101 to the haunted downtown tours is amazing,” Mershon said. “The very first year that we did these I think we ran 324 people through the tours. Last year we were closer to five hundred people so I anticipate about that we’ll have about the same number this year.”
Mershon says because the city sits right on the banks of the Mississippi, this has provided “fodder” for many great historic tales.
“I think people are always interested in the downtown as a whole. The stories about the river, we stop at the river overlook, a lot of people don’t realize that the stretch of river that runs sort of right in our backyard is one of the most haunted in all the Mississippi. So there’s a lot of good stories there,” Mershon said.
Mershon says they expect to see about five hundred people attend the tours throughout October.
The tours are available Thursday through Saturday until the last week of October.
For more information visti http://www.semo.edu/continuinged/halloweenhorrors.htm