Walking among shadows -- Waynesborough spook trail
By Barbara Arntsen
Published in News on October 18, 2004 2:01 PM
Fog swirled above the swamp behind the Old Waynesborough Village, its ghostly fingers poking through the walkways around the old historic buildings.
The eerie atmosphere was a natural companion to the historic candlelight tour going on at the village for two weekends this month.
Guides lead guests on the 20-minute tour, giving them a glimpse of the "Shadows of Waynesborough."
"This is a very different kind of tour," said Danny Davis, one of the guides. "There will be nothing jumping out at you, but there's more playing with your mind."
The soft glow of oil lamps provides the only light on the tour, which includes an old farmhouse, a doctor's office, a church, a graveyard and a school.
At each stop along the way Davis shares local history, mixed in with some scary folklore.
A 5-year-old boy surveyed a beating heart at the doctor's office before turning to his grandparents and saying, "This is fascinating."
Soon, though, he decided the tour was a little bit scary.
The group learned more about a jilted bride, a school teacher believed to be a witch, and a crooked lawyer who meets a questionable death.
The tour uses subtle special effects to highlight the scary stories, relying more on the imagination than on blatant physical fright tactics.
For $5, people can be tantalized by the legends of the county in a historic setting.
This weekend, Oct. 22 and 23, the village will be the host of the final two nights of the shadowy tour from 7 to 9 p.m. Each tour takes about 20 minutes. Groups of eight or more should call in advance to make a reservation.
The village is at 801 U.S. 117 S. Bypass in Goldsboro, across from the National Guard Armory. For more information, call 731-1653.