Twelfth Annual Spirit Walk Tickets on Sale

The Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society is pleased to present the twelfth annual Spirit Walk of historic downtown Charlottesville, under the direction of returning Artistic Director Ronald Harris, on October 20, 21, and 22. Spirit Walkers take a ghost-guided tour through the avenues and alleys of historic Charlottesville, and encounter an astonishing array of apparitions: the souls of saints and sinners who built Charlottesville and Albemarle County down through the ages.

Every year different specters haunt the city streets, but certain ghosts are reliably likely to be sighted.

In the Court Square area lurks Johnny Yergin, a legendary 18^th century miser, misanthrope and recluse who sold liquor through a shuttered shop window, never venturing into the light of day.

Inside the stately Albemarle County Courthouse, shadowy barristers reenact the controversial trial of a particularly notorious and violent crime.

Near the site of Swan Tavern, Jack Jouett recalls his perilous night-time ride from Louisa County which saved the rebellious General Assembly and Gov. Thomas Jefferson from capture by the cruel Col. Banastre Tarleton and his Redcoats.

Along a lantern-lit path between the tombstones of Maplewood Cemetery, Civil War generals and foot soldiers mingle with grieving mothers, wives, daughters and lovers. Haunting their own moonlit graves will be late local luminaries such as Miss Maude Woods, the judge's beautiful but ill-fated daughter, and professional baseball pitcher Charlie Ferguson, who is reputed to have invented the curveball while playing for the Philadelphia Quakers.

As in years past, the sounds of a barbershop quartet waft near the old Levy Opera House.

The tour ends at the old McIntire Public Library (home of the Historical Society) with music, hot cider, gourmet cookies, and an exhibit on the old Woolen Mills neighborhood.           

Tickets for the Spirit Walk are available starting on September 18^th, $12 for adults and $5 for children under 12 for tours before 8 p.m. On Friday, tours leave every 15 minutes from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., on Saturday from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and on Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tickets sell out every year, so be sure to reserve yours by calling the Society at 434-296-1492. Tours will leave from Court Square on Jefferson St. and end at the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society's headquarters, the McIntire Building, located at 200 Second Street, N.E., in downtown Charlottesville. Because the tours take place rain or shine, please dress for the weather and let us know if anyone in your group uses a wheelchair so that we can avoid uneven ground.