Ghost tales and history: A recipe for fun and adventure
Story and photos by Evelyn French

The fall season always makes me long for getting outside in the cooler weather, attending football games and watching leaves change colors. Most of all I love this time of year for the holiday of Halloween - carving pumpkins, passing candy out to children in spooky, ghoulish costumes, and yearning to hear a good ghost story.

GHOSTS OF AMELIA

My soul shall stroll this shore once more
   when I am long since gone.
The waves will curl and clouds unfurl
   above my dust and bone.
The sand will blow and sea oats grow
   and I’ll not rest alone.
This shore shall store my mem’ry more
   than any cold headstone.

Cheryl Olliff
Aiken, SC

Recently, I had the pleasure of taking a couple of ghost tours here on our island - one was with Ghost Tours of Amelia and the other with the Amelia Island Museum of History. I won't spoil the tours by giving detailed names and places we talked about and visited, but I can tell you that both are equally different, spooky and fun for the whole family. Even if you are a skeptic, you will be astonished at the amount of names, dates and places in history that are listed. At least a dozen houses, some churches and even a couple of cemeteries are mentioned. To my amazement, I learned so much more about the history of our little town. I'm a native, and I was still impressed by the knowledge these gentlemen gave on the tours. They were both very informative and answered all the questions our group asked.

Joe Anderson, our tour guide from the museum, shared many thoughts with us about ghosts and their tales from many years ago. Joe said, "The question I get asked the most is have I ever seen a ghost? The answer is no, but most people who believe in ghosts have never seen one themselves." He goes on to tell us fascinating legends and myths that make the night come alive with mystery and intrigue.

Tour guide Joe Anderson speaks to a group of
Amelia Island Museum of History ghost tour participants
at the St. Peter's Episcopal cemetery.
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Each walking tour is between 60 to 90 minutes long and covers about 14 blocks of the downtown area. Even though we didn't reach Fort Clinch on our tour, there was information given about some ghosts that show their haunting selves out there.

As the night ended, we all found ourselves standing in the St. Peter's Episcopal cemetery, a place I have to admit was a little spooky as our group stood there in the dark. Hearing about souls that rise from their graves and walk the streets downtown at night had us all looking over our shoulders. Mike, our tour guide from Ghost Tours of Amelia, told us of someone on a previous tour that swears she was tapped on the shoulder as she exited the graveyard that night. She didn't know she was the last one to leave the cemetery. When she saw no one was behind her, she felt chills and realized she might have just encountered a ghost that lives there.

Ghost Tours of Amelia depart every Friday and
Saturday night from the Fred's parking lot at 8th & Ash.
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True or not, it makes you wonder and sparks interest to hear some of the other ghostly tales. I am looking forward to taking my relatives on a ghost tour when they come to town. I couldn't imagine a better time of year to be outside and in the night air of downtown Amelia Island, a great recipe for fun and adventure. I recommend that you take both tours because they are different. Each one takes you to different sites and puts a little different spin on the history of our beautiful town and the supernatural spirits that linger here. The Museum and Ghost Tours of Amelia do charge a small fee for the tour, so please call ahead for prices and times.

Amelia Island Museum of History
233 South 3rd Street. 904-261-7378.
www.ameliaislandmuseumofhistory.org

Tours regularly scheduled on Fridays at 6:00 p.m. between September and June. Meet at the cemetery behind St. Peter's Episcopal Church (corner of 8th and Centre).

Ghost Tours of Amelia
904-548-0996 or 1-866-ghosts0
www.ghosttoursofameliaisland.com

Tour times every Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. You can also request for a private tour any day of the week. Ticket booth is located at the corner of 8th and Ash Streets in the Fred's department store parking lot.