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Letter to the editor

Ghostly gathering in Euclid / St. Paul's

By LORRIE LYKINS, Times Correspondent
Published October 17, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - Competitive spirit was the impetus for residents of the Euclid/St. Paul's neighborhood, who decided to launch a guided Halloween tour in 2004 after a few of them took a professional ghost tour in Savannah, Ga., a few years ago.

Frank Chapman and Wendy Wesley were underwhelmed by their Savannah experience and quickly became convinced that they could do better, especially in their historic St. Petersburg neighborhood known for its stately oaks, brick-lined streets and historic homes.

Chapman had some ideas and Wesley, a professional event planner, had always wanted to stage a ghost tour as a fundraiser. And so the Euclid-St. Paul's Haunted Hike was born.

"Once we started talking about it, it took off and when we realized the neighborhood's initials are ESP, we just knew it was meant to be," Wesley said.

The annual event has grown from the first year when a committee of three put the haunted hike together. Hundreds of volunteer hours have been devoted to producing this year's tour, which organizers call low-tech, family-friendly storytelling, but that's the charm of it, Wesley says.

"It has really gone a long way to pull the neighborhood together to make it happen, it's kind of old-fashioned and that makes it special" said Wesley.

The hike consists of tours through the neighborhood guided by costumed characters who tell mostly fictional spooky stories about homes on the haunted path and the people who once occupied them.

The tour has evolved to include stops at several homes for spooky storytelling by costumed hosts. The storytellers write their own tales and create costumes to go with their stories. Wesley says that some residents have delivered such outstanding performances that organizers have been asked if the event is produced by professional actors.

If you go

Haunted Hike

When: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Brave souls should gather at the corner of 13th Street and 13th Avenue N

Cost: $5 adults, $1 children

Info: www.espna.org

[Last modified October 16, 2007, 22:38:54]