Spring Break
History and Halloween come alive on walking Providence Ghost Tour
Julie Sandberg
Issue date: 10/31/07 Section: Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
10/31/07 - After seeing an advertisement about it in the Cigar, I decided I had to check out the legitimacy of the Providence Ghost Tour. Hiking up to Providence was no problem, but finding the street it was located on was more complicated than it needed to be.
The tour starts and ends at the Roger Williams statue on Prospect Terrace Road. This is when I met our spirited tour guide Courtney Edge, an alumna of the University of Rhode Island. From there the group walks the surrounding Providence streets to get a historical ghost tour of the area.
Telling of a famed Rhode Island School of Design ghost, as well as the different spirits that haunt the Brown University campus, Edge entertained us with numerous stories to match the houses we passed. Unfortunately, we were unable to enter the houses or dormitories, and since there is no guarantee to actually see a ghost, the tour goers had to use their imaginations to get a good feel of what was happening behind closed doors.
The tour visits more than a dozen houses, each with its own unique story. Some involved murders, while others involved tragic love stories with Emo consequences; including one with the very famous Edgar Allen Poe. My favorite factoid from the tour involves three unique books that reside in the Brown Library.
These books are bound in human skin. Yes, you read correctly, human skin. Back in the day some mad scientists decided to use the remnants of criminals to bind their books. Little did they know that hundreds of years later these books would be prized commonalties among historical nerds.
Although Edge states evidence that a number of ghosts have been spotted and captured on film, no ghosts were actually seen on our tour (despite the claims of a hyper-active 10-year-old who was running around with his digital camera.)
I would recommend any ghost-hungry students to definitely check out this tour. At only an hour and a half long, the tour is a perfect mix of Halloween fright and Providence history. The tour guides are extremely friendly and provide entertaining side stories aside from the scripted tour.
For more information visit www.providenceghosttour.com.
The tour starts and ends at the Roger Williams statue on Prospect Terrace Road. This is when I met our spirited tour guide Courtney Edge, an alumna of the University of Rhode Island. From there the group walks the surrounding Providence streets to get a historical ghost tour of the area.
Telling of a famed Rhode Island School of Design ghost, as well as the different spirits that haunt the Brown University campus, Edge entertained us with numerous stories to match the houses we passed. Unfortunately, we were unable to enter the houses or dormitories, and since there is no guarantee to actually see a ghost, the tour goers had to use their imaginations to get a good feel of what was happening behind closed doors.
The tour visits more than a dozen houses, each with its own unique story. Some involved murders, while others involved tragic love stories with Emo consequences; including one with the very famous Edgar Allen Poe. My favorite factoid from the tour involves three unique books that reside in the Brown Library.
These books are bound in human skin. Yes, you read correctly, human skin. Back in the day some mad scientists decided to use the remnants of criminals to bind their books. Little did they know that hundreds of years later these books would be prized commonalties among historical nerds.
Although Edge states evidence that a number of ghosts have been spotted and captured on film, no ghosts were actually seen on our tour (despite the claims of a hyper-active 10-year-old who was running around with his digital camera.)
I would recommend any ghost-hungry students to definitely check out this tour. At only an hour and a half long, the tour is a perfect mix of Halloween fright and Providence history. The tour guides are extremely friendly and provide entertaining side stories aside from the scripted tour.
For more information visit www.providenceghosttour.com.
