Thursday, October 27, 2005

ghosts and gravestones

In keeping with my chosen name, last night my favorite work colleague Miss Googly-Eyes and her husband, another work friend, Josh and I went on a tour of Boston called Ghosts and Gravestones, otherwise known as Trolley of the doomed. MWAH HA HA HA HA (insert creepy laugh here).

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so I can't show you a picture of Igor our trolley driver, or Lucius our guide, who asked all the ladies to call him Luscious instead. He was cute and funny, with a spooky and creepy voice that was clearly contrived. He made us laugh, though, so we forgave the mildly cheesy voice.

I won't tell you about all of our stops, just in case any Bostonians choose to take the tour at some point, but I'll give you some highlights.

Did you know that there are a series of tunnels underground in Boston's North End that connect many of the different buildings and converge beneath the Copp's Hill Burial Grounds? Our guide Luscious had a key to all of the cemeteries, so we wandered about in the pitch darkness with only his candle to light our way. Trust me, it is spooooooky. Along with stories about haunting in these tunnels, the cemetery and adjacent houses, it creates quite the mood.

I was shocked to find out that the Boston Common, one of my favorite places to sit and read a book in the summer, attend Shakespeare in the Park or ice skate in the winter, was the site for public executions in Boston for many decades. There was even a hanging tree where people would attend hangings, a la festival style with lots of crowds. And to make matters worse, there are bodies buried throughout the park without markers. It does make you wonder why there are no flowers in Boston Common when you cross the street into the Public Garden and there are bounteous amounts of flora and fauna. Hmmmm.

Then there is the Old Granery Burial Ground, where Paul Revere lies, with many reports of hauntings and strange figures appearing in the frames of pictures taken in the cemetery. Miss Googly-Eyes' husband took some pictures, and I'll be sure to let you know if any spirits graced us with their image.

In between the sights, Luscious graced us with stories of the Boston Strangler, the Omni Parker Hotel and a few more spooky sites. I recommend the tour if you're looking for something amusing, but not too scary, with lots of history thrown in.

I may take a trip down to my favorite video store tonight to start stocking up on scary movies for this weekend. Any suggestions? The scarier the better.... Boo!

7 comments:

Running2Ks said...

Ok that makes Boston the Halloweeniest town I have ever heard of. I love this holiday. And your descriptions. Sounds like a blast!

Running2Ks said...

As for movies, anything in the "dead wet girl" genre, or the cheez of the Friday the 13th and/or Halloween series. Someone just recommended "Saw" to me. I tend to like some slasher with a lot of things you don't see that scare you.

halloweenlover said...

I saw Saw recently (HA!) and it was terrible. I'd definitely NOT recommend it. Friday the 13th is always a favorite!

ccw said...

That sounds like so much scary fun!

"Halloween", "Hellraiser" is always creepy if you like gore, "The Omen" - nothing like a creepy kid and dogs to get you going, the first "Nigthmare on Elm Street" - I didn't want to sleep after seeing that.

Andres said...

You didn't like SAW.. I am not sure I would call it scary (gory yess!).. but not scary. I take it that means you are not going to venture out to see Saw 2. 13 Ghosts was alright if you haven't already seen it.... very creative. If you like scary sci-fi Event Horizon is a must.

Andres said...

Oh Bethiclaus and I saw Cute Eye Pillows at target and thought of you.

halloweenlover said...

I love that you thought of me out shopping! Yes, I thought Saw was so not scary and just gory and messed up (for lack of a better term).

Children always scare me : ) Only the creepy ones, though.