The next time you're in Old City hitting the bars, there's more to be scared of than the skeleton-thin martini sippers at the Continental. As you meander off Market Street, you might just stumble into one of Philly's haunted hangouts. From April through Halloween, Ghost Tour offers psuedo spooky walking tours through gentrified Old City in the evenings. Fans of the paranormal and their compatriots are taken to some of Philadelphia's oldest landmarks by a "mysterious" guide whose face, covered by a mask, is never seen. Our guide, a young bloke called "Nickademus," definitely stuck out among the Burberry clad residents of the area in a cloak complete with a plastic cane. Nickademus started us off at a little square called Signer's Garden on the corner of Fifth and Chestnut. Lucky for me, the spookiness factor of the tour was upped by the pre-pubescent presence of a bunch of middle schoolers, for whom the tour was privately arranged.
Our first stop was Library Hall. Over the din of passing SEPTA buses, the terror-stricken middle-schoolers cowered under the statue of Ben Franklin, expecting it to come alive as Nickademus intimated that it had before. The next stop on our ghastly tour was spooky old Independence Hall, where Liberty frightfully abounds. Legend has it that Park Rangers have heard the echoing footsteps of soldiers who died in the former hospital upstairs. At Washington Square, my fellow scaredy-pants tour members looked around cautiously for Leah, the old woman who watched over graves of those buried here in colonial times. It is estimated that over 4,000 criminals and paupers were buried here between Walnut and Chestnut streets -- the nightmarish equivalent of Freddy Kreuger's Elm Street. Standing above their overgrown, sunken graves, Bobby age 13 jumped at an unidentified stamping sound behind us, only to find that it was just a passerby removing some remnant horse dung from his shoe.
At this point you may be ready to pee your pants, but hold it -- the tour of terror continues to Powell House, Bishop White House and St. Peter's Churchyard, where the visage of a strange woman appeared in a past tour-goer's photograph where not a living soul was present before. The tour frightfully finished at Old City Tavern, where a bride burned to death still resides. If it hasn't occured to you already, the tour, though a little cheesy, is a great way to learn about Philly's ghoulish past. But beware, don't forget to wear comfortable shoes and watch for horse dung wherever you step. Keep your eyes open, as you just might be one of the many to see something... unsightly.
