Unexplained things are happening in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Once a major player in the American Civil War, Vicksburg is now a sleepy little town filled with history and ,possibly, hauntings. I’m a fan of a good ghost tour, so I could not pass up the chance to attend a Ghost Walk tour with Morgan Gates, founder of Haunted Vicksburg Ghost Tour.
We gathered at the corner of Grove and Monroe streets beside the Old Courthouse Museum to spend 90 minutes strolling through 12 blocks of “Vicksburg’s oldest and most haunted neighborhood.” Morgan combines his ghostly tales with the history of the city, including details of The Trail of Tears and the 47 day siege between the Union and Confederate army. Lesser known, but still relevant and interesting, are the tales of antebellum duels, yellow fever epidemics and slavery.
The history and hauntings go hand in hand, beginning with the Old Courthouse Museum and the Old Jail House. Criminals were taken directly after sentencing from the courthouse to the jail across the street to be “hanged from the neck until dead, ” their lifeless bodies swinging from the tower in the 3rd floor window. Do the ghostly remains still make an appearance in the tower?
One of the things I enjoyed about this tour was the mix of formal and casual. Morgan was able to make history come alive with his rehearsed stories and the occasional prop. When asked questions about the sites, he was happy to answer and share additional information and stories. Having lived in Vicksburg his entire life he has a grasp of the history and is friends with the owners of the historical sites on the tour. Many of them have shared personal ghostly encounters they’ve experienced in their homes. (One of my favorites- the ghost who left the toilet seat down.)
I will be the first to admit-if some people are “sensitive” to spirits, I must be the “desensitive.” No ghosts or unexplained events happened on our tour. We made pictures during the tour and checked them later. Nothing appeared behind Brittany on the ghostly carriage block, no long dead soldiers remained to guard their posts, nor did we see a hint out of the ordinary. But, that’s the fun of the adventure. As Morgan quipped, “If we saw something on every tour, the price would be higher!”
I would recommend the tour for all ages. It’s an easy walk and, except for one 2 minute excursion, is wheelchair accessible throughout the tour. Maybe you will see some of the “strange things that happen in Haunted Vicksburg.”
To Know Before You Go:
* The tour begins at 8 PM and the mosquitoes are thick during the summer months. Be sure to wear insect repellent.
* Other historical tours are available, including a personalized tour of Vicksburg Military Park, a ghostly driving tour-with a stop to look for a ghostly resident-and walking, driving and cemetery tours. Each tour is completely independent of the other tours, allowing you to see different sites and attractions.
* Tours can be purchased in advance online, saving $2 per person for adults.
What is your favorite haunted tour?
We took the tour in the summer, late July, early August. Only until we got back did we see the unexpected in our pictures. The abandoned building at Planters home, OMG, faces, full out soldier, an old man with black top hat, we were like whoa !! Then we noticed in stained glass window of church, one that had been destroyed and replaced a face and a half shoulder length figure of a man. I don’t remember name of home, where little girl died of yellow fever. I had the weirdest feeling come over me, someone was to close and I felt as if I needed to get away. My husband and I both took pics and he had some to show different things than I. Totally am a believer now, knew it all along but to have this kind of proof is unreal. Enjoyed very much.
My husband would go bonkers over this. He loves this type of stuff.
eeeekkkk. although i am scare of things like this..it looks kinda fun. also love your dress.
Looks like a nice adventure. I want to go there too and hope it would be a fun experience!
I love anything that has to do with the supernatural and ghosts. This would be amazing to experience.
This would be amazing as it gets closer to Halloween. I would love to encounter a ghost.
We took a tour in Edinburgh once. Nothing showed for us either, lol, but it was a lot of fun.
It sounds like a lot of fun! I’ve never done a haunted tour!
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Walking tours are always so fun! What I love about this season is the night walking tours around the most haunted places. It’s creepy and terrifying but it’s also fun and unforgettable!
Ghost walking sounds so much fun! I also love the history of the place. And it’s awesome that you can purchase tours online. So convenient!
Ooh that looks like a really scary town. But very interesting too since I love history and the architecture is so gorgeous in many of these haunted houses.
I don’t know if I could handle a ghost tour. hahahaha I would enjoy a tour, but I’d probably add things to the tour that weren’t ever there simply because of my vivid and wild imagination! Glad you had a good time though.
I am terrified of hauntings and ghosts (even just stories!), but for some reason I cant help but be attracted to stories or tours like this. My adrenaline is going the whole time, and usually cant sleep that night. BUT the history is so intriguing. If ever is MS I will be sure to add this to the list.
I’m not sure that I could visit there, but I do love reading about all the things people see!
Oh this is so cool! We have one here that I’ve always wanted to make time for – maybe this year will be the year!
A ghost walk sounds like so much fun! I love finding new things for my family to do for Halloween.
Oh how fun. I’m such a chicken, I haven’t never done a ghost or haunted walk. I am too wimpy to do that. But my oldest lives for this stuff!
Hahaha my hus band would LOVE this! He loves getting scared, which is hard to do to him.
I’ve been wanting to go on a haunted tour for a long time now so hopefully this year would be the year for me.
I think it would be so much fun to go on a haunted walk. I will have to see if there is anything like this in my area.
My teenagers would love this. They have been talking about looking for something like this in our area. I would be to chicken lol.
This would be such an interesting tour. I have always wanted to go on a ghost walk.
I have to admit, real ghost tours scare me. I will take a “pretend: haunted house any day.
We have always wanted to do a spooky ghost tour like this! Looks so fun-definitely on our must do list and perfect for Halloween!
This sounds like a fun tour. I’d definitely try it out! It would be great hearing some of the stories.
Whoa! Oh-so creepy and oh-so perfect for this time of the year. I’m a bit of a chicken, but this looks like fun.
I would love to go on something like this. Anything historical and with the chance of something spooky sounds like so much fun.
I am a total wuss, so I am not sure I would be brave enough to attempt a ghost tour, but my horror loving husband and three children more than make up for the guts I lack. They would have a blast on an adventure like this!
That sounds like so much fun! I love going to haunted houses so this is right but my alley!
I think this would be so much fun! I am a super scardey cat, so I am sure I would have all kinds of weird things happen to me!
I have always wanted to do a ghost tour, but we have some weird things that go on around us at times and because of that have decided to try and not encourage it more than it already happens. Either myself or my boyfriend must be sensitive to paranormal activity. Maybe one day I’ll get up the courage to actually just do one and see what happens.
If I can get a sitter for the kids, I would do this in a heartbeat. The last haunted tour I took was in college ni Charleston. We followed the pirates.
I am a big chicken when it comes to this stuff. I do not like to be freaked out I don’t even watch horror movies, but I do know a couple of friends that would love to do something like this.
Ooh, that sounds like fun. There are two things I love to do this time of year – haunted houses and haunted tours. Pretty much anything haunted.