Ghost walk

by Hailey Trealout

 

People wanting to learn about ghosts took part in the fourth annual Ghost Walk held in the Navy Yard in Amherstburg during every weekend in October.

The event was created through a partnership of local actor Rob Tymec and the owners of the Mudpuppy Gallery. Young actors dressed in reaper capes lead 60 people through the Navy Yard  Oct. 20, telling ghostly legends that all took place in the streets of Amherstburg.

The Mudpuppy Gallery is a non-profit organization run by six local artists with the intent to encourage culture in Amherstburg through art. One of the artists is Robert Honor, who collected the information for actors to work with for the Ghost Walk.

“As sort of an old history guy, I was one of the collaborators that provided (Tymec) with some of the heritage information that he then wrote the dramas around,” said Honor. “I guess because of that connection that I’m with the Mudpuppy, we struck up this relationship that works quite nicely because we’re both promoting our arts and culture, just different facets of arts and culture and we both help to attract people to come for it.”

The Ghost Walk was led by Nicholas Rogers and Dallas Hefferman, both 16, and 24-year-old Melanie Postma who all said they felt events like the Ghost Walk are important for the community.

“It’s like we get to pass on a little bit of Amherstburg history,” said Postma. “Younger people haven’t heard these stories yet. I had never heard any of these stories before this and it’s nice to keep the legends alive. It’s also nice to keep acting local.”

People from outside Amherstburg also made it out for the evening to witness the presentation.

Denise Morin, 25, is from Kincardine, Ont. and came to Amherstburg to visit when she heard about the Ghost Walk.

“There were interesting stories, it was cool to hear some of the history,” said Morin. “I think the history of what happened in a place is something good to know. You don’t always hear those background stories of stuff that’s going on. You hear all of the wars and how they happened, but you never hear some of the more personal stuff that people go through. It’s nice to hear it.”