Encore Ghost Walk In Crisfield Set For May 3rd At 7:00 PM

Overwhelming Response Signals 2nd Tour

MARION STATION, MD - 32 people attended a Ghost Walk in Crisfield on April 13th led by Mindie Burgoyne, of Marion Station. Later that night LeeAnn Linton, a guest on the tour, posted a ghostly photo she took to Burgoyne’s Facebook page, and over 9000 people viewed and shared it. The picture created such an interest in haunted Crisfield that Burgoyne has scheduled a second Ghost Walk for Friday, May 3rd at 7:00 pm.

Mindie Burgoyne is the author of Haunted Eastern Shore: Ghostly Tales from East of the Chesapeake and she’s been doing ghost tours around the Eastern Shore since her book was published in 2009. This year she developed the Chesapeake Ghost Walks, a series of walking tours focused on nine historic towns on the Shore. Crisfield is the third walk in the series. Upcoming walks include Snow Hill, Berlin, Pocomoke, Ocean City, Princess Anne and Denton.

Burgoyne states, “We sold out three ghost walks in Easton and two in Cambridge. I knew the Crisfield walk would do well, but being such a small town I didn’t expect it to sell out or to do a second tour. Once that picture hit Facebook, we had huge exposure.”

LeeAnn Linton shot the image in front of the Orrie Lee Tawes House on Main Street, a white Victorian with a round tower built by a Crisfield merchant in 1895. The picture has two shadowy figures in the foreground, but the 82 commenting Facebook fans pointed out other figures, including children that appear in the windows, doorways and a bride on the porch. Burgoyne says she didn’t even have a haunted story about the Tawes House. “We pass it on the way to the Crockett House. I stopped in front of it to say that strange things have show up in pictures of this house, and I showed a picture of the house on my iPad. LeeAnn snapped her picture while I was saying that.”

Other stops on the tour included Cedar Croft, Gossamer, the Tawes Library, Marquis Manor, the Corbin Library and the Crisfield Cemetery. Guests came from as far away as Easton, Ocean City and Girdletree. Burgoyne gave all guests a map with each location noted, including sites that are nearby but not on the walking route. Those included the Ira Todd House, the LaVallette House, Old Island, and McCready Hospital. The map also identified four sites in Marion Station including Burgoyne’s own house. Stories for those sites are on her website.

The folklore collection at the Nabb research center was Burgoyne’s primary resource for crafting these Ghost Walks. She also read dozens of books, scanned vertical files, photos and newspapers in the public libraries, and conducted over one hundred interviews. The tours are packed with local history. “When you tell real-life stories, it’s important to put characters in the proper setting” Burgoyne states. “Crisfield is such a fun Walk because of its rich history. What other town has a cast of characters like the Coasting Captain, Dr. RR Norris, Governor Tawes, Miss Adeline Hall, Richard Christy and Old Ailsey?”

People interested in joining the tour on May 3rd can find more information at www.travelhag.com or on the Haunted Eastern Shore Facebook page. Advanced registration is required.