By By EDWIN MODLIN II
Staff Writer
One local novelist’s love for ghost walks has done more than just bring the spooky sights and sounds of the downtown area to life for patrons of all ages — she has provided an experience that creates bonds.
Rhonda Lucas Donald, a long-time writer and novelist, said she came up with the idea for a Ghost Walk around the Washington waterfront based on how much fun she had on ghost walks in Charleston, S.C., England and, several other historic towns.
“That city (Charleston, S.C.) is so rich in history of folklore and legends, that it’s almost impossible to walk anywhere there without there being some form of legend about where you’d be standing,” she said. “As I did my research here, (for Washington,) I discovered so many myths, legends and stories about the area that I just wanted to share with people.
“It’s such a great experience for anyone wanting to have fun, as well as learn a bit more about the mysteries of the coast.”
In doing research for the tour, Donald was able to get first-hand accounts for many of her stories from locals.
One such local was Kevin Cutler, lifestyles and features editor at the Washington Daily News, who had a “brush” with a ghost several years ago.
“I was just talking and all of a sudden it just felt like something brushed up against my face,” Cutler said. “And then I smelled pipe tobacco. It was really weird because nobody was standing next to me and no one was smoking.”
Donald said she was fortunate to find newspaper articles or other period resources to verify information such as the infamous courthouse shooting.
“I spent a lot of time at the Brown Library. And Betty Cochran, the historian at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, was very helpful in putting together the stories about the church and churchyard,” she said. “I was very careful to present the history and stories as accurately as possible, which I think makes for an authentic experience. As I tell people who ask about the tour, ‘It’s all true.’”
Donald said she welcomes more ghost stories to incorporate into the ghost walks.
“We can always add to the ghost walk and have a little bit of a different one each year so people can come again and again and always have a different experience. Because when people come with family and friends, especially when it’s their first time, they create bonds and always have a great time that they look back on,” she said. “Though they’re going through the town, it’s more like an adventure.
“My favorite tours are the one’s that have a great storyteller, and Terry Rollins (tour guide for the Ghost Walk) has just been fantastic.”
As the Ghost Walk tour had only previously been offered on Halloween, people can now go on tours in the summer months to get a feel not just for Halloween ghosts and goblins, but to experience the summer legends and folklore Washington has to offer.
The next Ghost Walk is scheduled for Saturday, July 17 at 8 p.m. People can get their tickets in advance at I can’t Believe It’s a Bookstore on Main Street or get them the night of the Ghost Walk. Call Gary Ceres or Richard Snow, owners of I Can’t Believe It’s a Book Store, at (252) 946-0855 to make a reservation.
The next dates for the Ghost Walk are Aug. 21 and Sept. 18.
Donald hopes to someday compile a book of ghost stories and legends of the area. To find out more about Donald, log onto her Web site at www.browntabby.com, and keep an eye open for Donald’s next book, “Deep in the Desert,” coming out in spring 2011.