BOONE, N.C. — In celebration of its 150th anniversary, Boone is offering nighttime cemetery tours just in time for Halloween.
What You Need To Know
- Boone is celebrating its 150th anniversary with cemetery tours
- The night tours are held each Friday up until Halloween
- The tours take you through the cemetery to learn the history of those laid to rest there
Trent Margrif is a senior lecturer at Appalachian State University.
"This is originally the Council family cemetery," Margrif said.
Margrif used to work for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is where his love for stories came alive. Every Friday night in the month of October, he has been giving cemetery tours. Another set of tours has been added on Halloween.
"It's my belief that, that should be shared," Margrif said.
He talks about Spanish influenza and the polio vaccine during the tour. He shows the oldest headstone there, as well as the headstones for the founders of Appalachian State University.
"Hill Hagaman was the chief of police here, and he was killed in the line of duty during the moonshining era," Margrif said.
He discusses the stories that bring people to the cemetery, like that of Rita Sheridan, who was traveling with a circus.
"It shows ultimately the compassion that locals had," Margrif said.
At the end of the cemetery, there is a large statue that shows the difference in the white and Black sections of the cemetery.
"We ended this with an others known only to God, and since that time, we have doubled the amount of people we know are here," Margrif said.
He believes this is all information that people should know, and while it may be Halloween that is bringing some people in, he is just happy they are coming to Boone to learn about the stories of those in the historical cemetery.
"We use the term 'dark tourism,' sometimes cemeteries are placed in there," Margrif said.
Margrif says all of the tours have been going very well and have been sold out. He says they have been seeing a great turnout on every single tour.
There is another tour happening on Halloween, and Margrif says they are considering adding additional cemetery tours throughout the year, focusing on topics like women and veterans.