Summerside Ghost Walk offers new format for milestone year

A Halloween tradition is continuing in Summerside this year, with a new twist to meet the challenges posed by COVID-19.

Culture Summerside's annual Ghost Walkwill follow an operational plan approved by the Chief Public Health Office.

Marlene Campbell, the organization's cultural programming co-ordinator, said it's exciting to be able to continue during a milestone anniversary. This year's walk will mark two decades since the traditionstarted.

Fact is much stranger than fiction.- Marlene Campbell

"It's become pretty important to a lot of people because we have an audience that comes back year after year, and many of our volunteer actors continue to come year after year," she said.

Campbell said there won't be walking this year to adhere to healthguidelines.

Three shows will be held in the yards of Wyatt Heritage Properties and audience members will be seated instead of moving about. There will be performances at 6:30, 8and 9:30p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22.

People will have to reserve tickets in advance through the MacNaught History Centre (by phone or in-person) so that seating can be determined.

For the milestone event, Culture Summerside asked attendees from previous yearswhich stories they wanted to hear again. The top 12 vignettes were selected, which include one outlining the history of Halloween and witches.

"We're also going to talk about a murder story where justice was not carried out," Campbell said.

Audience members will experience grim storiesabout everything from a historical accident in which a train collided with a car to witchcraft accusations.Fitting in with life under COVID-19, the Spanish flu will also be part of the show.

The provincial archives finds interesting historical events for the actors to perform as vignettes.

There will be 12 actors this year and most will be retelling the stories they themselves have performed before.

"Fact is much stranger than fiction and there are so many stories on the Island that I think people probably think, 'That never happened here,'" Campbell said.

"We have such a rich history on Prince Edward Island and it's just so good to be able to bring it alive in different ways."

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