Belton Annual Ghost Walk Set for Thursday

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

It is the season of the witch in Belton, as the city gets ready for the annual ghost walk set to begin Thursday at 6 p.m.

The first departure from Belton’s old train depot will be followed every 15 minutes until 8:15 p.m. There is no train leaving the station for this event, although passengers will be invited to consider the possibility that not everyone associated with their destinations has entirely departed.

The Belton Area Museum Association’s ninth annual Ghost Walk will take visitors through downtown for an evening of local history, costumed storytelling and carefully maintained uncertainty. This year’s route features six historic properties new to the walk, along with several familiar Belton landmarks.

Abigail Burden, the museum’s executive director, offers an understanding between storyteller and listener.

“Every story you hear has some truth in it,” she said. “And it’s up to you to decide for yourself how much you want to believe is true and how much we’ve made up, or if we’ve made up any of it.”

The evening does not require visitors to settle that question. Comfortable walking shoes and a flashlight are more immediately useful.

The historic Belton Train Depot, now home to the museum, supplies the opening subject as well as the starting point since the building has acquired a reputation as one of the most haunted places in the Upstate, and visitors will hear stories associated with paranormal groups that have investigated it.

Burden said those accounts help explain how the depot came by its designation. Whether participants find them persuasive or simply entertaining, the stories will establish the terms of the evening before anyone sets off.

From the depot, the walk turns toward places whose daytime familiarity may make their October stories more intriguing.

Among the featured sites are the former Sullivan’s Hardware Company, now the Belton Center for the Arts; the Mitchell House; the historic Standpipe; the Belton Tennis Center; the Black House; the Lewis House; and the former site of Dr. Keown’s Chiropractic Office.

At each stop, costumed presenters will share tales connected to the property’s history. Some are mysterious, some surprising. All draw on Belton’s past.

Visitors will hear the stories from outside the homes and businesses; the walk does not include entry into those buildings as presenters supply what visitors might not notice by looking.

The restraint is useful. A ghost walk loses something if every surprise is disclosed before anyone leaves the station.

The route also leads down River Street to a home where the account concerns a departed gentleman who owned it. At the Standpipe, visitors will hear a story about something that happened at the landmark in the past.

“We’re kind of hitting all of the landmarks in Belton this year,” Burden said.

At the tennis center, the story involves a girl playing tennis. The walk continues along Brown Avenue to other homes and accounts of people who lived in Belton — and who, in the spirit of the occasion, may or may not still be around.

The named properties broaden this year’s itinerary without changing its central appeal. These are not anonymous settings assembled for a Halloween attraction.

For an evening, a familiar building becomes something to examine again. Who worked there? Who lived there? What happened, and what has been added in the telling?

Burden’s qualification — that every story contains some truth — leaves room for the skeptic as well as the willing believer. Neither must concede the argument before moving to the next stop.

Each guided tour will last approximately up to an hour and a half. All tours will be family-friendly in content, and admission includes light refreshments at the depot and what organizers describe as “unusual entertainment.”

Space is limited. Advance reservations are strongly encouraged because tour slots traditionally fill quickly. Burden said tickets are already going fast.

Advance admission is $15 for adults and $10 for students. Tickets purchased on the day of the event cost $20 per person, regardless of age.

Tickets are available by visiting the museum or calling 864-338-7400 during regular museum hours: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. Visitors should reserve a departure time, wear comfortable walking shoes and bring a flashlight.