Ellington

Halloween is still months away, but this weekend will hold spooky, fun alternatives in Chattanooga and Dalton, Ga., as each city’s ghost chroniclers go into action.

CHATTANOOGA

Organizers with Chattanooga Ghost Tours will lead visitors on a walk through the downtown area tonight and Saturday to educate them on the city’s mysteries.

Highlights include stops at the Hunter Museum of American Art, Walnut Street Bridge and the Read House, where tour guides will discuss some of the documented hauntings that have occurred at each place.

“We also throw in some of Chattanooga’s more entertaining history as well,” said Amy Petulla, president and founder of the company. “I like history, and I think it’s a good way to get people, especially kids, kind of interested in history.”

Petulla said it is not uncommon for visitors to see unusual happenings during the tour.

“We had a psychic go along on our very first tour who said that she saw a ghost at the Mountain City Club,” she said. “We’ve had several people get pictures of orbs and sometimes even some faces that have shown up on a tour.”

Tour guide Vincent Ivan Phipps, a professional storyteller, said there are about 200 stories that can be told on the tours. Guides try to tailor the tales to the part of town the tour takers are from.

Tours are slightly altered during Riverbend to better accommodate festivalgoers.

“We reverse the (start/stop) order so that the people who finish the tour can end on the Riverbend side,” Phipps said.

DALTON

Saturday, Connie Scott, founder of Dalton Ghost Tours, will lead a group on a 90-minute walk through downtown Dalton’s most popular haunts.

“(The tour) is based on real stories. It’s not things that I made up,” said Scott. “It’s things that I researched through books and newspapers and firsthand accounts.”

Scott said Dalton is known for its violent history, having been the site of bloody Civil War battles and lynchings.

“If people like history, they’ll be drawn to (ghost tours),” said Scott. “And secondly, it’s just interesting that people have been gravitating toward stories of the paranormal forever, and it’s just kind of a nice little thrill.”

At some stops, local actors will re-enact some of the stories and legends of the past.

“It’s kind of like watching a scary movie,” said Scott. “You just get the adrenalin rush, I guess.”

IF YOU GO

CHATTANOOGA

What: Chattanooga Ghost Tours.

When: 8:15 p.m. today and Saturday.

Where: Tours begin outside City Cafe, corner of M.L. King Boulevard and Carter Street, and end at Walnut Street Bridge.

Admission: $13 adults, $8 children 12 and younger.

Phone: 821-7125.

Web site: www.chattanoogaghosttours.com.

DALTON

What: Dalton Ghost Tours.

When: 8 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Meet at wooden deck across from the Wink Theatre, 115 W. Crawford St.

Admission: $8 adults, $4 children.

Phone: 706-980-4934.