I've never been a big fan of going to Haunted Houses for Halloween, because, frankly, they scare the shit out of me, and I try to do my best to limit the number of traumatizing experiences in my life. However, that doesn't mean I should let my fright stop me from celebrating Halloween. Thanks to the Haunted Express, there's now another choice for a more low key, yet still highly entertaining, Halloween experience.
The Haunted Express puts a Halloween twist on the traditional double-decker bus tour. As the bus travels to various sites, the guides (who are dressed up as various Halloween characters) entertain and enlighten the audience with tales of haunted folklore of each location. While the Haunted Express takes you to many historic sites that you would see on other tours of Philadelphia, the tour provides ghostly anecdotes that you would not hear on these other tours.
Jonathan Bari, a Penn grad who also works at the Constitutional Walking Tour, founded the Haunted Express this summer. While he originally conceived it as another walking tour, Bari says he "soon found that there was such a collection of folklore that the tour would best be given on a bus, as the sites cover too long of a route to walk."
The Haunted Express team researched news archives from The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Times, as well as the Rosenbach Museum to gather the best collection of haunted folklore of Philadelphia's past. Even if you usually aren't inclined to believe in ghost stories, the spooky past of so many of Philadelphia's famous locales will undoubtedly give you a new perspective on them.
For instance, you learn on the tour that City Hall served as the city's public gallows for 75 years, and that 301 men died during its construction. Today, the spirits of these fallen men are said to be expressed through the cries of the sparrows that converge outside City Hall at night. Yeah, it's a tad cheesy, but also a little creepy.
Other notable visits along the tour include the paranormal history of the Betsy Ross House; Edgar Allan Poe's home, where he wrote the "Tell Tale Heart;" and the Bellevue Hotel on Broad Street, where the author of Dracula penned his famous tale. Plus, the tour visits the filming locations for such scary flicks as The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable.
Riding in a double decker bus - especially for those on top - allows you to truly indulge in the almost eerie glow of the city on an autumn night. As Bari says, "The tour gives people a new perspective on Philadelphia. In addition to being a great Halloween event, the ability to enjoy the sights from a bus enhances the experience. "
The Haunted Express is definitely worth checking out, as it is Philly's only Halloween bus tour, and you will surely be intrigued by the little known supernatural tales of so many historic sites in the city. Just a bit of advice: sit on the top deck, as it offers the best views, but you better dress warmly, or you'll be frozen stiff by the end of the ghoulish ride.
The Haunted Express offers a $4 discount for Penn students for the 10 p.m. tours tonight, Friday, and Sunday, as well as for the 8 p.m. tours on Monday and Tuesday. To take advantage of this discount, students should go to www.HauntedExpress.com, click on "Buy Tickets Online," choose the tour date/time and enter the code PENN.
