Published: June 21, 2006 09:58 pm      

Ghostly tour

Luckton leads curious — or are they brave? — souls on trip through Beckley’s spirit world

In the main auditorium of the Soldier and Sailor Memorial Building, a line dancing class moves in unison to the sound of the Pussycat Doll’s latest hit.

While one group is living very much in the future, a second group is taking a trip through the past.

In the basement, the bass coming from the sound system is impossible to miss.

Suddenly, the music stops.

In almost complete silence and darkness, a group of intrigued (or perhaps brave) visitors move cautiously under the stage, led by the flickering light of a candle and an informative voice.

John Luckton, director of the Haunted Beckley Ghost Tour, tells the group of strange happenings throughout the years, in the building that opened Nov. 15, 1931.

Luckton’s audience learns of an accident on opening day that has since become a legend.

The marching band from Trap Hill High School played music for those who attended the opening and, according to Luckton, while perched on a platform in an unfinished area of the building, the band suddenly fell through to the basement.

Although no one was killed, one person suffered a compound fracture to his neck.

Luckton says the injured man went on to work inside the building for years, but, as a result of the accident, was reported to have walked around with his head tilted to the side.

“Two years ago,” Luckton tells the group, “a lady was renting a studio in the basement. She was rushing a painting downstairs and says she saw a guy in the corner, looking into her eyes, with his head hanging to one side.”

The former custodian is not the only person reported to haunt the building, as Luckton says two people involved in a murder-suicide have been spotted on more than one occasion.

Following the tour of the building, Luckton leads his audience out a side door, across a street and through a back alley.

The group stops at a mural painted on the side of an old building.

Depicted on the wall, is a rendition the Fourth of July in downtown Beckley, more than 50 years ago.

Luckton tells the group how the mural was pieced together, and then points out a picture of a woman peeking out from an alley.

“The artists painted a ghost lady and placed her in the alley,” Luckton says. “That’s the alley you just walked through.”

Following an introduction and brief explanation as to how a ghost could come to haunt a specific location, every Saturday night during the Summer months, Luckton leads those interested through a tour of eight “haunted” spots in the downtown area.

Luckton’s guests learn of the mystery of the only person ever hanged in Raleigh County.

The man, who killed his philandering wife because “it was easier to murder her than to kill all her boyfriends,” was hanged in 1897 and was reportedly buried somewhere in the area of Wendy’s on what is now Robert C. Byrd Drive.

Various digs throughout the years, however, have turned up no body.

Standing on the grass of the Raleigh County Courthouse, visitors learn of reports of a “Lady in Red,” who has appeared in the jury box and the bench of one of the courtrooms.

Luckton says it is believed the apparition has unfinished business in the courtroom and has appeared several times in recent years.

Whether a person believes in ghosts, Luckton says he believes everyone, adults and children alike, will enjoy the tour.

“It’s historical and educational,” Luckton says. “What’s most chilling is the stories that have been passed down are all true — they have been documented and that’s what makes it most interesting.

The 90-minute tour begins every Saturday at 8 p.m. at Neville Street Park in downtown Beckley.

Tickets for the ghost tour are $10 for adults and $8 for students.

Also, Luckton is offering a special package that is $25 for two adults and two children.

Youth under 7 are admitted for free.

For more information, call 256-8687.

— E-mail:

mjames@register-herald.com