When you think about the spookiness of the Halloween season, naturally a cemetery would come to mind.  Of course, we have a big one here in Erie.  The Erie Cemetery.  There must be some scary stories about that place.  

The cemetery is conducting spooky walking tours this Halloween season and I've been granted a sneak preview with tour guide Anna Foll.  Our first stop is the Scott Mausoleum.  It's one of the most stately places on the cemetery grounds and one of the spookiest. There was a break-in at the mausoleum in 1911 that left Erie citizens shuttering in their shoes.

"There was a mysterious scandal that made the news and involved a lot of police agencies nationally in the United States that brought them here to solve the mystery of the Scott Mausoleum,” explained Anna. 

Oh my gosh! Why would anyone break into a mausoleum?  Was anything taken or anyone taken? I wanted to know more.

"They found out what happened,” replied Anna. “But I don't want to give too much away.” 

Anna did not want to reveal too much on my sneak peek tour.  She wants everyone to go on the official tours this month.   “Well OK,” I said.

Our next stop on our walking tour is the Vampire Crypt.  No family name on it.  But, above the door is a symbol that looks like a "V" for vampire.. or maybe bat wings.  There's other figures on cement posts that look like vampire bats.

"There's a lot of mystery that revolves around the Vampire Crypt,” said Anna. “A lot of people think there's been mysterious deaths that have occurred around it.  A lot of people pay homage to it." 

Wow!  Could a vampire actually be inside this crypt?  "You'll have to come on the tour and find out all about it,” said Anna once again. 

The suspense is killing me but we moved on.  We soon arrived at a site called 'The Witches Circle.'  It's a ring of tombstones.  One of them is a darkened stone where you should be able to make out some macabre figures such as skulls, ghosts and perhaps a dark demon with pointy ears. This circle is a popular place for modern day witches to gather.  Anna explained.

"A coven of witches, one night they were doing a ritual.  Something ill-fated happened to them." 

What happened to them?  Please Anna. At least give me a hint?

"If you look at some of the gravestones that are darkened, that gives you a little premise of what could have happened to them,” she said.

The complete Erie Cemetery Halloween Tours are being held on Saturdays and Sundays all this month beginning at 5:30 p.m.  It's not too late to register for this weekend's tours.  Reservations can be made by contacting Anna at her e-mail address [email protected] or call 814-969-5469. The cost is $10 for adults, $8 for kids ages 12 and under. Payment can be made by Paypal, Venmo, Square, or cash.