Capturing the Spirit of Oakland Halloween Tours, which take place at Atlanta’s Historic Oakland Cemetery Oct. 23-25 and Oct. 29-31, are sold out. Visit the cemetery’s Facebook event page to connect with others looking to buy, sell or trade tickets. All proceeds for the event are used to preserve and restore the cemetery. For more on the cemetery and tours, go to www.oaklandcemetery.com.
After Tom Deardorff moved a short walk from Atlanta’s Historic Oakland Cemetery, the retired scuba instructor and actor didn’t expect to become a fixture at the 165-year-old resting place for many of Atlanta’s most famous, and infamous, characters. But the Cabbagetown resident quickly fell in love with the cemetery’s beauty and history and, for the past nine years, has volunteered as a tour guide. Every year around this time, he also puts his acting skills to use and resurrects some soul as part of the Capturing the Spirit of Oakland Halloween Tours. The nighttime tours, which feature a half-dozen departed residents recounting their stories, consistently sell out and this year is no exception. Deardorff offers some advice on how to get a jump on next year’s event.
Q: You called the cemetery fascinating. What is so fascinating about it?
A: There are so many things. It is probably the most serene place in Atlanta. It is such a beautiful place. The Victorian architecture of so many of the markers attracts me. I love stories and I love history and Oakland Cemetery is such a great place for that. This place is the history of Atlanta.
Q: Who are some of characters you have played in the Capturing the Spirit tours?
A: One was a fellow named Ben Dewberry. He was an engineer on a locomotive who basically saved his passengers to his own demise. I also played a fellow, Logan Bleckley, a mountain man who actually went back to college at 72 and became chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. Last year, I played Johnson Bridwell, who accompanied a woman to her house and got caught in a rainstorm. He stripped down to his red long underwear and was sitting by the fire when he was discovered by the lady's nephew and subsequently shot as an intruder.
Q: That was unfortunate, wasn’t it?
A: Yes, it really was. He was kind of a rounder anyhow.
Q: Whom are you playing this year?
A: I wish I could tell you but we have to keep that confidential. We want our guests to come here and be surprised. That is part of the mystique.
Q: How do you prepare for the parts?
A: You start with a script. In order to portray a character, I have to build a backstory, the same as I would for any performance. Who was this guy? What kind of guy was he? Educated? A mountain man? A mover and shaker?
Q: Is the audience receptive?
A: Totally receptive. It is such a wonderful experience. By the time the guests arrive at a venue, they are anxious to find out what is going to happen next. Obviously, we hope for a beautiful Indian summer evening but we don't always get that. I have done this in the rain and in the wind and in the cold. The guests are so excited about it that they seem to soldier on.
Q: The tickets sell out so quickly. Any tips on how to get your hands on them?
A: People might want to take a general tour or one of our specialty tours and familiarize themselves with the cemetery and consider becoming a member. Tickets go on sale to Historic Oakland Foundation members on July 1, two weeks before they're available to the general public.
Q: Does it feel spooky playing a dead guy in a cemetery, especially on Halloween?
A: I guess it is all in your point of view. I don't see it that way. I take my cue from the Victorian attitude that didn't see death as a negative or spooky. They just saw it as "the big sleep."
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