Adam Brimer

Dressed in a scary mask with a chain saw, Ken Oakes, right, chases visitors on the Trail of Doom haunted corn maze at Oakes Farm in Corryton, Tenn., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009.

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Adam Brimer

Visitors wait in line to take a tour along the Trail of Doom haunted corn maze at Oakes Farm in Corryton, Tenn., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009.

KNOXVILLE — Blount Mansion is adding a very recent ghostly tale to its annual October "Ghosts and Ghouls" walking tour.

The 200 W. Hill Ave. historic house's Halloween-time tours are 7 p.m. Oct. 26-Oct. 30. Costumed guides lead the downtown Knoxville tours as they tell area legends and ghost stories. Cost is $8 for adults, $6 for ages 12 and younger.

Some of those stories involve the mansion property. There's a long-standing legend that the 1818 Craighead-Jackson House next to Blount Mansion houses the spirit of a servant who died from a fire. Locked doors are found open; footsteps are heard when no human is walking. A Craighead-Jackson hallway grandfather clock sometimes starts itself.

But the latest tale comes from one of the painters hired recently to paint Blount Mansion. Twice in two days the workman reported to Blount Mansion Executive Director Billye Chabot he'd seen a little boy dressed in "old-fashioned" clothes.

Actually the workman only saw the upper part of a boy. The bottom half, he told Chabot, was "kind of misty."

The painter was on a tall ladder painting outside a two-floor bedroom when he looked through a window to see the apparition at the floor of a four-poster bed. The next day he saw the ghost child descend stairs to the Blount basement.

The account is added to this year's "Ghosts and Ghouls." The one-mile tours take about an hour and include a dozen legends and tales. The event annually raises $3,000-$4,000 for the mansion.

Other historic ghosts loom. James White's Fort, 205 E. Hill Ave., hosts its scary "Hearthscares" walking tours of downtown Knoxville. These one-mile tours last about 90 minutes as guides tell stories of Knoxville's infamous past and legends. "Hearthscares" are 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26-30. Cost is $8 adults, $6 for ages 5 to 17. Tours end at the fort with hot cider and marshmallow roasting.

Marble Springs, 1220 W. Gov. John Sevier Highway, hosts a bonfire, ghost stories and trick-or-treating at cabins at the historic site starting 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24. A $2 per person donation is requested.

Ramsey House's Country Market gets an evening haunted twist at the 2614 Thorn Grove Pike dwelling built in the 1790s. The candlelight tour "A Haunting At Ramsey" is 5:30-8:30 p.m. Oct. 24. The "haunting" combines Southern folklore with legends and stories of strange events at Ramsey House. Cost is $5.

Then again, what's Halloween in East Tennessee if you aren't chased by a chainsaw-wielding ghoul?

Oakes Farms, 8240 Corryton Road, opens its annual "Trail of Doom." It's not recommended for young children or people with health problems. "Trial of Doom" is open starting at dusky dark Thursdays through Saturdays until the last week of October. Then it's open Oct. 26-31. Admission is $15 for adults, $13 for ages 10 and younger. The ghouls close up at 10 p.m. except for Saturday, when they haunt the corn until 11 p.m.

The haunted maze at Greenback's Maple Lane Farm is open dusk-10 p.m. through Halloween. Admission is $11 for adults, $9 children under 12. You'll want to bring a flashlight. But you'll still likely get scared.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
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