Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Haunted author's houses

In our present-day economy, getting people to tour the houses where famous authors once lived is not the most lucrative business. But throw in a ghost or two, and it might turn things around. At least it's helped Edith Wharton and Mark Twain.

Lucette Lagnado writes in WSJ online, "Twelve-year-old Hannah Emerson Clapp came to the Mount, a mansion surrounded by nearly 50 acres of woods and manicured gardens, to see where novelist Edith Wharton wrote Ethan Frome and The House of Mirth and entertained Henry James. The experience left her looking as if she'd seen a ghost—which was exactly what tour guide Anne Schuyler intended. Ms. Schuyler, attired in a long, dark hooded cloak, leads ghost tours, complete with spooky stories of hauntings, apparitions and shrieks in the night. There's even a nocturnal stop at the pet cemetery where Ms. Wharton's dogs Jules and Mimi are buried. 'Some people hear the sound of barking dogs,' Ms. Schuyler says."

Read about the latest idea in literary tourism, Landmarks Haunted by Debt Consult the Spirit World for Help.

No comments: