Memphis is host to many a haunting — the Orpheum Theatre, the Woodruff-Fontaine House, Earnestine & Hazels, maybe even the very house you live in. But one place which makes no claim of a haunting is Elmwood Cemetery.
Sure, it’s been around since 1852 and is home to over 75,000 of the, er, formerly living, but Elmwood’s executive director Kim Beaden hasn’t seen a ghost in her 25 years working at the cemetery, nor has she heard of such a sighting. That’s not to say ghosts don’t exist — or that they do. Bearden, when asked whether they exist, circumvents the questions. Good on her.
But she will be presenting a lecture on the historical side of ghost stories. (Also good on her.) “The history of spiritualism in the United States kind of fascinated me,” she says. “I want to examine how our current concept of ghosts arrived in the United States. It came over from multiple points, from the South and the East, from Europe and from Africa. And so it’s a pretty interesting subject matter to me. I think it tells us a lot. The study of spiritualism can tell us a lot about ourselves, and the things that we are longing for or afraid of. All those stories are just part of the American story. It’s part of the Memphis story, too.”
This Sunday, Bearden will talk about the religious belief that the dead communicate with and advise the living, ghost photography, séances, and more. You’ll learn about the young United States and young Memphis, too, including, yes, some Memphis spiritualism. “We do have at least one spiritualist buried in the cemetery,” she says. “His name was Samuel Watson, and he was a Methodist minister for a time. So his life story is included in the presentation.”
“I don’t pretend to have any answers,” Bearden continues. “At the end of the end of my presentation, I’ll leave you with, hopefully, some history, but also some mystery. I don’t have any definitive answers, but I leave them with food for thought. And I hope that they enjoy what they have to hear regardless.”
With this being Halloween weekend, Elmwood has a few other events going on. Unfortunately for you, most of them are sold out. You can still get tickets to “Woe Is Me: A Tour of Tragic Tales” right now — and we mean right now as we write this, so if they’re sold out by the time you read this, that’s on you.
“The ‘Woe Is Me’ is a relatively new tour,” Bearden says. “If you’re a fan of Edward Gorey and The Gashlycrumb Tinies, this is the tour that you would probably be interested in. It’s a tour of unfortunate events.”
You’ll hear about a man killed in a laboratory explosion due to the carelessness of others, another lost at sea, and a child who drowned in the Court Square fountain in 1884 in broad daylight. Fun fact: Some (read: those who believe in ghosts) say the fountain is still haunted to this day by that child.
“October is our most popular month for people to visit the cemetery, but we’ve got stuff going on throughout the year,” Bearden says, pointing out the upcoming Veterans Tour of Elmwood Cemetery, Tree Tours of Elmwood Cemetery, and Victorian Christmas Carols event.
Bearden’s “From the Beyond: Ghosts, Spiritualism, and Cemeteries” lecture is Sunday, October 29, 2-3 p.m. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased here.
“Woe Is Me: A Tour of Tragic Tales” is Saturday, October 28, 10:30 a.m.-noon. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased here.
