Cemetery Walk Introduces Plymouth's Resident Ghosts

Visitors will get an exclusive look into the past by meeting some residents of Plymouth's Riverside Cemetery during the fourth Plymouth Historical Museum Cemetery Walk.

The walk changes every year, with new characters and new people portraying the characters.

"We have a loyal following, so we need to provide them with new material each year," said Elizabeth Kerstens, director of the Plymouth Historical Museum. 

Kerstens said she picks the characters by looking over a map of the cemetery and trying to find names she recognizes or knows the museum will be able to successfully research. She also makes sure they are all buried within walking distance of each other. 

"I try to have a mix of men and women and look for people that have interesting backgrounds so the reenactor can come up with a good script," Kerstens said. "...Since I am a Civil War reenactor, I know a lot of folks in the reenacting community and they are always happy to do something like this. Then I just have to match up the people with the characters. It's actually fun to do all of what I described. We have the reenactors write the script so they can get to know their characters. We also encourage the actors to bring items with them to make it look like they are "living" at the cemetery."

This year's highlights will include the ghost tales of Civil War soldiers Asa Joy and Ralph Terry, Plymouth's undertaker William Basset, Plymouth photographer Romeo Wood and Blacksmith Orson Polley, who once owned the property where the Museum now stands.

Ken Giorlando, a long time reenactor, will portray Polley. 

"I get an idea what the person like and I have my own personality of what maybe he was like and go from there," Giorlando said about preparing to become Polley. "I just learn what the person's about and what he did and that's what I do."

Giorlando, who has done cemetery walks for the past decade in Mt. Clemens and East Pointe as well as Plymouth, and said Plymouth is one of the easiest because there is so much history in the city. 

"There are people out there that think that doing things like this is creepy or unusual - a cemetery walk is not a scary thing," he said. "Some of the people have fun with it and they'll make themselves look dead. But I don't. I like to look at it like the people here were human beings like you and I, they were alive and having fun and they did things. this is a way to let people know that those that are buried here were once just like we are now."

The Cemetery Walk will be held Saturday, Oct. 26. Walks begin at 4 p.m. with small groups departing every 15 minutes. The walk lasts 60-90 minutes and involves some walking over uneven ground so the Museum asks visitors to wear sturdy walking shoes. Those scheduled for later tour times should bring flashlights. 

Tickets cost $10 per person, or purchase a Friends of the Plymouth Historical Museum membership and receive up to 2 free tickets. A purchase of a Kellogg Park membership (value $25) will get the recipient one free ticket; a purchase of a Daisy membership (value $50) will get the recipient two free tickets. 

Tickets can be purchased on the Museum's website using Paypal or at the Museum during open hours. Tickets will cost $15 at the cemetery and will not be sold from the Web the day of the cemetery walk.