Haunting Graveyard Stories

Some people are great at telling stories. Some stories are great no matter who tells them. But there are a select few who can take a story and tell it in such a way they the listener is drawn into the story. There is such a group of people here in the Edmonton area. They belong to T.A.L.E.S. (The Alberta League Encouraging Storytelling).

T.A.L.E.S. has been around for a long time - 29 years I believe - and they meet at this point in time at least once a month to have a tell-a-round. Mostly they gather in some cafe and tell stories to those willing to listen. A number of times during the year they hold concerts and bring in story tellers from across the country and around the world. The biggest of these concert events in held on Sept long weekend at Fort Edmonton Park. But that is not what I am here to tell you.

I don't know if it is superstition or coincidence but promptly at 8:30 the scheduled concert of storytelling started and at 8:31 it started to rain. The emcee of the event started to explain that this was the third annual event held in the graveyard and every time its rained. The more she talked about the rain the harder it seemed to rain. The umbrellas went up and people crouched under plastic sheets and tarps but the stories were starting and a bit of rain wasn't going to stop them.

When our first storyteller took to the steps and started her story, we strained to hear through the drops and true to form she drew us in and we soon forgot about the rain. By the time she finished and left us looking around behind us with the chills running down our backs, the rain had ended.

It was close to two and half hours of stories with five tellers sharing scary or creepy tales. The ones I like the best were the ones telling the true tales of the area. It is said the truth is better than fiction.

The surrounding graveyard and classic mausoleum were the perfect backdrop to these tales. Mind you they were not your typical campfire stories filled with gore and ghosts. I was kind of expecting that type of story when I first heard where the telling event was going to be located.

They touted the event by saying, "bring you lawn chair, a flashlight, an umbrella and a friend to see you safely home." So you anticipated the event to come before you even got there. I was quite pleased with the turnout and I'll be back next year if I am able.

Maybe your town has something similar.