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| Thanks to the Crystal Coast and MMGY NJF for sponsoring my tour with the Beaufort Ghost Walk through Port City Tour Company and Escape Room. All thoughts are my own. |
Let us take a step back into time for a few minutes. It's 1710, and you are about to embark on the maiden voyage of La Concorde, a French ship commissioned to travel slaves from the Caribbean to the New World. You are a sailor through and through, but you are nervous. You have heard tales of ships being captured by pirates, men out to raid and loot the ship, and perhaps, even kill you for whatever valuables you have. Your first two voyages were successful, hazardous, but no pirates to speak of.
Your third trip, however, brought about devastation and woe because of the infamous pirate Blackbeard. In 1717, He captured your ship with little difficulty, as you and your men have been battling illness for a while. He gave you an option- to join him, or to walk the plank to yer death. Such a dilemma! Do you choose the honorable thing and go with your crew, or do you decide to become a pirate yourself to spare yer life?
This was the decision most crewmen faced when confronting Blackbeard. Known as Blackbeard, Edward Teach was actually born in England, and traveled the Indies and Northern American Colonies, raiding ships at his will. Being on a ship was dangerous, even for Blackbeard, but there are tales of his anger, his vengeance, and even his honorableness carry on through word and legend up and down the eastern seaboard.
How does Blackbeard have anything to do with Beaufort, NC? As a port town off the coast of a North American Colony, (sidebar: Remember, Edenton was the first Colonial town, then New Bern became the seat later on), Beaufort is home to legends of Blackbeard because his ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, sunk off the coast after it caught itself on a submerged sandbar and eventually sunk.
Over the history of this seaside port town, its waters have become known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic", as over 5000 ships were claimed and kept in its depths since the 1550s. That is a LOT of sunken ships! Think about the fact that each of those ships had a captain, a crew, cargo, and lots and lots of stories that locals discussed throughout the year. Those stories, whether they held any truth, have now made their way through 300 years of history to us today.
My specific tour guide was Israel Hands, one of Blackbeard's trusted friends, confidants, and second in hand crew members. His "host" is a real life person, but this character leads us on a journey through town as we learn about Blackbeard, about his crew, and about those he left behind.
The tour also includes tales about some other unseemly spirits that exist in the Beaufort area, mostly because as a port seaside town, there is a lot of tragedy that plagues its people. I won't give away all the stories- as you will need to discover those yourself- but the most creepy and sad is the haunting of a young girl that died while en route home from England and was buried in a rum casket until she could be properly buried in Beaufort.
Of course, there are tales of love tragedies, winter weather and ship sails gone wrong, and lots and lots of lingering Sea Captains, so this ghost tour has it all!
If you like the creepy and macabre, it's definitely for you! My particular group was all adults, but it's my understanding that the tour caters to its audience, so if kids were present, certain stories might be told that would entertain and delight even the youngest of living souls among us.
Tour guides do dress in period attire, so Israel Hands came bearing a sword, his pirate pantaloons, and swooping shirt that was resembled 1700 something clothing. When we think of pirate wear, it's really exaggerated, as many pirates were just crewmen sailing on a ship and didn't have much money. While Blackbeard treated his men who were honorable rather decently, it still didn't mean that they were rich by society's standards. In fact, often times, they fought amid each other because of the golden pirate rule known as "splitting the loot". To be fair, loot was split evenly upon the crew, but alas, some were more greedy than others.
Back to the tour, though. As a walking tour, you will walk all over the town, so be sure to wear appropriate shoes and clothing. It's mostly street walking, but it is dark on a fall night, as this was the week after the time change.
One of my favorite things, along with the entertainment provided by the tour guide, was the historical accuracy in the stories along the way. The tour guides do try to bring in Beaufort's real history into the ghost stories, although we know that tales of legend and lore take many different shapes over that many years of history!
Note! There is no free parking located at Port City Tour Company. As a small town, Beaufort has a lot of alleyways and narrow roads. Middle Lane, the location of this company, is one of them. However, there is nearby parking available via lot and street. In season, the town of Beaufort Charges for Parking, but in the fall, it's free, even the lots! There are still some private lots, so be careful about where you do park, just in case.
Current prices are $13.99 for children under 11 and $18.99 for adults, so I find this a very family-friendly affordable attraction to partake in. It's not recommended to bring your children under 4 years old and be sure to arrive 10 minutes prior to your start time, especially during high season when there might be several tours a night. Currently, the available tour time is 7:45 PM.
I found it hard to take pictures in the complete blackness with little lights. Beaufort is well lit in its historic front street, but some of the places we visited weren't as they are residential sections and homes. The fall means that days are shorter, nights are longer, and the effects of being on a ghost tour are more prevalent when you pass through dark areas and even by the Old Burying Ground.
Some of the tales were fun and nonsensical, some were just plain sad, and some were downright creepy. Occasionally I got that twitch that comes with the raising of hairs because I was creeped out! I'm not a super fan of the dark and never felt unsafe, but it is unseemly when one is discussing supernatural things that we don't understand.
We can take all the photos we want, just no flash photography of the homes (as many people still live in them), and of course, we would probably blind our tour guide if we did it while they were looking at the camera!
Overall, if you are visiting the Crystal Coast, this is an attraction that is an absolute must. The Beaufort Ghost Walk is worth the hour half of your family's time to learn, ponder, and listen to legends of the past and present. I imagine its fun all year, especially as seasons change and ghost stories change to go with it!
Just watch behind your back, as you don't know who may be looking as you walk down the street!
It's the perfect way to end a day in Beaufort, or even drive in from another location, as Beaufort is really only 20–30 mins from many Crystal Coast beaches.
Want to take a tour?
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