Baraboooooooo

Last night we went to the Sauk County Historical Society's Annual Haunts of Baraboo walking tour. It took about two hours and we visited a number of historic homes and sites downtown, including a house built by a Civil War veteran, a home of a local man who died in the Sauk County mental hospital, a house that had been built elsewhere and then moved when the railroad didn't come through where it was expected (sounds like Perryton), the local funeral parlor, a beautiful Victorian house with an Irish wake in progress, a haunted dry goods store (the only ghostly spot on the tour) on the site of a hotel where Mary Todd Lincoln once stayed (she's not the ghost), and ended up at the Al Ringling Theater. They had a good turnout, and it was an interesting way to spend a crisp October evening under a just-past-full moon. It was about 34 degrees when it ended, but we had checked the weather beforehand and were appropriately bundled.

The Al Ringling Theater was built as an opera house by one of the Ringling Brothers, Baraboo's most famous residents, and continues to host movies, concerts, plays and various other community gathering. No phantom, but the organist did play the Harry Potter theme as we left.

At one point our tour group was joined by a man who clearly had a few under his belt. He began by announcing he wanted a ticket, holding up his cell phone. The guide told him to just stay where he was and join us. He wandered away and back a few times, engaged Tom in conversation -- "I'm just a drunk wandering down the street and you people looked like you were having fun" -- before he stumbled away and headed back to Monk's, a local watering hole. Since there were a number of costumed people who were part of the tour experience at various places, I wasn't sure if he was going to turn out to be a local ghost or not, but apparently he was just enjoying his Saturday night. I did notice when our group walked past Monk's on the way to the Al that a few folks peeled off and joined our friend in the bar.

I think that was Halloween for 2007.