It’s a unique walking tour that, in its short time, has already been recognized across the state.
Next week, another edition of the Historic Alpine Ghost Tours returns, starting at 8 p.m. each night from April 13-15 at Reata Alpine.
It’s a tour that takes attendees through downtown Alpine, exploring the history of the town and is put on through a collaboration of Sul Ross State’s Theater Department and the Alpine Historical Association.
“It’s a walking, historical tour that’s about a mile long and takes about 45-50 minutes, depending on the size of the audience and how quickly they move,” Chair of Visual and Performing Arts Department at Sul Ross State Marjie Scott said. “But it’s a tour that takes the audience through downtown Alpine, stopping at different points of interests.”
The Ghost Tours are intended to promote the history of Alpine while also enjoying ghost stories from the Big Bend Region.
“It’s a walking tour that’s led by a guide,” Scott said. “Audiences learn about the history of Alpine, how it got started as a town and how it has changed over the years and some of the buildings in town and why they are so historic. Then, there are some ghost stories as well. The audience meets a few of the ghosts who are a part of that lore of ghost stories.”
The tour starts at the famous Reata Restaurant with a spooky cocktail and stars several famous Texans including Crystal Holland who was murdered in front of the historic Holland Hotel in 1916 and Harvey Hughes, who was hanged on the lawn of the Brewster County Courthouse in 1923, one of the last in Texas.
The tour ends with a complimentary nightcap at the Century Bar and Grill inside the Holland, one of the four far West Texas hotels designed by Henry C. Trost.
The Alpine Ghost Tours is only in its fourth season but in that short time, the attraction has been recognized by the Texas Travel Awards last summer with the SRSU Theater Department and the Alpine Historical Association winning for best Under the Radar Activity in the small market category.
“I think it stands out because there are several ghost tours around the nation and many are very interesting but this tour is a little more interactive in that there are ghosts that the audiences see and meet and get to hear from,” Scott said. “One of the ghosts tells a story about his public execution at the county courthouse. It’s a pretty grim story but it’s an interesting one and the person who was put to death, he wrote a memoir while he was in prison and we use pieces from his memoir in the dialogue, spoken by the ‘ghost.’ I think what’s unique about it is we take these pieces of history and we bring them to life in small scenes and audiences get a taste of what these people actually looked like and sounded like in the time that they lived and walked the streets of Alpine.”
Tickets can be purchased at tinyurl.com/2p8pn8dh. Admission is $20 for adults and $18 for children ages 12 and under, seniors and college students with a valid ID.
For anyone who hasn’t been to Alpine, Scott says the Ghost Tours make for a great reason to come check out the community.
“Alpine is a great little town so if people haven’t been, I recommend they come on the weekend of the 13, 14 and 15 when we’re doing the tours,” Scott said.
The tours help raise money to fund theater scholarships at Sul Ross State.
“One thing that’s great is that the money made from these tours go directly to theater students here in Alpine via scholarships,” Scott said. “It’s another opportunity for people to support the arts and help struggling students pay for school.”
Scott hopes to add more to the tour in the years to come.
“We want to feature more of the south side of Alpine which is historically the Hispanic side of town,” Scott said. “It has a very rich history that we want to talk about in next year’s tour.”
If you go
What: Historic Alpine Ghost Tours.
When: Tours begin at 8 p.m. April 13-15.
Where: Tours begin at Reata Alpine and continue through town.
Where to purchase tickets: tinyurl.com/2p8pn8dh
On the net: historicalpine.org
