Arthur Preston, or so he calls himself, appeared dressed in a top hat, a red bow tie, a red and black button-up, a cane, gray gloves, and ghoulish face paint. He ushered a crowd of about 30 Emerson students into the trolley bus, which was decorated with various webs, skulls, and other Halloween paraphernalia. Preston stood at the front of the bus with a wide, eerie smile fixed on his face. Circus music started playing from the speakers, and the “Ghosts and Gravestones Tour” began.
As the bus took off through the streets of Boston, Preston shared his fabricated backstory as a circus ringmaster who was betrayed by his circus underlings. The first “real” story of the tour is about the Charlesgate Hotel, which suffered seemingly endless tragedies. Preston recounted how the hotel became a brothel, then a homeless shelter, then an Emerson dormitory, and eventually, after multiple suicides and a gas leak, it was shut down. The story seemed less about the supernatural and more about the failings of capitalism. The bus passed a Dunkin’ on the right.
Despite the stories of serial killers and spectres, the most frightening part of the tour may have been the bus itself. There were no seatbelts inside the trolley, and the wooden benches granted the riders the pleasure of feeling every bump in the road. Still, Preston was a great performer; he shouted and winked and spun and spasmed as he told his ghost stories. His mic was a bit glitchy, but his voice was easily loud enough to make up for it.
The bus turned right on Park Street. Preston told tales of people being buried alive as the tour drove through traffic. Eventually, the bus pulled over a block away from the King’s Chapel graveyard. Preston led the Emersonians in a single-file line towards the graves and monuments.
Unlike the trolley bus, the graveyard was actually fairly ominous—it would be genuinely unnerving if it weren’t for the Santander Bank and Greek restaurant across the street.
In the cemetery, a sign reads: “Protect our heritage. Please remain on the walkway. Please refrain from grave robbing.” One would think the last could go without saying.
Preston never broke character, even when no one laughed at his ghost puns. The level of commitment was impressive, especially since the Emerson students weren’t exactly a willing audience. What did capture their attention was the graves themselves, including the grave of John Winthrop, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. While the ghost stories were cheesy and juvenile, the sheer amount of history held in the graveyard was undeniably fascinating.
Back on the trolley, Preston discussed the Boston Strangler, who murdered 13 women in the ‘60s. Their identity was never truly discovered.
He joked that the strangler could still be out there today, to which an Emerson student shouted, “Unc still got it!”
Preston chuckled awkwardly and kept talking.
After a few more stops and half a dozen more stories about serial killers, the bus circled back to Emerson. The ride was close to two hours, but Preston and his performance made it fly by. While no one exited the trolley shivering in fear, the “Ghosts and Gravestones Tour” left everyone with a smile and a few stories they won’t soon forget.
