Whether they are real or fictional, ghosts of the past will be present and walk among the living for a couple of days during this hallowed fall season.

In Gainesville, the Northeast Georgia History Center will offer a unique twist to museum visitors a full week before Halloween.

In a special “Night at the Museum,” the indoor galleries will be home to ghosts and spirits telling their tales. And on the grounds outside, entertainment will be provided all evening.

The center’s Haunted History will be from 6-9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24, at 322 Academy St. NE in Gainesville.

Guests will enter through the cabin gate for a group tour through the darkened History Center, meeting historic “ghost” characters who will fright and delight.

Tours will begin every 20 minutes with nine tours scheduled for each night. The tours will be limited to 30 guests each trip.

Before and after the tour, visitors can listen to music and storyteller while partaking of refreshments at the amphitheatre, cabin, blacksmith shop and fire pit.

Admission is $10 per person or $8 for history center members.

For more information, visit www.negahc.org or call 770-297-5900.

Historic Ghost Tour

In downtown Dahlonega, the proof that ghosts are real is as clear as a picture.

Dahlonega, which is rich with ghost lore, is known for two famous photographs of ghosts, in fact. And trained tour guides will tell visitors to Lumpkin County all the ghost stories that accompany the city’s history during the Historic Ghost Tour.

The 1.3-mile guided tour with 14 stops begins at 8 p.m. every Friday and Saturday night at 19 E. Main St. on the upstairs porch. Tours are on paved, designated walkways, with the exception of Mount Hope Cemetery. Comfortable shoes and clothes, and a flashlight are highly suggested.

On the tour, guests will hear of sightings of Civil War soldiers playing cards in Mount Hope Cemetery, ghostly girls in long white dresses, who play in rooms in the historic district, ghosts who rattle dishes and pans in restaurants on the square and chairs and chess pieces being moved when no one was there. The stories are corroborated by town residents.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children. Tickets may be purchased at www.dahlonegawalkingtours.com or the site’s Facebook page, calling 706-482-8795 or emailing dahlonegawalkingtours@gmail.com.

Legendary ghosts

Further northeast in the Sautee Nacoochee Valley, the historic Hardman Farm and Sautee Nacoochee Community Association will spend an evening relaying legendary tales.

“Ghost legends from the Valley” is a walking tour of the historic Hardman Farm and the Sautee Nacoochee Center. Storytellers will transport visitors through the misty veil into a realm of ghosts and creatures of the night under a fall sky at both locations.

The walk begins at the Sautee Nacoochee Center with three storytellers. Guests will then drive to Hardman Farm for three more stories. Guests are responsible for their own transportation and arriving in time to hear stories.

Walks begin at 7 p.m., 7:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, and is recommended for guests ages 12 and older. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended.  

Tickets are $15 per adult, $8 for teenagers and $12 for members of Friends of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites or SNCA.

For tickets, visit http://snca.tix.com or call 706-878-3300.