Halloween: A Historically Festive Event in Emmaus

Emmaus citizens enjoy the October holiday of Halloween. The town takes on an eerie, spooky atmosphere with orange lights, scarecrows, spider webs, witches and goblins. 

People gather for the annual , with runners often dressed in costumes. The run is followed by the , an event well-known throughout the valley. Some residents party with their neighbors, grilling hot dogs as the marchers parade past their homes.

But this year something new was added to the festivities — a “Historical and Ghost Tales Tour” of the borough, sponsored by the . Mary Ann Miller, dressed in Victorian-era garb, and Richard Chartrand, portraying a town crier, guided groups throughout Emmaus in a walking/car tour, visiting several haunted sites.

The walking portion of the tour began at the — appropriate, since the borough began as a Moravian community. Here, Miller gave us a bit of the church’s history, along with the mysterious tale of a ghost heard sneezing one evening by a church employee.   

“A ghost with a cold — interesting,” said a member of the group.

We continued along Main Street, stopping at various historical sites, with Miller and Chartrand explaining their significance in Emmaus history. There were the homes built before the Revolutionary War, a tunnel found under Main Street used as a place to hide or get out of town in case of an Indian attack, and the aviator whose stunt flight cost him his life when he crashed into a home in the 1930s.

We heard the “cool” tale of the ghost that “makes sure everyone pays their bill” at . Employees seem to know when someone is ready to pay their bill, and a presence hangs around the cash register until they do, Miller said.

Then it was on to —where a family with six children lived, and the mother often sat looking out the front window. One of the sons died at an early age. People in the building still hear child-like footsteps, and have a feeling of coolness and of someone touching them, but no one is there. Now that sent chills down my back.

We proceeded to the , where we heard a ghost tale in a home on the northern side of the borough. Apparently, a couple lived in the house for 18 years until the wife, Lillian, died. People currently living in the home hear footsteps at all hours, sometimes feeling like she is hugging whoever is there.  She was seen one night bending over a woman in bed as though caring for her.

Then we hopped into our cars and headed to the , God’s Acre Cemetery, the and the . 

The Knauss Homestead has had several sightings of a teen-age girl, Elizabeth, who usually appears on Dec. 6 — her birthday. She is generally seen in a white gown holding two candles at a second floor window of the house. 

We didn’t see any ghosts on the tour — I’m not sure I would have wanted to. But it was very enjoyable and a fun way to spend an evening before Halloween.