Hauntings Tours Return to Leesburg

For more than two decades, Loudoun Museum has brought Halloween to life, spending the weeks before the holiday gearing up for its Annual Hauntings Tours.

This year the tours — which snake through businesses and homes in Historic Downtown Leesburg after dark — return to town Oct. 26 and 27.

At each of the tours' stops, storytellers in costumes entertain visitors with ghost stories and history about the location. But locals who have gone on the tours in past years shouldn't worry about being bored:

“It’s a different Hauntings experience each year because we vary the locations a bit,” said tour founder and director Peter Kelpinski. “For some sites, the stories have been updated to reflect new eerie events that have occurred during the past year.”

Hold on — events in the past year? There are still ghosts in Downtown Leesburg?

"The goal is to both entertain and unsettle guests," Kelpinski said. “We scare you the good old-fashioned way: with the fine art of well-told stories."

Here are some details to guide you through the spooky journey:

• The tours begin every 15 minutes between 6 and 10 p.m. both Friday and Saturday. All tours run between an hour and a half and two hours, starting from Leesburg Town Hall, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg. The tour will cover about eight blocks, ending at the Loudoun Museum at 16 Loudoun Street SW.
• Locals should arrive 15 minutes before the event. Running late? You'll have to wait for open spaces on the next tour, or, a tour later that night.
• Tickets are priced at $15 online, or $20 on site. "Because space is limited, people are encouraged to reserve their tickets online as soon as possible," the museum says "All proceeds benefit the Loudoun Museum."
• Kids under 10 might be scared by the tour -- and infants  and strollers are not allowed at the event. "Due to their historic nature, many of the buildings on the Hauntings Tours are not handicapped accessible," the museum notes.
• Tours run rain or shine!