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News • Arkansas • United States • 2011-10-03

New Book and Walking Tours Focus on the City’s Haunted Past

Tweet Line: Haunted Jonesboro: http://bit.ly/nuamfA

“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?” Edgar Allan Poe

“History meets Mystery.” These three words perfectly describe the recently published book “Haunted Jonesboro” by Edward L. Underwood. The book delves into the unexplained mysteries of the community and surrounding Craighead County.

The book grew from research Underwood and his wife, Karen, collected over the years – some of which are included in their Jonesboro Ghost Tour, which debuted in 2010. The walking tour became an immediate hit last October. Participants visit sites in downtown Jonesboro, hearing stories, many from generations past, of bizarre sights, sounds and sensations. The Jonesboro Ghost Tour returns this Halloween season, with dates scheduled on Oct. 1-2, 6-9, 13-16, and each night from Oct. 20-31.

The book “Haunted Jonesboro” explains the fascination with the unexplained succinctly on the first page of the first chapter. “The quest to understand what lies beyond the dark mystery of death has been with us from the beginning of recorded history. It is rooted in belief as well as skepticism, conviction as well as fear.” The topic engulfs both our highest hopes and dreams and our most dreadful nightmares. But just what is the ghost of a chance that there could, in fact, be the chance of a ghost?” Underwood asks that question…and then offers the reader specifics, speculations and overall spookiness.

From the stories involving Augustus Ellison’s ghost at the intersection of two downtown streets to the misty manifestations, voices and sounds of weeping in Keller’s Chapel cemetery, “Haunted Jonesboro” explores some of the most unexplainable occurrences through recounted stories and Underwood’s personal experiences.

The Jonesboro Ghost Tour gives Underwood and his company, Special Occasions Entertainment, the opportunity to share the legends with a live audience. The walking tour, which lasts about 90 minutes, takes participants to many of the locations included in the book, including Church Street Station. Church Street Station was built in 1911 and served, at one time, as the Jonesboro Federal Courthouse. Many, including the building’s current owners, believe the building is inhabited by three distinct entities, one of which seems to have a fondness for the structure’s elevator. Participants also have the opportunity to see photographs and artifacts related to many of the stops on the tour.

Underwood has been fascinated with all things unexplainable since he was a youngster. “As a kid,” says Underwood, “my favorite thing was monster movies.” His fascination with magic began at age 9. It is still with him today, although he admits moving from “traditional magic to bizarre magic.” He and Karen, through Special Occasions Entertainment, also offer The Ghost Hours Show and the Bizarrkansas Show. The Ghost Hours Show brings audiences up-close and personal with “things that go bump in the night.” The Bizarrkansas Show, based on the book “Bizarrkansas” by Underwood, celebrates Arkansas’s great and colorful past through the classic effects of magic. It is described on the company’s website as “a fact-filled show of hysterical history, magical mystery and Natural State wonders!”

“Haunted Jonesboro” is on sale at local booksellers now. It can also be purchased online at www.SpecialOccasionsEntertainment.com. You can also find out more about the Haunted Jonesboro Tour at the website.

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