A night of ghosts and romance in the Old City Cemetery

In honor of the latest Twilight movie, I decided to do something a little supernatural and checked out "Spirits with the Spirits" tour at Sacramento's Old City Cemetery. It was pretty cool and not a bad deal for $15.  I mean, where else can you listen to ghost stories in a moonlit cemetery while drinking wine?

 I wasn't the only one who thought this. Hundreds of history buffs and ghost lovers gathered at the graveyard on Saturday night -- but sadly, this was a one time thing.


“This is the first time we’ve done a tour like this in June,” said Dr. Bob LaPerriere, Director of the Old City Cemetery Committee. “We usually do daytime ones every second Saturday of the month.”

Too bad, because I would recommend it. Not only did we get wine (which I love), but along the way, we encountered actors dressed up in period costumes who shared their stories about how their characters  lived their lives…and how they died.

There was Simon, who was shot back during the gold rush days, a woman who ran the temperance movement, an alleged prostitute from British Columbia who blew pepper in a woman’s face and was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, and a bartender who got hammered –literally. He was killed when a couple of thugs hit him in the back of the head with a blacksmith’s hammer. Now that had to hurt.

NOT EVERYONE LEAVES THEIR HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO

I'm not really a romantic. In fact, roses and candles are completely wasted on me, but I do like a good love story -- and the finale of the "Spirits with the Spirits" tour was just that.

The final guest of the night was Maria. Dressed in a long gown complete with a little parasol, Maria told her tale while standing by her gravestone.  She was a 25-year-old woman who was killed by another man just two months before her wedding.

While that's pretty tragic in itself, the most romantic part of the story has to do with her fiancé. Apparently, he never got over losing the love of his life.  According to Maria's story, he lived in San Francisco and died a few years after her murder. Upon his death, he donated all of his body parts to science – except for his heart.  This was buried beside Maria in the Sacramento cemetery so that they could be united in death. Aww...so sweet.

Of course, the moral of the story was that he truly did not leave his heart in San Francisco.

MORE TOURS FOR THE GHOST LOVERS

Establishment in 1849, the Old City Cemetery is the resting place of many Sacramento mayors, California governors and other historical figures. If you check it out, you'll see the grounds are immaculately landscaped, but according to LaPerriere, they weren’t always like this.

“Back in 1971, it was all weeds and twigs,” said LaPerriere. “I first came with a group who were looking for physicians of the past. Back then, it was in disarray.”

LaPerriere, along with a number of concerned citizens, stared the Old City Cemetery Committee to restore the site to its original glory in 1987. They love giving tours and sharing the history of the place with people.

“Our next tour will be this tour held on July 17 at 10 a.m. and will be about baseball and beer,” said LaPerrier. “It will feature baseball players who played ball on the West Coast and back East in the Major Leagues.”

For more information, visit http://www.oldcitycemetery.com/PlayBall.htm