Over the last two weekends, Old Cahawba Archaeological Park, a historic site under the supervision of the Alabama Historical Commission (AHC), hosted its annual Haunted History Tours, made all the more haunting by the fact that this was the park’s 13th year hosting the event.

“I think [people enjoy the event] because our haunted history tours are ‘authentic,’” said Old Cahawba Archaeological Park Site Director Linda Derry. “We stick to telling traditional, historically-documented ghost stories that are attached to Cahawba – some of them have been repeated for over a hundred years. And we tell each story in the exact same place the ghost is supposed to haunt and then see what happens.”

Some of those stories include a man being buried alive, a ghost that tries to protect little boys wandering among the site’s ruins and a ghost that steals keys.

The annual event takes visitors on a covered wagon tour of the various haunted sites within the park before the Alabama Paranormal Research Group steps in with ghost-hunting equipment to check for wayward spirits.

“We don’t make up anything, we don’t dress up and say ‘boo,’” Derry said. “So, I suppose many participants are intrigued with the possibility of experiencing an actual ghost. The combination of skeptical historians telling the traditional tales and a paranormal team seems to work. It’s also the mystery of this place – Alabama’s most famous ghost town – and the fact that these two nights are the only time visitors can experience this magical place after dark.”

When visitors have finished the tour, Derry said, many stick around to tell tales by the fire late into the night.

Though the main features of the tour have remained the same over the years, Derry said a few changes have taken place – visitors are no longer carted around the area in a van, but a canopy-covered cotton wagon modified with seats, sides and a “sturdy” set of stairs; the Tally Ho Street Kitchen truck has been on site for the last few years – but the biggest change is with the visitors.

“Even though we always have a number of repeat tour participants, I think the audience is what has changed the most,” Derry said. “People are taking ghosts more seriously. For example, they are showing up with ghost apps on their cell phones. I’m okay with this. We’re doing public history, so we strive to bring the past alive in the future and, if you really think about it, ghosts are just that – the past alive in the present. Authentic ghost stories, based on historical documents, seem to be the way many people like to consume history these days.”

This weekend, the park with host is “If Bugs Could Talk” Walking Tour at 10 a.m.

Tickets for the event, which includes hands-on activities that speak to water quality issues, are $8.

Later in the year, on Dec. 14, the park will host a “Happy Birthday, Alabama” presentation at 10 a.m. to celebrate the day that Alabama became a state.

“We’ve discovered some amazing details about Alabama’s first statehouse through archaeology and documentary research, so an archaeologist will be sharing the new insights into [Alabama] Gov. [William Wyatt] Bibb’s vision of Cahawba as Alabama’s capital city,” Derry said.

For more information, visit www.cahawba.com.