Adra Johnson at the Quincy Hill Steps leads the Haunted Parkersburg Ghost Tours in a previous season. The 27th tour season starts Friday. (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG — A ghost tour in Parkersburg is entering its 27th season.

Haunted Parkersburg Ghost Tours was created in 1996 by the late Susan Sheppard, who was inspired by a walking tour in New Orleans. After Sheppard died in April 2021, her daughter, Scarlet, took up the tour.

Tours begin Friday, starting at the Blennerhassett Hotel and going into the historic districts on Juliana Street, Scarlet Sheppard said.

“We have quite a few stories about the hotel,” she said.

Participants in the tour have seen specters, including someone from 10 years ago who claimed to have a picture of a Union soldier on Juliana Street, Sheppard said.

Scarlet Sheppard

“And I believe people have seen spirits with their naked eye,” she said.

Tours will be held Fridays and Saturdays — Sept. 30, Oct. 6, Oct. 7, Oct. 13, Oct. 14, Oct. 20, Oct. 21, Oct. 27 and Oct. 28. All tours start at 7:30 p.m. and take about two hours, Sheppard said.

Tickets can be purchased the evening of the tour or online at https://www.hauntedparkersburgtours.com. Cost is $15 for adults 13 and older and $10 for children 5-12.

“We discourage kids under 5 because it’s such a long walk,” Sheppard said.

Tickets can be purchased with cash at the start of the tour, she said.

Ashley Fluharty

An additional tour leader was added this season, she said.

Ashley Fluharty, a performer at the Actors Guild of Parkersburg and at the Valley Gem dinner theater, joins veteran tour leader Adra Johnson. Fluharty has appeared as Cinderella in “Cinderella” in 2022, “Elf the Musical” and the “Miss Firecracker Contest” in 2021.

Adra Johnson