BY LAUREN SHUEY
BEACON HILL – Beacon Hill will make the transition from a subdued neighborhood into a community with grim and chilling history this Sunday, as the “Beacon Hill With a Boo” tour kicks off its annual Halloween event.
Sponsored by Boston by Foot Tours, the 90-minute walking tour on Halloween night, guides viewers to the famous locations of murders, hangings, and other mysteries that once plagued the now quiet community.
Mary Fitchner, the executive director of Boston by Foot Tours, said the event has become increasingly popular as part of the neighborhood Halloween festivities. “We have been doing this for about 25 years now, and now we usually receive about 300 people,” she said.
The tour outlines many of the horrific murders in the area, including the executions in the Boston Common, the murder of Dr. Parkman at 8 Walnut St., and the Boston Strangler.
“The tours are updated and fact checked every year and led by guides who are experts in Halloween and the dark history of Beacon Hill,” Fitchner said.
One of those tour guides, Gretchen Grozier, 40, is in her twelfth year as a guide for “Beacon Hill With a Boo”.
“It’s such a beautiful neighborhood for Halloween with many of the streets closed and lots of children running around. It makes it easy to walk around and tell haunting stories against such a fantastic backdrop,” Grozier said.
Grozier believes much of the tours success is due to the tour guides that help the event evolve every year. “What makes it great are the different tour guides that appeal to everyone. You always get a slightly different perspective depending on who your guide is,” she said.
The tour begins at the State House at 530 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are available for $20 and can be purchased directly from the tour guides.
