Gabriel Newman stands outside the O'Keefe Ranch.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED: Historic O'Keefe Ranch
June 27, 2020 - 6:30 AM
Billed as the most macabre and thrilling tour of the summer, Vernon's Historic O'Keefe Ranch is holding guided ghost and cemetery tours and giving visitors a chance to hear ghost stories around a campfire.
The O'Keefe Ranch Ghost and Cemetery Tour, scheduled for two dates in July, are being run by Gabriel David Sumegi Newman the 2nd, who has been running ghost tours of Vernon for the last 17 years. The tours will showcase the mysterious history of the 150-year-old ranch.
"Inevitably a building that's been around as long as the O'Keefe Ranch (house) has been standing has accumulated stories and legends over the years," Newman said.
"We have decades and decades of tour guides spending hours alone in these buildings, and buildings of these ages have characters of their own, they have their own smells, their own creeks, their own quirks, doors open and close, voices are heard, faces are seen."
Along with the creepy old house, the graveyard also holds a wealth of secrets and stories. Over 50 people were buried in the cemetery but there are only 18 tombstones.
"There's so much unknown," Newman said. "Some of (the people buried there) have some very intriguing pasts."
The O'Keefe Ranch Ghost and Cemetery Tours take place July 9 and July 25. Tickets cost $25 and have to be bought online in advance.
For more information go here.
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