By KEN SUGIURA
AJC GWINNETT NEWS
Published on: 06/30/06
Howling Curtis is a drink you can order at the Lil' River Grill in downtown Lawrenceville. But Curtis also is a part of local lore.
It is said that Curtis was a town drunk who, once he sobered up after being locked up, howled until he was released.
says the Lawrenceville Ghost Tour, an entertaining walk around the city square put on by the Aurora Theatre. After its opening last fall, the tour resumed Memorial Day weekend and seems to be gaining in popularity. It even rated a mention in a story about suburban tourism in the Wall Street Journal.
"We've gotten a lot of people calling about it, and we get more and more every week as it gets going," theater box office manager Daniel Green said.
On a recent Friday evening, the crowd of about 30 included couples, families and a bevy of Red Hat Society members who cracked wise with the tour guide.
"There are many ghosts in Lawrenceville," said local actor Geoffrey Brown, who takes on the persona of E.M. Balmer (Get it? Try saying it out loud.) for the tour.
"How many?" a Red Hatter interrupted, to laughter.
"I told you before," Brown said, feigning indignation. "Lots."
The tour, led by professional actors such as Brown, has a professional polish. Green said that the theater used similar tours in New Orleans, Charleston and Savannah as models.
"We wanted to make sure it had quality that would last," Green said. "We didn't want it to be slapped together."
Brown leads his tours in a top hat and a long black coat and is, at turns, dramatic, informative and whimsical.
"It's like doing a one-man show for an hour and a half," Brown said. He joked that he relished street crossings because they give him short breathers.
Actress LeeAnna Lambert researched for six months to come up with material for the tour, Green said. Some of it explains the history of various buildings on the square. The spot where Hustler publisher Larry Flynt was shot in 1978 is part of the tour, for instance. The rest is goblins, ghouls and mysterious orbs.
Some stories, such as those from a former jail on Callaboose Alley just off the square, are based on Lawrenceville and Gwinnett County legend. Others are standard ghost stories that have been adapted for Lawrenceville.
The tone tends to the light-hearted, but easily spooked children probably should not come along. Further, the 90-minute tour covers a mile and a half.
Source: http://www.ajc.com/gwinnett/content/met ... ghost.html
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