Rylee A Walker

 News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT Oct. 23, 2018 Rylee Walker Strategic Communications Student - - Ghost tours return to Fort Riley MANHATTAN, Kansas – Get ready to have a shiver go up your spine. You can take a tour to experience the stories and legends that haunt historic Fort Riley. The annual ghost tours will take place on Oct. 27 and 28 beginning at 4 p.m. and are free and open to the public. The tour on Oct. 27 is for ages 12 and up. The tour on Oct. 28 is for families of all ages. “We’re telling the stories of those who can’t tell them anymore,” said Tricia Verschage, Historical and Archeological Society of Fort Riley ghostess. Costumed storytellers will guide visitors through Main Post while telling classic ghost stories such as The Custer House Teddy Bear Ghost. First-hand accounts will be told along the tour route. Almost every house on Main Post has a ghost story. Hundreds of buildings on post are thought to be haunted. “It’s kind of funny when you have someone who doesn’t have a ghost. They’re really upset about it,” Verschage said. Ghosts tend to be more active around the time of All Hallows Eve. This is due to the veil between the living and the dead being thinner. This is a walking tour that will cover over a mile of historic Main Post. The Saturday tour will last 90 minutes, and the Sunday tour will last 60 minutes. This event is sponsored by the Historical and Archeological Society of Fort Riley. Attendees can purchase a fast pass for $5. Books documenting the ghost stories can be purchased individually or as a set of four. Boiler Plate: In 1853 Camp Center was erected and believed to be at the center of the United States, it was only 80 miles off. On June 27, 1853, Camp Center became Fort Riley. Fort Riley experienced many cases of cholera and the Spanish flu resulting in many deaths on main post. There are approximately 15,000 active duty service members assigned to Fort Riley with more than 18,000 family members, 29,000 veterans and retirees and 5,600 civilian employees who live in the region and/or work at the post - 30 -