DINE OR DASH?

People come into The Witchery everyday looking for the Galveston Ghost Tour. We always pass along the info they need to find Dash Beardsley's original Strand Ghost Tour. It's rated the number one ghost tour in Texas and the number two ghost tour in the country.

One day I got a phone call from none other than Dash thanking me for sending business his way. Of course I was happy to do it. He told me he was creating a Secret Societies Cemetery Tour and as the historian for the local Masons I cleared up a couple of questions for him. I invited him to stop by and introduce himself next time he was downtown which he did soon after. I knew it was him as he walked in the door because of his trademark and unmistakeable appearance. We hit it off right away and he invited Kimberley and I to be his guest on the ghost tour.

Last Saturday, July 17, I asked Kim if she wanted to skip dinner and take the tour after work. I called Dash and he said the offer was still good. We closed the shop at 7 and rushed to make the 7:30 start time. We arrived just as he began his introduction.

It was still sunny out for 7:30 PM and there was a group of about 50 people. Right from the start the crowd was entertained as Dash asked individuals where they were from and to share ghost stories from their area. After hearing a few stories and a shout-out to The Witchery the tour began on the steps of Moody Plaza with a history of the island starting with the Karankawa indians.

He talked of pirates and fires and when the story led to the 1900 storm as if on cue the clouds darkened and a wind stirred up. As he raised his voice and intensity so did the clouds and the wind. It seemed that all the souls that perished in Isaac's storm suddenly arrived en masse.

As the gusts of wind whipped at Dash's trench coat and the crowd shielded their eyes from the blowing debris I was thinking to myself he couldn't have timed his performance more perfectly. As the story of the 1900 Storm ended so did the threat of rain and Dash led us down the Strand stopping periodically along the way to tell us a little history and a ghost tale tied to a particular building.

If I had to think of anything negative to say about the tour it would have to be that it was long. Over two hours! But, to Dash's credit, he kept us and the rest of the group entertained all the way to the end. No matter how much you think you know about the island you'll learn something on this tour! Kimberley and I had a great time that night and I recommend it to tourists and locals alike.