MARION — If you like spooky tales and scary places, then October is most certainly your month and Haunted Marion Tours will help you get in the mood for Halloween.

The guided walking tours are back for their second year of operation under the direction of Ashley O'Bryan, her husband, Matt O'Bryan, and her sister, Jessica Johnson. The two-mile evening stroll around the neighborhoods near downtown Marion features stories and stops at some of the city's well- and lesser-known haunts.

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"We stop at the Sawyer Sanitarium (on South Main Street)," Ashley O'Bryan said. "We talk about the history and also the stories people have shared about things they've experienced there. We also stop at a house that has a very prominent story about it on Sargent Street. A couple that lived there have been very vocal about all of their experiences."

O'Bryan said the tour is a mix of the paranormal as well as some human tales of terror.

"We tell stories of the supernatural that people have shared as well as some of the crime history in Marion," she said. "One of my favorite stories is about an affair that happened in Marion in the 1970s. The woman that was having the affair came over to the guy's house (on Willow Street) and him and his wife were there, and she ended up killing his wife.

"People who've lived there afterwards have had weird experiences," she added. "Several tenants have reported weird things happening in there."

A successful first year of operation served as the springboard to months of research in preparation for 2019, O'Bryan said. O'Bryan said she and her sister are the tour guides. Her husband is in charge of publicity and the social media.

The Haunted Marion Tours begin and end at the Central Christian Church parking lot on Bradford Street, O'Bryan said. The tour "meanders its way over to Willow," and then continues on South Vine Street, Bain Avenue, State Street, Columbia Street, Main Street, Church Street, Sargent Street, Greenwood Street, and back to Bradford Street.

Tours will be conducted from 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 11; Saturday, Oct. 12; Friday, Oct. 18; Saturday, Oct. 19; Friday, Oct. 25; and Saturday, Oct. 26.

Admission for the 90-minute tour is $17.

For information, visit Haunted Marion Tours on Facebook.

Email: eacarter@marionstar.com

Office: 740-375-5154

Twitter: @AndrewACCarter