TROY — Ghost Tours of Troy will explore the darker side of downtown Troy’s history on Saturday, Oct. 29, offering self-guided walking tours of downtown’s most haunted locations.

“It’s a hotbox for paranormal activity in that area,” Ghost Tours of Troy Chairperson Shawn Denoyer said. “There are quite a few stories we have to tell.”

The tour route will lead guests around Troy’s downtown square area, where costumed re-enactors will share local ghost stories that have occurred at different locations along the way. “We’re all in costume,” Denoyer said. “We try to match the history and the haunts.”

Guests will also get to go inside several of the historic buildings on the tour route.

“There’s a couple of places where we will be going inside areas,” she said. “We try to make each year different. We try to alternate sites, to try to make it fresh.”

The downtown area is well-known for its ghost stories, making it an ideal location for Ghost Tours of Troy.

“A lot of people have heard a lot of different stories, and that’s kind of why it got started,” Denoyer said. “They have given me some extra stories that we have added this year.”

Guests will check in at 405 Public Square, on the quad with Bakehouse Breads and Troy Sports Center.

“They’ll receive a map of the sites that are on the tour,” Denoyer said. “There will be tour guides at those sites; we’ve got ghosts with different colors, and that will be marked on the map.”

“This year, we’re going to do the self-guided tours again,” she said. “People seemed to like that. You can start wherever you want, and there will be a tour guide there for you.”

Tours will start at 6, 7, 8 and 9 p.m., although some time slots are already sold out. “Two tours are already sold out,” Denoyer said. “We have a six o’clock tour, we only have two spots left on that one; 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. are completely sold out, and 9 p.m. is halfway sold out.”

“If we do have any tickets available, we can sell tickets the day of the tour,” Denoyer said, “but I have a feeling we are going to be sold out.”

Proceeds from the tours are donated to local charities.

“One year, we were able to give almost $1,200,” Denoyer said. “I think that year we gave to five different charities.”

Ghost Tours of Troy is staffed by volunteers. “We are a team, and we work together,” Denoyer said. “We’re always looking for volunteers.”

Tour guide spots are filled for this year, but the tours do still need volunteers to help with crowd control and to work behind the scenes. “We’re always looking for volunteers,” Denoyer said.

Pre-sale tickets cost $10 online at https://ghosttoursoftroy.com/ or $12 the day of the tour. Tickets are also available at several downtown stores, including Around About Books, Olive Oasis and 3 Weird Sisters Boutique. Last check as of press time, online tickets have been sold out for 2022.

More information can be found online at www.ghosttoursoftroy.com