Columbia Cemetery Tours Bring Local Ghost Stories to Life This Weekend

Issue #840

October 19, 2026

In this What’s Up Columbia issue…

☀️ Columbia’s Monday Weather - Sunny w/ high of 71, low of 39

👻 Columbia Cemetery Tours Bring Local Ghost Stories to Life This Weekend

🚘 10/23: Classic Cars & Candy Bars at United Co-op

🗓 List of Upcoming Events

🎵 This Week’s Live Music

🗓 Know of Some Local Events Not Listed? Send us the Details!

🍽️ Last Day to Sign Up For the Dinner Club is 10/20 before 6:30 PM! Book your seat here. 

Columbia Cemetery Tours Bring Local Ghost Stories to Life This Weekend

Some of Columbia’s earliest residents have stories to tell this fall, and two local cemetery tours are giving them the chance. Along with a long-running Halloween festival at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville, the events mix local history with some spooky-season fun for families.

Ghosts of Greenwood

The President James K. Polk Home & Museum and Watershed Public Theatre are presenting Ghosts of Greenwood on Friday, Oct. 23. The candlelit tour of Greenwood Cemetery features Columbians of the past who “come to life” at their gravesites to share their stories.

Guests will meet people like Ophelia Polk Hayes, James K. Polk’s notoriously hot-headed sister, and Sarah McNeill, the first victim of the 1844 “black tongue” epidemic.

The setting carries plenty of history of its own. Established in 1809, Greenwood is the oldest public cemetery in Columbia and the resting place of many prominent figures from the town’s early years. Samuel and Jane Polk, the president’s parents, are buried there along with most of their immediate family.

Guides lead groups to the featured gravesites, with tours starting every 30 minutes. Each tour lasts about 45 to 60 minutes. The 5:30 and 6 p.m. tours begin before it’s fully dark, which makes them a good fit for younger children and anyone who wants more light to get around.

Guests should be able to stand for the full tour and be comfortable walking on uneven ground in dim lighting. Visitors are asked not to touch, step on or lean on gravestones and to stay with their group. Weather-related updates will be shared by email and on the Polk Home & Museum’s social media accounts.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for Polk Home members and $10 for children 5 and older, plus service fees. Children under 5 get in free. Proceeds benefit the James K. Polk Memorial Association, the nonprofit that preserves and operates the Polk Home & Museum. Tickets are available here.

Rose Hill Cemetery Tour

The Athenaeum is hosting its Rose Hill Cemetery Tour on Saturday (10/24) from 7 to 9 p.m.

Rose Hill was established in 1853, after Greenwood ran out of room, and it quickly became the fashionable place to be buried in Columbia. Some families even had loved ones moved there from other graves. Today it’s home to veterans of nearly every American war, three U.S. senators, a War of 1812 spy and an early stock car champion, among others.

Tour guests will hear the stories of some of the cemetery’s notable and infamous residents, including tales of love gained and love lost. Because the cemetery is old and the ground is uneven, guests are asked to bring a flashlight for walking between stops.

Admission is $10 per person, cash only. Children 5 and under get in free.

Haunted Museum Storytelling Festival

For families willing to make the drive to Nashville, the Tennessee State Museum will hold its 28th annual Haunted Museum Storytelling Festival on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The museum is located at the Bill Haslam Center, 1000 Rosa L. Parks Blvd.

The free event started in 1998. The museum decorates for Halloween and offers games, crafts, stories and prizes, and kids are encouraged to come in costume and settle in for spooky stories from Tennessee’s past. A full schedule has not been released yet. More information is available here.

10/23: Classic Cars & Candy Bars at United Co-op

Cruisin’ The Co-op wraps up the season with a fall favorite Classic Cars and Candy Bars Trunk or Treat!

Join us on October 23 for a special edition of Cruisin’ featuring decorated trunks, classic cars, candy for the kids, food trucks, and festive fall fun. Costumes are encouraged, and families are invited to enjoy a safe, exciting night of trick-or-treating and community connection.

Bring the kids, bring the candy buckets, and don’t miss this one! Admission to this event is free!

Note: The Co-op will close at 4:00 PM before the event. Find important details on parking and traffic flow here.

United Co-op
975 Riverview Lane, Columbia
5:00 - 8:00 PM

Making friends as an adult is weirdly hard. Maybe this will help… Join the What’s Up Columbia! Dinner Club on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 6:30 PM. We’ll match you with five people for dinner at a downtown restaurant, then all the tables meet up at a surprise after-party. Book your seat here. Deadline to sign up: Oct 20 before 6:30 PM!

Upcoming Local Events

🗓 Have an event to add? Send us the Details!

Monday, October 19th

Tuesday, October 20th

Wednesday, October 21st

Thursday, October 22nd

Friday, October 23rd

Saturday, October 24th

Sunday, October 25th

👇 Click the Links to Learn About our Local Business Sponsors! 👇

🎵 This Week’s Live Music

Tuesday, October 20
Songwriters Round - Whiskey Alley Saloon, 6-9 PM

Thursday, October 22
Todd Ciprian - Tito’s, 6-9 PM
Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song - CSCC Cherry Theater, 7 PM
Troy Castellano - Whiskey Alley Saloon, 7:30-9 PM

Friday, October 23
Pat Wiley Russel - Buck & Board, 6-8 PM
Stevierock - Acapulco Mexican Grill, 6:30-8:30 PM
Open Mic - Grinder’s Switch Winery, 7-9 PM
Michael Forkuo - Whiskey Alley Saloon, 7:30-9 PM
Ben Owens - Puckett’s, 7:30-9 PM
Vintage Voltage - Fozzy’s Bar & Grill, 8-11 PM

Saturday, October 24
Crossbridges - Amber Falls Winery & Cellars, 3-7 PM
Shannon McCue & The Harpeth River Boys - McCreary’s Irish Pub & Eatery, 7-9 PM
Open Mic - Grinder’s Switch Winery, 7-9 PM
The Hollybells + Rusty Shipp + Colonsay - 104 East 6th St, 7:30 PM
Curated Writers Round - The Bourbon Gospel, 7:30 PM
Dylan Cornell - The Rebel Bar & Grill, 7:30 PM
Righteous Intonation - Puckett’s, 7:30-9 PM
Whiskey River Band - The Boondox, 8 PM

Sunday, October 25
Small Town Sweethearts - Amber Falls Winery & Cellars, 1-5 PM
A Night of Worship - The Mulehouse, 6:30 PM

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