It’s hard to feel spooked in Concord’s downtown nowadays.
With the shiny newness of the Main Street project becoming a more familiar sight and brighter signs making their way into storefronts, there are few opportunities for creepiness.
As Monitor opinion editor Dana Wormald pointed out in his stellar noir take on the city, “People don’t walk here now, they stroll. If you want to learn something about a place, pay attention to the way people move through and within it.
“Nobody takes their time in a dying town.”
It’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, Concord has made efforts to get people more acquainted with its Main Street; the city’s economic development director and public information officer positions exist to spread the Good Word about Concord (they even have a podcast now); the various public-private partnerships, like the White Park skate house renovation; and the strong promotion of various events, like Intown’s Market Days, from businesses and the municipality alike.
As they say, familiarity breeds comfort. But that made taking Intown Concord’s Upstairs, Downtown tour last week even more fun.
For its 10th year, Intown tried something a little different, taking visitors to a few “haunted” spots in the city.
There was the classic mention of “George,” the ghost at the old police station and jail, now Margaritas in Bicentennial Square. And if you frequent the Barley House, perhaps you’ve been acquainted with the little boy, about nine years old, who likes to appear in the corners of the downstairs bar.
But it’s the stories behind the more mundane buildings that really settle under your skin.
For instance, did you know that Parker Academy on Pleasant Street used to be the former home of Lewis Downing Jr., of the Abbott-Downing Concord coach company? And that its attic, with rough planks and a collection of dusty mirrors, is not even the scariest thing about it? That belongs to the old woman who appears at closing time and just watches you lock up, according to employees.
But bar none, the creepiest place on the tour lies right beneath perhaps one of the city’s most innocuous locations – the public library. Kudos, first of all, to director Todd Fabian, who is a great storyteller.
But it’s hard to not feel a sense of dread down in the stacks, where the library keeps stored books. With long, close-together shelves stretching off into darkness and utility lights that take a few seconds to flicker on, it’d almost be unfair if there weren’t reports of whispers and a woman flying around the shelves, or paperclips disappearing and then flying past staff members heads days later. Great stuff.
Runner-up goes to Hilltop Consignment. City Councilor Jennifer Kretovic clearly had a good time telling visitors about the woman who walks through the walls to visit the next door CVS, but the real creep factor is what tours couldn’t see. Apparently, there’s an upstairs that used to connect to the Phenix Hotel, which burned in 1950.
Too bad it’s only accessible through a crawl space and a ladder, which, had it been available, would have made for A-plus horror material. Maybe next year.