Norcross ghost tour brings legend to life

Well, it's said to be a spooky weekend in Norcross, thanks to Lionheart Theatre Company. The troupe is hosting its popular Lawless Spirits walking tour this Thursday through Sunday, bringing a North Georgia legend to life in the streets of historic downtown Norcross. And good news, Paul Villican is joining us live in studio. He knows a thing or two about this tour, don't you? You're looking at the star right here. No, not the star, not really. But I am in it, which is so fun. I've done this in the past, and this year's is a little bit different. And so I am so lucky to be one of the actors that you will see along the way. And this year's tour centers on the legend of the Blue Ridge Witch. It is a story you might have heard if you grew up here in North Georgia. All the Spirits is a walking tour for our people that are purchasing a little ticket. You start at the rectory at the theater and we walk you through Norcross and at different stops along the way, you will hear another piece of the story about the Blue Ridge Witch. Her powers were a source of pride for our family, even if some were suspicious of her. Every year I try to put together a collection of stories of ghost stories, and this year I thought it might be fun just to do one all the way through. So I googled Georgia Witches, and there she was. Her feet, my feet, restore. Limbs, my limbs, restore. I'm playing Elizabeth Tilly Bradley, who is actually the Blue Ridge Witch. It was really interesting because I have friends that live up in Blue Ridge. And so when I heard the story, I looked it up and started reading about it. And I actually visited the cemetery where she was buried. The cemetery to me was very creepy. They say it's the most haunted place in Georgia. It was spooky. It was eerie. and everybody up there talks about the Blue Ridge Witch. But if we hit one, Lord's providence on us, right? This has been totally different. We usually do a scene, one scene at one place, and that's it, and then they come back around. This time we're taking the story from place to place, and the audience follows us, and it's really different, and I think they're going to really enjoy it. Absolutely love it. And it's very limited. We only do 25 people per tour, so get your tickets quick. Yeah, you got to get them really quick because they are selling out. So Lawless Spirits happening this Thursday, October 22nd through Sunday the 25th in downtown Norcross. There are tours each night at 6.30 and 8 p.m., so two tours a night. Tickets $18 a person, and you can get them on the Lionheart Theatre Company website. We're going to link you there under the Good Day section of fox5atlanta.com. And it's always fun to be part of these tours because you get to be outdoors. It puts you in the Halloween spirit. But this one especially because, again, I think most of us in the cast had never heard of the Blue Ridge Witch legend before. And it is something that's still talked about in the North Georgia mountains. You can go to that cemetery. You can see where she is buried. So it's a fascinating story. Hold on. You even just telling me some of the story has blown my mind. Yeah. Well, that's the thing. I purposely didn't put much of the backstory in that little segment I put together because I want you to come to. do the tour and learn about it. For sure. And that's interesting, too. I'm glad you mentioned there's only 25 spots per tour. Yes. This is something you got to go at it. Yeah. Come. Please come and enjoy. It's a great way to learn that story, but also just to see Norcross, which is a great historic downtown. If you haven't been to Norcross, it's a beautiful downtown area. Great shops and restaurants down there. So you can make a whole night of it. After the tour, you'll find me over at the Iron Horse Saloon with my margarita. I'm excited. Good weekend. So this is our chance we can get up close and personal with Paul yeah and learn this whole story it's gonna be fun it's gonna be it's gonna be a blast yeah when i tell you you never know where you're gonna see this guy you never know where i'm gonna pop up i always i am the cockroach of Good Day Atlanta i pop up when you least expect you don't want me there but i ain't going nowhere we love it we love you good luck with all this yeah it'll be fun thank you all right thanks paul he's not a cockroach it's 9 20