A fundraising plan turned neighborhood-wide art project combining spooky storytelling with public Halloween decorating; the Riverwest Radio Ghost Walk is coming back to the neighborhood this fall. Organizer Jill Capicchioni visualized a zine or booklet style publication that would share ghost stories that are either fiction or inspired by true encounters, along with original art to accompany them.
A map in the publication identifies participating businesses and residents who have decorated their buildings to reflect the stories in the book. Participants can visit these buildings in a self-guided tour. There are 20 stops on the tour this year, and a new feature is a QR code in the publication that can be scanned to hear audio versions of the stories.
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The stories lean on all your traditional Halloween favorites—ghosts, vampires, mystical cats, creepy puppets, and other things that go bump in the night. But many of them also capture a Riverwest vibe, like a haunted community garden space (“Greenfolks Graveyard”), a ghostly poet (“Poets”), or a neighbor’s house on Humboldt Avenue that might be hosting dance parties…or alien visitors (“Extra-Riverwestrial”), making for a unique anthology.
The tour book can be bought at several participating local businesses, including Bliffert Lumber, Outpost Natural Foods (on Capitol), Nessun Dorma, at the weekly Riverwest Farmer’s Market, and at Riverwest Radio. The latter, a community radio station, is the recipient of the proceeds of the tour book and related merch, like t-shirts, to help fund their operating costs. A weekly “Ghost Walk Spooky Talk” show airs on Riverwest Radio (104.1FM) every Friday in October at 6:30 p.m., with participating writers and artists discussing their work.
The tour is designed to be self-guided, but there are official and unofficial group outings. The Milwaukee History Club has planned a group ghost walk for Saturday, Oct.10, that meets at noon at Tracks Tavern for lunch before heading on the tour. Capicchioni has also organized a sunset bike ride tour for Saturday, Oct. 24 that meets at Art Bar at 4:45 p.m.
You may be grateful to have company after encountering terrifying tales like “The Dousman Street Dracula,” or the story of the “Fierce Feline Bewitching on Bremen.”
