Just in time for Halloween, curious learners will spend an October afternoon wandering among the headstones of the Salt Lake City Cemetery, hearing stories about some of the city’s famous—and infamous—former residents.

It’s all part of A Halloween Tour of the Avenues Cemetery, one of the more unusual classes offered this fall through Lifelong Learning at the University of Utah’s Continuing Education.

Led by instructor Paul Wheeler, the Oct. 24 walking tour explores the history of the 250-acre cemetery and the people buried there, mixing local history with folklore, superstition and a few tales of things that go bump in the night.

“What I love about the Salt Lake City Cemetery is that you can start with a ghost story and suddenly find yourself standing in the middle of a very real piece of Utah history,” Wheeler said.

Participants will hear the story of Jean Baptiste, the infamous grave robber accused of disturbing graves and stealing clothing from the dead before being exiled and seemingly disappearing from history. They’ll visit the grave of Porter Rockwell, the bodyguard, lawman and gunslinger whose larger-than-life reputation inspired legends of its own.

Then there’s Emo’s Grave, where, for generations, visitors have passed along the legend that circling the grave three times while chanting “Emo” might summon something. But the person buried there was actually Jacob Moritz, a brewer and political figure.

“That’s one of my favorite parts of giving the tour,” Wheeler said. “We get to tell the spooky version, then start pulling back the layers and ask: How did this become the story people are still telling more than a century later?”

Along the way, participants will also learn how to read some of the history hiding in plain sight. Wheeler will explore cemetery symbolism, burial customs and superstitions, from angels and weeping willows carved into monuments to draped urns and mortsafes.

Many images and traditions now associated with Halloween, Wheeler explained, grew out of very real fears and customs surrounding death and burial.

And, of course, there are ghosts.

Stories include a headless outlaw wandering with a lantern, mysterious footsteps in an empty sexton’s house, a crying infant, unexplained lights, the legend of the Kissing Tree and a gravestone bearing the difficult-to-ignore inscription “Victim of the Beast 666.”

For Wheeler, though, the stories are ultimately about more than giving participants a Halloween scare.

“These aren’t Halloween props. These were people,” Wheeler said. “They loved, fought, succeeded, failed, lost people they cared about and eventually became part of the history of this city.”

Learn something spooky

But the cemetery tour is only one way Lifelong Learning is getting into the spirit of the season.

October’s schedule offers plenty for anyone who likes their learning with a little mystery.

Participants can create eerie works of art in Spooky Sketches in Enamel, explore the legends behind mysterious creatures in Cryptids and Their Folklore or put their own frightening ideas on the page during Horror Writing Bootcamp.

Those looking for a hands-on way to celebrate can make Halloween Bath Bombs and Shower Steamers or Halloween Lotions and Creams. And just before Halloween, participants can learn how to mix drinks fit for the season in Halloween Cocktails.

More fall classes

Lifelong Learning’s fall calendar also gives community members a chance to explore everything from food and art to Utah’s outdoors.

Taste and compare oils in Olive Oil Tasting: A Sensory Journey!, learn about Utah’s Onaqui Wild Horse Herd, discover some of the state’s Rock Art Hot Spots or try your hand at Beginning Woodworking or Blacksmithing: An Introduction.

Explore the full Lifelong Learning class schedule and find your next class. To learn more, visit the Lifelong Learning website or continue.utah.edu.