If you enjoy spine-tingling tales or legends that lead to laughter, you won’t want to miss out on the annual Scary Stories at The Fort event.
The annual scary storytelling held at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park is a popular event in the community. This year, Scary Stories at The Fort will be held on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. inside Fort Watauga at Sycamore Shoals.
Mary Jane Kennedy and Chad Bogart of the Front Porch Storytellers will be joined for the event by their fellow raconteur Keith Young.
Over the years, the Scary Stories event has grown. It was first held next to the cemetery at the historic Carter Mansion but quickly outgrew that venue and had to move to the state park.
It was during one of those early sessions at the graveyard that Kennedy was first inspired to become a storyteller. Shortly after Kennedy and her husband moved to Carter County from Florida they attended one of the Scary Story events at the graveyard, which just happened to feature Young sharing lore and legends.
“I was just in awe of his talent,” Kennedy said, adding Young’s charisma and storytelling skills inspired her to try her hand at telling tales. “Little did I know that years down the road I would be sharing the stage with him.”
For 10 years now, Kennedy and Bogart have been featured storytellers at Scary Stories and Young has joined them in performing for many of those years.
While the event is called “Scary Stories,” Kennedy said the event is family oriented and all the tales and legends shared are family friendly.
“A couple of the stories are serious because they are based on legends, but none of them are gruesome,” Kennedy said. “Chad and I don’t do those type of stories.”
The storytellers work hard throughout the year to find new tales to tell at the event.
“It’s something we look forward to every year,” Kennedy said. “There are going to be some creepy ones and some very funny ones so they will get the shivers and they’ll get to laugh.”
This year’s event will also feature something new from the Friends of Sycamore Shoals group.
“This year, for the very first time, the Friends group is going to be selling refreshments,” Kennedy said, adding things such as snacks and hot chocolate will be available for purchase.
The event typically lasts between one hour and an hour-and-a-half. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets for sitting as the event will take place inside the fort and to also dress appropriately for the weather as it may be cool that evening.
Kennedy also has some advice for those planning to attend.
“I would suggest coming early, because this place gets really packed,” she said. “We had about 200 people last year.”
For more information about Scary Stories at The Fort, contact Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park at 423-543-5808.