I was on
my way to Philadelphia’s Triumph Brewing Company to meet with my boss, Joe
Wojie of Grim Philly Twilight Tours, and Laurie Hull, a paranormal investigator
from Tri County Paranormal. We were going to discuss and map out the route to
our Halloween tour, a hands-on historical ghost hunt. I had been waiting at my
South Philly bus stop for over 40 minutes, alone. An older man, tall and
skeletal, inappropriately dressed for the sweltering summer day in a bright red
sweatshirt and winter beanie, chain smoked across the street and stared at me
through his large, eighties-style sunglasses. Definitely a serial killer. I
work as a guide for Grim Philly’s walking tours which feature the darker,
seedier side of the city’s history. I’m an expert now on colonial prostitution,
mass graves, eighteenth century diseases and their macabre treatments, and yes,
serial killers. It makes for nervous travel on public transit. Fortunately, it
appeared he was only interested in watching me, not following me, so I boarded
my bus and made it to Triumph without incident.
