Twilight Tales on the Trail Brings Legends, Lore, and Hundreds of Visitors to Valdese Lakeside Park
An evening of Appalachian storytelling, theatrical performances, and community collaboration brings the trails to life after dark.
On Thursday, October 29, 2026, the trails at Valdese Lakeside Park became something a little different. Instead of the usual sounds of hikers, runners, and cyclists, visitors heard chilling tales of local legends, mysterious happenings, and ghostly encounters as darkness settled over the woods.
The second annual Twilight Tales on the Trail brought over 200 people to the park for an evening that combined Appalachian history, live theater, outdoor recreation, and Halloween fun.
Families, teenagers, young adults, and longtime residents gathered for the free event, many dressed in Halloween costumes. The audience included exactly the mix of ages organizers had hoped to attract—particularly teenagers and adults looking for something different to do on an autumn evening, along with plenty of younger children and families.
And what an evening it was!
An Evening That Began with Treats and a Local Legend
Guests began arriving at the Pavilion on the Green at 6 p.m., where volunteers welcomed them with hot apple cider, cupcakes, and a chance to create their own candy treat bags.
For about 30 minutes, visitors enjoyed the refreshments, visited with neighbors, and settled into the beautiful outdoor amphitheater surrounded by autumn foliage.
Then the storytelling began.
Adrian Bradshaw Anderson, known online as Ada Lives Life, took the stage before the large audience to share the haunting story of Frankie Silver, one of western North Carolina’s most enduring historical legends.
The story of Frankie Silver, a young woman convicted of killing her husband in Burke County in the 1830s and subsequently executed, has fascinated generations. Her story remains a compelling—and often debated—part of the region’s history and folklore.
Adrian brought that story to life for an audience gathered outdoors in the very county where the events unfolded.
The appearance was particularly meaningful because it marked Adrian’s first live storytelling event after building a following online through videos celebrating Appalachian history, legends, and traditions.
Following the event, Adrian shared appreciation for the opportunity to meet followers in person, exchange stories, take photographs, and connect with people who love the region’s heritage.
“Tonight reminded me why I love doing what I do,” Adrian wrote, expressing gratitude for the chance to continue keeping mountain legends alive.
Adrian also played an important role behind the scenes, researching local spooky lore that would become the foundation for several of the stories performed along the trail.
Four Groups, Four Storytelling Stops, and One Lantern-Lit Trail
Following the opening performance, the audience divided into four large groups, each with approximately 50 participants.
Led by guides Sam Morgan, Dylan Webb, Beth Heile, and Kristy Poteat, the groups headed onto the trails of Valdese Lakeside Park.
The route was less than a mile, but the experience was about much more than walking.
Along the wooded trail overlooking Lake Rhodhiss, four storytelling stations awaited. At each stop, actors brought eerie tales to life in the fading evening light and, eventually, under the glow of lanterns.
Groups rotated from station to station, allowing everyone to experience the different performances.
As evening turned to night, the wooded setting became part of the storytelling itself. The rustling leaves, darkening trees, and quiet waters of Lake Rhodhiss created an atmosphere that no indoor theater could quite duplicate.
This year’s collection included stories drawn from local history and folklore, along with dramatic tales designed to send a few shivers down the spine.
The Lady of the Sarcophagus
One tale revisited a longtime Morganton legend involving Margaret McDowell McKesson, who died in 1856 at just 27 years old.
According to local folklore, generations of young people dared one another to circle an old Presbyterian church three times before approaching the stone figure of a praying woman atop her tomb.
The legend claims that those brave enough to ask the statue what she was doing might receive an unsettling answer from beyond the grave.
The dramatic retelling brought that old Burke County legend to a new generation.
Magnolia House — The House That Remembered
Another story transported listeners to an old house where strange events reportedly accompanied renovations in the 1970s.
From mysterious noises and unexplained happenings to the supposed appearance of a woman from the house’s distant past, the tale explored the idea that old buildings may hold more memories than their occupants realize.
The Weeping Stone
This story drew from a legend rooted right in Valdese, at the Waldensian Presbyterian Church Cemetery.
The tale centers on the grave marker of Felix and Florence Leger, a young couple who died only a year apart in 1940 and 1941.
Local folklore tells of mysterious eyes that appear on the stone under headlights after dark, along with markings that resemble tears running down its face.
Is it simply a trick of light and weathered granite, or something more? That is the mystery that has kept the story alive for generations.
Valdese: The Day the World Ran Backward
Not every unsettling tale involved ghosts.
One story revisited an extraordinary incident reported in Valdese in 1962, when an electrical problem caused industrial equipment to run in reverse.
Imagine working in a mill or bakery when machinery suddenly begins operating backward!
The story dramatized the confusion experienced by workers as machinery reversed direction, conveyor belts behaved unexpectedly, and an ordinary workday became anything but ordinary.
The reported cause was an electrical phase reversal, but the incident provided wonderful material for a dramatic retelling of an unusual chapter of Valdese history.
Together, these stories showed how local history and folklore can become memorable experiences when placed in the hands of talented performers.
A Talented Cast Brought the Trail to Life
The storytelling stations were made possible by performers brought together through the Old Colony Players’ Guild under the direction of Sam Morgan.
This year’s featured storytellers included:
- Peter Skelton
- Ethan Poteat
- Lee Gray
- Brittany DeBerry
- Erin Turnbull
- Holli Armstrong
- Andrea Skelton
The performers brought their own personalities, theatrical experience, costumes, and storytelling styles to the evening.
Several performers also featured dramatic material from Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, while others helped bring the region’s legends and unusual historical accounts to life.
Their performances transformed ordinary stops along a walking trail into a series of outdoor theatrical experiences.
For audience members, it was an opportunity to enjoy live theater in an unexpected location. For the actors, it was a chance to perform in a unique setting where trees, lanterns, and the growing darkness became part of the atmosphere.
The result was spooky without relying on jump scares or gore, remaining true to the original vision of Twilight Tales on the Trail.
Something for the Youngest Visitors, Too
While the main trail experience was designed with teenagers and adults particularly in mind, the evening also welcomed younger children.
Storytellers gathered near the fire pits to share additional tales with young visitors, giving families another way to participate in the fun.
And after the trail performances concluded, everyone was invited back to the pavilion area for one final Halloween tradition: roasting marshmallows over the fires.
Families gathered around the flames, friends talked about the stories they had heard, and visitors enjoyed a relaxed ending to the evening before heading home at their own pace.
The combination of live theater, outdoor adventure, costumes, refreshments, and time spent together created an experience that was both memorable and distinctly Valdese.
The Collaboration That Makes It All Possible
While the actors and storytelling were the stars of the evening, Twilight Tales on the Trail is also an outstanding example of what can happen when organizations combine their strengths.
The event was presented through a partnership among Friends of the Valdese Rec, Burke River Trail Association, Old Colony Players, the Old Colony Players’ Guild, and the Town of Valdese Parks & Recreation Department.
Each organization brought something important to the experience.
Friends of the Valdese Rec, an all-volunteer nonprofit supporting parks and recreation in Valdese, has long looked for creative ways to bring people into the community’s parks.
The Burke River Trail Association works to create connections and opportunities along trails throughout Burke County’s nine trail towns. Events such as Twilight Tales demonstrate that a trail is not simply a place to walk or bike—it can also become a destination for arts, culture, history, and community gatherings.
The Town of Valdese Parks & Recreation Department provided the park setting and partnership that allowed the event to take place at the Pavilion on the Green and along the trails of Valdese Lakeside Park.
Old Colony Players and its Guild brought the theatrical talent and expertise that transformed an outdoor walk into a storytelling experience.
The two nonprofit partners, Friends of the Valdese Rec and Burke River Trail Association, each contributed approximately $250 toward the event. But the value of the experience went far beyond those financial contributions because of the time, talent, creativity, and volunteer support invested by the partners.
Special thanks to BRTA volunteers Margaret Sundell, Laura Christie, Lisa Miller, and Eric Heile for generously sharing their time and helping make the evening a success.
Special Recognition for Director Sam Morgan
Without Sam Morgan’s leadership, Twilight Tales on the Trail simply would not be the event it is today.
For the second consecutive year, Sam organized and directed the theatrical side of the event, bringing together actors, coordinating performances, and adapting local legends into dramatic stories suited for outdoor presentation.
Sam’s ability to recruit talented performers and develop compelling stories is an essential part of the partnership.
The organizers of the event brought the vision of an outdoor Halloween storytelling experience. Sam brought the theatrical knowledge, creativity, and connections needed to make that vision a reality.
This is a true collaboration in which different people and organizations contribute skills that the others do not necessarily have.
Sam also recognized the contributions of Adrian Bradshaw Anderson, whose research into local spooky lore helped provide material that Sam could adapt into the trail performances.
Special thanks also go to Micki Ward-Fields, who created the beautiful promotional graphics highlighting the storytellers and helping introduce the cast to the community before the event.
And of course, thanks to the many volunteers who helped welcome visitors, distribute refreshments, support the storytelling experience, and make the evening enjoyable for guests of all ages.
The four trail guides—Sam Morgan, Dylan Webb, Beth Heile, and Kristy Poteat—also deserve recognition for helping move large groups between the storytelling stations.
Every successful community event depends on people who are willing to contribute their time and talents, and Twilight Tales on the Trail is a wonderful example.
From a New Idea to a Growing Fall Tradition
Twilight Tales on the Trail began in 2025 after Friends of the Valdese Rec had spent more than two years considering how to create a Halloween experience along the trails.
The original idea was a haunted trail, but organizers wanted something different from a traditional haunted attraction.
Rather than frightening people with jump scares, the goal was to create an outdoor experience built around stories, imagination, and a little Halloween mystery.
The completion of the Pavilion on the Green and a connection with Old Colony Players helped turn that idea into reality.
Beth Heile reached out to Dylan Webb to explore a theatrical collaboration, and Dylan helped connect the organizers with Sam Morgan and the Old Colony Players’ Guild.
The resulting idea—small groups moving between live storytelling stations along the trail—became the foundation for the event.
The inaugural celebration in October 2025 attracted more than 200 participants and demonstrated that the community was enthusiastic about this new type of outdoor experience.
Read about the first Twilight Tales on the Trail in 2025.
The second year brought another remarkable turnout.
Although an exact attendance count was not taken, organizers estimate that approximately 200 to 300 people attended the 2026 event.
In fact, the response was so strong that parking became a challenge. Some visitors were unable to find a parking space and had to leave.
While the turnout demonstrated the community’s enthusiasm, it also highlighted an important logistical issue to consider when planning future events.
Finding ways to accommodate the growing interest will be part of the challenge as this young tradition continues to develop.
More Than a Trail
For the Burke River Trail Association, Twilight Tales on the Trail represents something bigger than a single evening of Halloween entertainment.
It demonstrates what happens when a community begins to think differently about its outdoor spaces.
A trail can be a place to exercise. It can connect neighborhoods and downtowns. It can introduce visitors to the beauty of a river or a woodland setting.
But it can also become an outdoor theater.
It can help preserve and share local history.
It can introduce teenagers to live performances, give families a reason to spend an evening together, and bring together organizations that might not otherwise have an opportunity to collaborate.
The physical trail is the backbone of the wider vision.
At Twilight Tales on the Trail, that wider vision came to life through local legends, talented actors, dozens of volunteers and partners, and hundreds of people gathered outdoors to share an experience.
The Burke River Trail Association is grateful to Friends of the Valdese Rec, Old Colony Players, the Old Colony Players’ Guild, the Town of Valdese Parks & Recreation Department, and everyone who helped make this second year possible.
And most of all, thank you to everyone who came out, brought family and friends, wore a costume, listened to a story, or roasted a marshmallow by the fire.
You helped make an ordinary autumn evening on the trail something extraordinary.
Until next year, keep walking the trails—and remember that every place has a story to tell.