Clayton’s History Gets Spooky

Each Sunday, we're sharing a small bright spot from the previous edition of The Weekender

After the sun sets in Downtown, Clayton Ghost Walks emerges from the dusk, offering a different way to experience some of the town’s history: on foot, by lantern light, and through stories that blur the line between local history and the unexplained.

Owner Doug Pawlak and fellow guide Kara Shoup lead walking tours through downtown Clayton, stopping at familiar buildings and locations connected to ghost stories, local legends, and reported paranormal encounters. But Pawlak says the goal is not simply to tell scary stories. He works to ground the tours in historical research and verify the details through primary sources whenever possible.

That approach comes naturally. Pawlak has spent nearly 25 years teaching history and has long used storytelling to keep students engaged. During family trips to historic places, he often found himself signing up for ghost tours. Eventually, he began wondering what stories might be hiding in the town where he lives.

Pawlak spent years gathering stories, researching locations, and listening to accounts of strange experiences before launching Clayton Ghost Walks last summer. The response came quickly: the first two months of tours sold out, and customers began contributing stories of their own.

Shoup played an important role in shaping the experience, helping refine stories and plan the walking route. Pawlak also credits his wife, Shannon, friends, former coworkers, and tour goers with offering encouragement and suggestions as the tour developed.

The result is part history lesson, part live storytelling performance, and part spooky night out in Downtown Clayton. Pawlak greets guests with a flickering lantern and leads them through downtown for roughly an hour using detailed narration and sound effects to bring the stories to life.

Recent guests have praised the tour for being creepy without losing the history behind it. One young attendee described it as “spine-chilling and informative” while another said visiting the actual locations made it easier to imagine the events unfolding.

The balance of creepiness and historical facts is what makes Clayton Ghost Walks such a good addition to downtown. It gives residents and visitors a reason to slow down, look more closely at buildings they may pass every day, and learn about the people and events that shaped the town.

And whether every story has a supernatural explanation almost feels beside the point.

Clayton Ghost Walks is keeping local stories alive, bringing people into downtown and proving that history gets a little more interesting after dark.

There are currently two upcoming tours available to book online. Doug also does private tours, and that sounds like a great company outing to us!