Cars crowded the entranceway of the Morningside Nature Center on Saturday evening, forcing some to wait in the turning lane on State Road 26.
They were all waiting for the same reason - to catch a glimpse of a ghost.
The park gates opened at 7 p.m., and the line of cars crept along the wooded road to the visitor parking lot like a funeral procession.
As the passengers unloaded underneath a full moon, the people - costumed children, teenagers with flashlights and parents pushing strollers - set out with good spirits for the fourth-annual Ghost Walk.
The Ghost Walk is a night hike on the Living History Farm at Morningside Nature Center put on by the city of Gainesville's Nature Operations Division.
"I think the idea is fantastic," said Sally Wazny, program coordinator. "It gets people out to a place they might not have known existed."
After putting on park-provided bug spray and listening to Wazny share information on area wildlife, people began the hike to the Living History Farm.
The Living History Farm sits on 10 acres of land and recreates a real farm in the mid- to late-1800s.
A hand-hewn longleaf pine cabin and historic buildings were some of the things that set the scene for the walk. The buildings were moved there from around the county, according to the city of Gainesville's Web site.
Wazny led the group of 100 through the paved parking lot and onto a dirt trail.
The only light came from large tin cans with holes punched in the sides and candles in the center.
As Wazny warned the group to quiet down so not to scare away the ghosts, stillness settled upon the ghost-seekers.
The group stopped at an authentic cash-crop field and stared intently at a light coming from the middle of it.
Merald Clark, a nature assistant in the division, emerged from the field holding a red kerosene lantern and wearing authentic 1800s clothing featuring a loose-fitting white cotton shirt, a dark vest and satchel on his shoulder.
The large group of visitors split up into three smaller groups so that everyone could hear stories from two other "ghosts" as well.
Clark, a farmer of sugarcane, cotton and corn, told of the Civil War's end, incorporating the effects it had on Hogtown, better known today as Gainesville.
Next was George Chappell, a farmer with a deep and raspy voice sitting on a bench.
The setting behind him featured an old-fashioned tool shed, complete with wooden tools and sharp axes.
The last ghost was Katherine Edison, a woman sitting in an authentic 1800s log cabin singing to her baby in a wooden rocking chair.
She told of her five children and their daily chores and sang two songs for the listeners.
The entire event ended in a large wooden schoolhouse, complete with benches and old lanterns lining the walls for light.
Ginger snaps, hot chocolate, sweet tea and lemonade were available to guests.
Even though all the characters were fictional, their stories were all based on facts that each had researched, Wazny said.
All three ghosts used their real names and are city of Gainesville employees who work on the Living History Farm the rest of the year.
"My favorite part is the people that come around," said Chappell, who has been a ghost since the first Ghost Walk.
"I once had this little girl come up to me afterwards and say, 'I'm sorry,' because my character had lost two sons. She wanted to comfort me, and it was just so cute."
