A new tourism project in Kentucky aims to highlight some of the state’s spookier, more spirited locations. You won’t see any bourbon, horses, or barbecue on this trail — but you may see a few ghosts, Bigfoot, and a little green man or two.
A movie poster-style illustration from the Kentucky After Dark campaign depicts the Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville.
Kentucky After Dark, a new tourism campaign funded through the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, features 12 locations associated with unexplained phenomena and paranormal activity. From the Dogman of the Land Between the Lakes to the Battletown Witch Festival in Brandenburg, visitors can grab a passport and check out all the creepy crawlies in the commonwealth.
Organizers said the campaign is thought to be the first state-sponsored program focusing on “dark tourism,” where tourists are encouraged to visit places that focus on the supernatural and spooky tales of old.
“Kentucky has so much rich history — some of which you won’t find on a monument or printed on a plaque,” Robbie Morgan, director of the Lawrenceburg/Anderson County Tourism Commission, said. “There are also travelers eager to get out and explore places they haven’t been before, and a strong interest in thrill-seeking adventures.”
Lawrenceburg and Anderson County are home to the haunted Anderson Hotel and the Wildman Festival, which celebrates the many purported sightings of Bigfoot in the area. Morgan said the haunted house and festival have long attracted visitors to Anderson County, but this is the first time state tourism dollars will promote the otherworldly attractions.
But, during September and October, it makes sense. According to the National Retail Association, Americans spend an estimated $10 billion annually on Halloween. From the rise of paranormal shows on channels like the Discovery Channel and the Travel Channel to movies like “It” and “The Sixth Sense” reeling in big box office grosses ($700 million and $600 million), Americans' taste for all things creepy is growing.
“To capture some of this audience for Kentucky, we decided to combine all those insights into a campaign that showcases a different side of Kentucky,” Morgan said.
Built in 1847, Octagon Hall in Franklin, Kentucky, is known for its Civil War history and as a site for paranormal activity.
The $220,000 campaign will use passports to draw visitors to Lawrenceburg, as well as to other Central Kentucky paranormal hot spots like Georgetown, where they can find out about the Ghosts and Goblins of Dead Man’s Hollow, and to Richmond to investigate the White Hall Hauntings. Another nine stops along the trail will focus on small and large locations, such as the Trigg Terror Haunted Seed Mill in Cadiz in Western Kentucky, and the Waverly Hills Sanitorium in Louisville.
Morgan said the initial response to the campaign has been well-received. She said people from all over the country have called to get passports.
“I expected the campaign to gain some traction,” she said. “I didn’t expect it to gain traction seven hours after we launched it.”
The campaign plans to run fifteen-second clips on Hulu and YouTube and preview-style shorts before horror and suspense films screened in movie theaters in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee. The campaign will run through November 30, with plans to pick it up again during the same time next year.
Morgan said the passports and trail will be available throughout the year. And if this introduces people to new cities around the state, that’s a good thing, she said.
“I’m super excited about people being interested in this area, whatever their touch point is,” she said. “If [Kentucky After Dark] is the access point that people have to come to Lawrenceburg … and they go find another 10 things to do there, that’s awesome!”