A Taste of the Dark Side

by

Community

With degrees in sociology, history and education, Erin Goins once planned to become a high school history teacher.

“I was planning to teach but student teaching showed me that it wasn’t for me,” she said.

While Goins, who grew up in London, Ky., and came to Lexington to attend the University of Kentucky more than 30 years ago, pivoted away from her original path, she never lost her love of history. Also a lover of travel, good food and bringing people together, Goins found herself looking for a way to scratch all those itches.

Realizing Lexington lacked a food tour that showcased both its culinary offerings and its history, Goins launched Bites of the Bluegrass in 2022. What began as two weekly downtown walking tours has since expanded to include multiple tours, seasonal offerings and private and corporate groups — and its newest offering, Haunted by History: A True Crime Walking Dinner Tour, was created for those who love to embrace the dark side.

Early in the tour,  which highlights some of Central Kentucky’s most infamous and notorious true crime and ghost stories, Goins or the other tour leader typically asks the group to share a story of an encounter they’ve had — whether a brush with crime or a ghost story — or to tell the group about their favorite spooky book or movie. 

“About 98% of our tour guests have a personal encounter that they will share,” Goins said. “I’m endlessly fascinated by the stories that people bring into the room.”

While the tour focuses on some of Kentucky’s most notorious crimes, murder is only part of the story. One of Goins’ favorite stories to tell guests is the story of Carrie Nation, the hatchet-wielding radical leader of the women’s temperance movement (see sidebar!); guests also learn about Constantine Rafinesque, a former Transylvania University professor who once cursed the school and whose body was relocated after his death to a tomb on the lower level of Old Morrison. 

And, of course, the tour wouldn’t be complete without talking about Belle Brezing, Lexington’s most famous madam — an astute businesswoman who turned a difficult upbringing into a secure and comfortable life for herself through the “oldest profession.”

These stories are just the tip of the iceberg, and tour guests will learn about many more connections to crimes committed locally, as well as those committed elsewhere that have a connection to Central Kentucky.

Goins, in the planning of this tour, was thoughtful about victims. “I tell stories where a significant amount of time has passed, and am sensitive with how these stories are told,” she explained. 

When asked why people enjoy stories that scare us — whether the stories are of ghosts and ghouls or are haunting because they are stories of true horrors — Goins has more than one theory. 

“Humans are naturally fascinated by stories. They are a way to connect to each other and to places. Stories are part of our efforts to understand and to remember.

It’s said that death happens twice: once when we physically die, and again when people stop talking about us.”

Goins believes much of today’s fixation on crime stories is an attempt to make sense of tragedy. 

“We want to make sense of something that feels so unbelievable,” she said. “We want to gain a sense of control, I think, because if we have control, then maybe the same thing won’t happen to us.” 

She pointed out that ghost stories can also be a way to gloss over what history really looked like. For example, we hear stories about the ghosts of enslaved people who remain where they were enslaved, and the origins of those stories often describe someone who was devoted to their enslavers and was treated as a part of the family. Ghost stories pass down the beliefs and morals of their time, and sometimes they were used to purposely rewrite history. 

“In the end, haunting stories remind us of things that are unresolved, and are passed down so that we don’t forget,” Goins concluded.