Bend local Jools Sinclair makes no secret of the person she murdered in Drake Park ten years ago. “Can I tell you guys a secret? Back there? That’s where I killed her.”
This is how Sinclair begins every ghost tour as she points to the banks of the Deschutes River. Then she pulls out a copy of her bestselling book Forty-Four and reads a passage about the fictional murder she committed to kick off the Ghosts & Legends of Downtown Bend Tour — a brand new visitor experience hitting Bend streets this month.
“So much can be learned through a good story and it’s our goal to educate, entertain and to make people think twice about what it is they think they know for sure,” Sinclair said recently. “We also want to introduce people to another side of Bend — the hidden side of this city.”
Bend Ghost Tours was created by Sinclair and fellow best-selling mystery author Meg Muldoon. The two have combined their unique storytelling gifts and research skills to create a bone-chilling 1.5-hour outdoor walking tour through Bend’s downtown streets and alleyways.
“Truthfully, I didn’t use to believe that Bend was haunted,” Muldoon, who was a reporter in Bend for several years before becoming an author, said. “But after listening to so many stories of paranormal encounters from Bend business owners, locals and visitors, I’m now convinced that this town is full of ghosts.”
Historical locations like the Pine Tavern, the O’Kane Building and McMenamins Old St. Francis School figure prominently in the tour, along with their resident spirits. Ghosts with names like Gretchen, Top Hat Man and the Lady in Green are talked about at length. The tour is a blend of history, folklore and goosebump-inducing encounters with the paranormal.
Sinclair and Muldoon walked through downtown Bend with a local medium this past spring to get an otherworldly perspective on the town. The medium’s findings were truly astounding and may have also solved the mystery behind one of Bend’s most legendary ghosts.
“She told us that a brutal murder took place next door to the Downing Building in Bend’s early days, which we actually later confirmed as true through research,” Muldoon said. “From a paranormal standpoint, it explains why there are so many ghost stories that come out of that particular block of Bond Street.”
In addition to true ghost stories and Bend history, Sinclair also shares several excerpts from her series during the walk. The 15-book series features a Bend ghost whisperer who helps spirits and solves murders.
Forty-Four has had nearly one million downloads. In many ways, Sinclair has already been Bend’s unofficial ghost ambassador for years.
“I’ve been writing about fictional ghosts in Bend for over a decade now,” Sinclair said. “So it only seems natural that I’d start giving tours and introducing people to Bend’s real spirits.”
BendGhostToursrunfivedaysaweekthroughNovember.
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