Visits to Chattanooga's spookiest places may peak this weekend, but the bewitching season doesn't completely end at Halloween. Some of Chattanooga's haunted attractions come to life all year.
"We go out every night, except for winter, when it's just weekends," said Amy Petulla, who founded Chattanooga Ghost Tours in 2007.
Dread Hollow, a haunted attraction produced by Ruby Falls, elicits most of its screams in October, but reconfigures its scares for special-edition haunts and escape rooms tied to holidays and other events throughout the year. These include the Valentine's-themed Twisted Escape and Scream Break each spring.
But first comes the chance to "scream in the new year," said Morgan Lee, digital media and public relations coordinator for Ruby Falls.
"As soon as Halloween is over, we immediately start moving into New Year's Nightmare," she said in a phone interview.
(READ MORE: Time is running out for Chattanooga area's haunted attractions)
Chattanooga Tourism Co. doesn't specifically track Halloween-related tourism but includes "ChattaBOOga" activities in its fall marketing push, said Hannah Hammon, public relations manager.
"'Haunted' is a year-round [Google] search, but searches go up 10 times in October," she said by phone. "Obviously we see that trend spiking on our website, with people looking at events on our fall microsite. Because we're known as a haunted city, interest stays steady throughout the year in ghost tours, the Read House and all the events that happen in the fall."
The Read House hotel was among the state's top haunted destinations in a list released earlier this month by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. Legend has it that Room 311 of the historic hotel is haunted by the ghost of Annalisa Netherly, a guest allegedly murdered by a jealous lover in 1927. Over the years, guests have reported unusual activity in the room, including unexplained noises, flickering lights, running water and shadowy figures.
Despite cosmetic and architectural updates to the hotel and changes in ownership and flagship brands in its 150-year history, Room 311 still evokes the spirit of the past. A $28 million renovation by owners Avocet Hospitality in 2017 to reclaim the hotel's former grandeur restored period furniture and decor in Room 311 so it looks like it did when Netherly occupied it a century ago.
Although complimentary tours of the room are generally available by request, the room is off-limits to overnight guests except for a few designated nights in October. This year, those six dates, each with a $500 deposit, sold out in eight minutes, said General Manager Jim Bambrey in an email interview.
"Anyone can request a tour of the room at any time, pending we have someone available to give the tour," he said. "However, more times than not we can accommodate the request. We just limit overnight stays to a handful of times each year to limit the wear and tear on the period furniture. We just happen to make that handful of times during October to complement the nature of the season. Limiting its overnight availability also adds to its mystique."
(READ MORE: Read House historian says the spirit of Room 311 takes up a lot of oxygen for a ghost)
In a phone interview, Petulla said she started Chattanooga Ghost Tours after practicing law for 20 years because she and her children enjoyed taking ghost tours in other cities and wondered why Chattanooga didn't have a similar offering.
The first couple of years, tours were weekends only, but she eventually expanded into a nightly series in spring, summer and fall, then weekends only during the coldest months. She sees an increase in out-of-towners during holiday seasons and school breaks, "but we always have locals," she said of the customer base.
"In fall, it's usually the locals," she said. "They enjoy it as much as the tourists do. There's a lot of history they haven't heard."
The walking tours generally last about 90 minutes with stops throughout downtown. Among the most popular sites her guides point out, Petulla said, are the easily overlooked entrances to Underground Chattanooga, the remains of former businesses abandoned after a series of devastating floods in the late 1800s and early 20th century led citizens to raise the city's street level by 3 to 15 feet.
(READ MORE: Underground city beneath Chattanooga is more than a curiosity)
In 2011, Petulla added a separate ghost hunting experience -- "the creepiest thing we offer" -- in which trained paranormal investigators, using specialized equipment, lead groups around the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus and Citizens Cemetery. She also co-wrote a book, "Haunted Chattanooga," and adapted it into a children's version. Her efforts and positive online reviews have helped bring national attention to the company.
Hammon, of Chattanooga Tourism, said part of the city's success with fall and Halloween tourists is the range of activities available, everything from family-friendly events at Chattanooga Zoo, Creative Discovery Museum and Tennessee Aquarium to the macabre world of Dread Hollow "where you can scream all night."
"They're coming for Chattanooga's outdoors [in the fall]," she said, "but all of the ChattaBOOga ideas add to their experience."
Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.