Susan Bowers waved a finger in the air, mentally counting the houses and shops on Main Street included in this year's Ghosts of Monongahela Candlelight Walk.

"Thirteen," she announced.

It's fitting that 13, a number associated with bad luck, creepiness and avoidance, also is the number of houses on this year's ghost tour. Like 13, spirits, too, are a phenomenon many people choose to avoid.

		A scary stroll What: Ghosts of Monongahela Candlelight Walk Where: Main Street When: Friday and Saturday??? also Oct. 20, 21, 27 and 28 Cost: $8 Benefits: Monongahela Area Historical Society

But for those who find ghosts and old houses irresistible, the eighth annual candlelight walk is not to be missed. There are so many ghost stories to tell, Ms. Bowers is not sure she will cover all of the houses. Her friend, Carol Frye, will serve as a fellow tour guide.

The candlelight walk will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday this week, and Oct. 20, 21, 27 and 28. The walk covers about an eight-block section of Main Street. Only the exteriors of private homes will be seen.

Every house dates from the 1800s, said Ms. Bowers, a retired schoolteacher who will dress in a cape and carry a lantern for the occasion.

"We have a rich history in town," said the president of the Monongahela Area Historical Society, which last year raised nearly $2,000 through the candlelight walk.

Included in Mon City's rich history are some stately federal Colonials and a sampling of Victorians. Some have porches, one is designated with a National Register of Historic Places plaque, at least one was among the first row houses in the city and a few were inhabited by favorite sons.

Prominent among them was John Blythe, a respected architect of his time, and Edward C. Acheson, Union Carbide founder who brought street lighting to Monongahela.

	Robert J. Pavuchak, Post-Gazette Reflected in the mirror is the corner where a "she spirit apparition" appeared in the green room and traveled across the hall in Collectiques at 808 W. Main St., Monongahela. Click photo for larger image.

Who would guess beyond the brick facades and painted Victorian "ladies" lie some spirited yarns? Some continue as residences while others have been converted into shops. All, however, share a ghostly past, at least that is what some people believe and what Ms. Bowers relates to those who take the tour.

Take, for instance, the experience of Alissa Tomasy, who, a few months ago, was visiting her mother, Kathy Murray, a dealer who rents a room in Collectiques, an antique shop on Main.

Ms. Tomasy, who has said she is sensitive to ghosts, felt the hairs on her neck and back stand up and an overwhelming chill when entering what is known as the "green room" in Collectiques, Ms. Bowers said. Ms. Tomasy said she saw the apparition of a young girl and announced to her mother, "She's here."

Ms. Tomasy took photos of the room full of antiques. After getting the pictures developed when she returned to her Florida home, she saw what appeared to be an apparition on one wall. She plans to send Collectiques owner Donna Baran a copy of the photo.

Ms. Baran has her own other-worldly experience related to the house. One day, while alone in the shop on the ground floor, she heard a banging noise from a room upstairs. Climbing the stairs, she entered the room.

"This old toy robot we could never get to work was walking back and forth banging into the wall," Ms. Baran said, relating an experience for which she has no explanation.

This ghost walk is as good as or better than ones conducted at Gettysburg, Adams County, and Williamsburg, Va., said Ms. Baran, who has visited both of those spirited tours.

The stories are the kind that give Ms. Bowers a rush. "I love this kind of stuff. I love to delve in this, but I'm not a ghost chaser. I'm a retired schoolteacher."

A couple of doors down from Collectiques is Main Street Antiques, owned by Inez Gilotty and her son, Bob. Although neither has reported seeing ghosts, a few of their customers have.

Ms. Gilotty recalled one patron, Joanne Phillips, who described herself as a "feeler and healer," reported seeing a little girl, an ephemeral figure, dressed in a pinafore and beckoning the customer down a back stairwell.

	Robert J. Pavuchak, Post-Gazette Ms. Bowers says a gentlemen ghost is sometimes seen sitting in a chair at the table, looking out this window at Main Street Antiques, 800 W. Main St., another of the stops on the Ghosts of Monongahela Candlelight Walk this month. Click photo for larger image.

Ms. Gilotty said she and her son had noticed a door in an upstairs room being open when both believe it should have been closed.

"I kept thinking [Bob] was leaving the door open," she said, but on questioning her son, learned he had closed the door.

They have no plausible explanation for the door being open.

After the tour, visitors can take in the shops, which will stay open for extended hours, and talk about what they've heard. Ms. Bowers described the after-tour discussion as "the gathering."

Those interested in taking the tour must reserve a place by calling 724-258-2377. Tickets are $8 each. The tour is not recommended for children younger than 10.