Ghost Walk party marks 40 years of ghoulish goings-on in Clayton

Clayton, CA — The 40th Anniversary Clayton Halloween Ghost Walk Party will be held at Ed’s Mudville Grill at 7:00 PM on October 31.

Clayton historian Richard Taylor will share hauntingly fun stories of the city’s past. This year’s event will feature some of the celebrity ghosts of past Clayton Halloween Ghost Walks.

The first Ghost Walk was really a history field trip. Taylor taught a class called “Clayton Past and Present” for Clayton Community School, an after-school program at Mt. Diablo Elementary School.

He walked 24 students and parents around Clayton, sharing interesting stories of Clayton’s history. The abundance of scary stories coincided with it being Halloween that day, earning him a command performance the following Halloween. Word and interest spread and by the third year, 500 people showed up for the ghost walk.

Taylor moved to Antioch with his parents from Kansas in 1955 and then to Clayton in 1961. His parents were school teachers drawn to the area when friends relocated to Martinez. Taylor is a teacher, writer, illustrator and actor.

When he heard about various shootings in Clayton’s past, Taylor started collecting articles and other tales about town. The stories range from from creepy burial grounds and bloody buggy accidents to deadly bar fights. For more tall tales of the town, see “Ghosts and Other Celebrities of Clayton” by Richard Taylor at the library in Clayton.

The Ghost Walk party begins at 7 p.m. on October 31 at Ed’s Mudville Grill, 6200 Center Street, Clayton, CA .