MORE FASCINATING THAN SCARY
Tim Burton may have made movies such as The Nightmare Before Christmas but when it comes to storytelling, he has nothing on Jeremy Novak, the owner of Valley Ghost Walks.
Novak got the idea for the ghost walks in summer 2008 after going on Alan Melanson’s Candlelight Graveyard Tour in Annapolis Royal.
“He was incredible ... I was blown away by the history coming to life the way Alan Melanson did it,” said Novak.
Once the tour was over, Novak stopped Melanson and they talked for more than an hour. Novak was so enthralled by the show he had the idea to start one like this in the Annapolis Valley.
“It's about an hour and a half drive between Wolfville and Annapolis Royal and the whole way back I was on fire saying this is something we need to do here,” said Novak.
Although Novak didn’t know the specific angle, he knew he had to start with basic historical research.
“When you do research on these other places it's pretty phenomenal,” said Novak.
“Once you start digging down and you learn what the main stories are but within that main story there might be a character that reappears,” continued Novak. “If you continue to study these small towns that character will pop up elsewhere … and if you were involved people were going to write about you in different ways.”
This research helped Novak decide to model his ghost walks off a folklore and history angle instead of being horror-based, and make them familyfriendly.
“As I did the research it was more fascinating than scary,” said Novak. “I thought family-friendly would be the best way to go because then it remains accessible to everybody.”
Novak officially started his Valley Ghost Walks in the fall of 2008, playing Jerome the Gravekeeper. He got the idea for Jerome from doing Franklin The Nerd telegrams.
“I learned then that entrepreneurship could be putting on an outfit and becoming a character and having fun with it,” said Novak. “If I didn’t do Franklin The Nerd I would not have come up with Jerome the Gravedigger.”
Because of this, and a three-piece suit Novak had bought years ago and was sitting in his tickle trunk, the idea for Jerome came to life.
“I thought I could wear this suit and if I was a gravekeeper, I would have buried people and been here forever,” said Novak. “So, this omnipresent character was created.”
Jerome the Gravekeeper is who introduces the crowd to historical ghosts who died tragically and did something amazing or contributed to the Valley in some way.
“If I was a gravekeeper, I would have known everyone in the town throughout the years because of how long we have been around. So for a storytelling platform it works well,” said Novak.
This twist of fate ended up mixing Novak’s interests in theatre and history and has become a success in the 13 years he has been in business. The walks have become so popular they have taken place in Kentville, Halls Harbor, Hantsport and Windsor with a total of 317 walks entertaining 9,329 people. They have also raised $8,744 for local theatre and other organizations.
As if this doesn’t keep him busy enough, Novak also does the Where It’s At Tours.
“There’s a very small but mighty and vibrant and growing wine industry surrounding Wolfville,” said Novak.
It has become so popular over the last few years that there are now nine wineries within a 20-minute drive of Wolfville.
“The wine industry is a real thing and there are many opportunities to be found within it,” said Novak.
He had been a wine guide for other companies before starting his own company three years ago.
“There’s so much to be said about the valley,” said Novak. “It’s not just the wine, or the ghosts or Acadia University … I came to town and I fell in love with it and that’s why I'm here still.”
Meet your Neighbour is a regular feature that profiles area residents.
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