BEND, OR -- A local pair offers a look at the spooky side of downtown Bend. But the business may be encroaching on a familiar non-profit effort. Meg Muldoon and her author mother started Bend Ghost Tours in 2021, "My mom’s been writing about ghost stories here in Bend for a really long time. And I used to be a reporter here at the Bulletin, and I’m also an author, but I’ve always just loved scary stories. I love ghost stories so much." She tells KBND News, "It’s also about current day hauntings and how people in downtown are experiencing them, and that kind of thing. So we get to hear a lot of stories. It’s so much fun."
The Deschutes Historical Museum has offered seasonal Haunted Walks for 15 years, as a fundraiser and membership drive. Muldoon admits she and her mother participated in a Haunted Walk years ago, but says any similarities are coincidental, noting her company offers tours nine months out of the year with professional guides, "During the summer months, we have visitors who come here. And it’s so wonderful. They come here, a lot of times not knowing anything about Bend, and we get to share with them the ghost stories. We get to share with them some of the history." Earlier this year, the Deschutes Historical Museum announced this would be the last for its Haunted Walks, in part because it’s no longer unique.
In 2022, the Historical Museum launched a Halloween-season creepy doll contest; it's now in its third year. The nonprofit says it was created as a way to highlight a little-known portion of its collection. This fall, Bend Ghost Tours hosted its first “haunted doll scavenger hunt,” to promote the haunted museum they hope to open in Bend. Muldoon says her event is different because the dolls are given away to the winners. "So, we went to the Oregon Ghost Conference earlier this year and there’s this wonderful - she’s actually this artist who creates these dolls. She brings them back to life. So, we saw this as a great way to support her." That doll restoration company is called Nightmares on Baby Street, "Her stuff is amazing. And we really just saw this as an opportunity to share her work and also kind of create this fun thing in the community."
The Historical Museum says they're conjuring up something new for next Halloween, but would not release details. "We love the museum," says Muldoon, "It’s all in the spirit of fun. I have to say, it wasn’t meant to cause any issues. It’s very much, 100% in the spirit of fun, getting people into the spirit of Halloween." Bend Ghost Tours still has space available for this season.
