Pleasant Grove ‘mom-and-pop’ ghost tour gains popularity in 3rd year

PLEASANT GROVE — There might not be a place where Halloween is more popular than in Utah, where people stand in long lines for the latest and greatest in scary and haunted attractions.

Even ‘mom-and-pop’ operations have found their niche, including Jennie Hales’ “Haunt on Main” Ghost Tour.

“Around Halloween, everyone wants to feel a little extra spooky,” Hales said. “For me, I love the stories.”

Now, in the tour’s 3rd year, Hales said her following has grown considerably since the beginning.

“This year, we’re taking anywhere from 9 to 14 people on a walk, which is a lot of people,” she said during an interview Wednesday night.

Hales said her tours initially covered the month of October, but after receiving interest during early summer, she expanded her offerings this year into September.

Hales, who also owns The Truffle Cottage at 45 South Main Street, said she grew interested in hosting haunted tours after going on many herself and listening to ghostly offerings on streaming services during the pandemic.

“2021, podcasts were a thing, and I found a few ghost podcasts and I just was fascinated,” she said.

The tour guide focuses on real, unexplained and haunting stories from locations along Pleasant Grove’s Main Street.

More detailed tours take customers inside some of the buildings where paranormal activity and energy has been witnessed, including the basement of an antique shop.

“I can tell some amazing stories that talk about experiences where they’ve seen other ghosts that are attached to somebody,” Hales said.

She said it hasn’t been uncommon for those who go on the tours to feel something within one of those spaces, and she wouldn’t be surprised if it were the ghostly subjects of her stories paying visits.

“I mean, they’re right here, they’re with us,” Hales said. “You get to bring a few ghosts home with you, if you’re lucky.”