Chapel Hill’s history is written on its gravestones and this weekend you’ll have a chance to hear some of that history come back to life.

“There are a lot of famous people buried here, and this is a way for us to highlight those famous people, but also people like Mabel Hill, who was the pianist at the silent theater,” says Cassie Bennett, Program Coordinator for Preservation Chapel Hill. “She’s not really well-known, but she is buried at the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery and Voices from the Grave is a great way to tell her story.”

Preservation Chapel Hill is hosting the fifth-annual Voices from the Grave: Haunted Cemetery Tour this Friday and Saturday.

Scriptwriters John Paul Middlesworth and Paul Baerman use historical detail to write the stories of local luminaries buried in the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery. Performers from Deep Dish Theater will help bring the characters to life. Middlesworth says the characters can offer a window into history.

“In the case of Mabel, we didn’t know much about her personally, but that was an occasion for us to talk about the whole business of providing movie music in the early part of the 20th century,” says Middlesworth.

The hour-long candlelit tours run every fifteen minutes from 7pm until 10pm. Tickets are $20 and reservations are required. For more information, contact Preservation Chapel Hill at 919-942-7818, or visit their website.