COVINGTON, Ga. — The Covington City Council approved a proposal Monday night to ban commercial tours in a popular cemetery, which has become a tourist attraction due to its appearance in “The Vampire Diaries.”
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The Southview Cemetery, which dates back generations, has seen an influx of visitors, some of whom have been reported to engage in disrespectful behavior, such as stepping on grave sites and performing stunts for social media.
Ann Wildmon, a veteran ghost tour operator, argues that her tours are respectful and supervised.
“We are very respectful, we stay on the road, and we get in and out, it’s never been a problem until now,” she told Channel 2’s Tom Regan.
Wildmon, who has been guiding historic ghost tours for over 10 years, claims that her tours attract visitors from around the world interested in Southern history, not just “The Vampire Diaries.”
She also mentioned that her tours have never been associated with the reported disrespectful behavior and that she has even called the police when witnessing misbehavior by others.
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Tourists Ana Kanaplianik and Victoria Tupiana, originally from Belarus and Russia, expressed their intention to behave respectfully during their visit, acknowledging the importance of respect in such a setting.
“Hopefully people will understand they need to some a little respect, especially when they are coming for these tours,” Kanaplianik said.
If people are not respectful, for the cemetery tours have to stop going around inside," Tupiana told Regan.
In addition to banning commercial activity, the council will also vote on limiting visiting hours to dawn to dusk.
“It’s not the mayor or council’s decision to dictate my free speech. It’s history, it’s free speech it’s story telling,” Wildmon said.
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