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On a chilly October evening, the wind moans through an ancient burial ground where the spirits of Tunxis Indians wander by moonlight. In the distance, screams can be heard of a woman hanged for witchcraft in 1663.

Welcome to a haunting in Connecticut. There's no shortage of graveyards in the Nutmeg State, and Halloween after dusk is the best time to stroll through them with an experienced guide.

For a deluxe experience, try the Haunted Eastern Connecticut Tour (5:30-10:30 p.m. Oct. 24. 866-656-0207, connectionsgrouptours.com. $110) sponsored by Connections Tours headquartered in Darien. It begins in Norwich and includes a lantern light graveyard tour, dinner at a haunted restaurant and visits to other ghostly spots in a deluxe motor coach hosted by a well-known ghost hunter.

"You'll be visiting some of the cases she's investigated," says Betty Cordellos of Connections Tours.

If the price sends shivers up your spine, folks can sign up for cut-rate sightseeing with the Lantern Light Graveyard Tour (5:30-7 p.m. 860-823-8683, norwichct.org. $10-$14).

Guests report oddities like hearing running water and voices telling them to go home, strange apparitions appearing in windows, and a ghost bride developing on camera photos, Cordellos says.

Donna Kent, the ghost hunter, specializes in spirit photography. She encourages you to bring cameras. "Because some people are more sensitive than others, no two have the same experience," Cordellos says. "Some are attracted to the paranormal, but others come for the history and scenery. Dress warm and bring a flashlight."

In Fairfield, consider Legends and Hauntings Lantern Tour (5:30-7:00 p.m. Oct. 24-25. Ages 15 and up. 203-259-1598, fairfieldhistoricalsociety.org. $5-$7). It takes you on a walking tour through the legendary Fairfield Town Green and the Old Burying Ground. You'll hear local legends and lore from town historians. "Gold Sellick Silliman, who witnessed the burning of Fairfield, is buried in our graveyard, along with Mercy Brown, who was believed to be a vampire," says Laura Roberts of the Fairfield Museum and History Center.

Also interred are Daughters of the American Revolution with soldiers from the Revolutionary and Civil wars. The Museum began the tour about a decade ago as a cool and creepy way to celebrate Halloween while teaching area residents about local history.

"We have costumed historians as guides who tell spooky stories," Roberts says. "There's the Penfield ghost, who was our lighthouse keeper who perished one evening. New lighthouse keepers say sometimes they hear noises and find his journal opened to the date he died."

Last year, Roberts says, one of the tours had to be postponed due to a lightning strike to a tree. A large branch hit the lighthouse just as the tour was about to begin.

"A warning from the ghosts?" she asks.

In Farmington, Heritage Trails Sightseeing Tours offers award-winning walking tours (5:45-7:15 p.m. Oct. 3-Nov. 28. 860-677-8867, charteroaktree.com. $20) through some of the area's spookiest cemeteries while a guide recounts legends of those beneath their carved headstones.

(Directions to tour meeting areas are disclosed after payment is received. Bring a flashlight for each person.) "I've been guiding these evening graveyard walking tours for 26 years," says Ernest Shaw of Heritage Trails, a student of New England Burial traditions. Once he began these tours, he says, weird things started happening.

"Orbs and ectoplasm that are unseen by the naked eye were picked up with a digital camera," he says. "And there is one grave where when we approach or stand close, cameras either lose power or stop altogether or camera shutters go off and rapidly advance."

Graveyard tours are a great way to celebrate the season. Believe it or not.