A cemetery tour by candlelight among historic gravesites may seem like the setting for a Hollywood horror movie, but one such tour takes place far from California and involves history rather than horror.

The setting for this performance is Friendship Cemetery, located in Columbus, Miss. And, Sophia Williams and J Snodgrass of Meridian are among the historical performers.

After a two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic, students from the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science are producing the highly anticipated 32nd Annual “Tales from the Crypt.”

Winner of the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and national finalist for The History Channel’s “Save Our History” Award, “Tales” has also been featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” published in The Atlantic, and highlighted in James and Deb Fallows’ New York Times Bestseller Our Towns.

Tales is being held concurrently with the Columbus Spring Pilgrimage Jubilee of Homes which runs until April 16.

Beginning with the start of the school year, 27 MSMS students in two 11th grade U.S. history classes embarked on a project which included researching and rehearsing to bring Mississippians buried in Friendship Cemetery “back to life” through dramatic performances.

Ten students were chosen to develop their characters this spring for visitors to “Tales from the Crypt.” Other researchers will serve as cemetery tour guides leading visitors among the performers.

Sophia Williams, the daughter of Anna Myers of Meridian, researched and portrays Tallulah Harris Lipscomb. Lipscomb’s husband was William Lowndes Lipscomb, early historian of Columbus and author of “A History of Columbus, Mississippi, During the 19th Century.”

J Snodgrass, the daughter of Dr. Michelle Boucher-Snodgrass and Dr. Ed Snodgrass of Meridian, researched the “Columbus City Minute Book, II; 1850-1866” and portrays the Honorable George R. Clayton, a member of the Columbus board of selectman and a judge during the 1840s.

Profits from program admissions are donated to charitable causes designated by the students. Over the previous five performance years, “Tales” raised over $30,000 for charity.

The students selected to present their characters are performing on the evenings of April 1, 4, 6, & 8 from 7-9 p.m., in Friendship Cemetery on Fourth Street South, Columbus. Tickets are available on site and are $5 for general admission, $3 for students. Tickets may also be purchased at https://preservecolumbus.com.

For more information, contact the Mississippi School for Mathematics & Science at (662) 329-7670.