The past meets the present this year in the 35th annual Tales from the Crypt as students prepare to bring history to life at Friendship Cemetery.
With performances ranging from a free man fighting in a Black infantry regiment during the Civil War to a Mississippi University for Women alumna who changed the course of medicine, students will portray an array of historical figures with ties to Columbus.
MSMS history teacher Chuck Yarborough, who has directed Tales from the Crypt for the last 25 years, said the project gives students a chance to dive deeper into the city’s history before sharing it with an audience.
“There’s this magic that happens in the cemetery when a group of students who have committed to an academic project suddenly realize that it makes a difference in the broader community,” he said.
Students will take the stage April 2 at Friendship Cemetery for the first of four performances, all beginning at 7 p.m. Dressed in period attire, the students will perform self-written monologues based on their research about figures from the city’s past, some of whom are even buried in the cemetery.
Using records at the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library and Mississippi University for Women Beulah Culbertson Archives, students began researching for the project during the fall semester. With the help of local archivists, they learn about their characters through primary and secondary sources.
After winter break, students begin developing their characters and writing a monologue script based on their interpretation of their research subject’s life and influence. Then auditions are held, and students are selected to perform their monologues for an audience in April.
The students’ research process is one Bridget Pieschel, emerita professor of English and women studies at The W, has been a part of for years, serving as a point of information about notable students and faculty. When Yarborough told Pieschel this year a student plans on portraying her as a student, she was admittedly surprised.
“I found it a little bit funny, but also flattering that anyone would want to be me,” she told The Dispatch on Tuesday.
Haller Cole will portray Pieschel as a student at The W in the 1970s studying Annie Denman, a blind MUW alumna who eventually earned the moniker “The Blind Poetess of the Tallahatchie.”
Cole’s performance will act as a reminder of how deeply local history is tied to the places and people of a community, like The W and Pieshel, she said.
“It helps (people) realize that, ‘I went to this place. I’ve been there, and this happened here,’” Cole said. “It helps people realize it’s real. It’s not just this thing that we learn about in class that’s kind of far off and would never happen here or to us.”
Pieschel sees the performances as a way to bring figures from Columbus history to life, while placing their stories in a wider context.
“I think it’s a wonderful way to make people from Columbus history come alive,” she said. “It makes MSMS and Columbus and Friendship Cemetery more than just local history. I think what they do is they place it in the context of American history and often women’s history and African American history and history of Jewish people in Columbus.”
In the same spirit, Cole sees the performances as an opportunity to offer perspective about the shared struggles people have faced throughout the history of Columbus. She hopes people walk away understanding their story isn’t the only one that matters.
“I feel like people get so focused on themselves when everyone is living their own lives, having their own struggles, and it’s all unique to each person,” she said. “I feel like it can help people recognize that other peoples’ struggles are real and they’re current.”
For junior Aanya Banga, whose character Elizabeth Lee Hazen invented the first antibiotic antifungal medicine, the performances this year serve as a reminder that everyone has a story to tell regardless of where they come from.
“A lot of people underestimate what you can do in Mississippi or especially here in Columbus,” she said. “I think it’s crucial to understand that you can be from a really small town and still go establish your name and be someone really important.”
HOW TO GO:
■ WHAT: Tales from the Crypt
■ WHEN: April 2, 4, 9 and 11 starting at 7 p.m.
■ WHERE: Friendship Cemetery, 4th Street South, Columbus
■ HOW: Tickets are $5 and can be purchased in person or online at tickets.visitcolumbusms.org/event/tales-from-the-crypt-2025/. The event is free to attend for preschoolers.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
