NATCHEZ — Everyone has a story to tell, but some just have to wait a few years to do the telling.

This year, eight of Natchez’s most interesting stories were told as visitors strolled through the Natchez City Cemetery for the annual Angels on the Bluff tours.

Ariel Johnese of Vidalia was attending the tours for the first time, but isn’t a stranger to the cemetery.

Johnese has spent time in the cemetery using a book on the cemetery’s history to pick out what she thought were the interesting stories.

But Thursday night, Johnese learned about a few other interesting stories.

“I knew about Don Jose Vidal and some of the other markers that were in that book,” Johnese said. “The cemetery is beautiful in the day time, but at night it has a different feeling.”

Johnese came with her grandmother and a few other family members after hearing about the tours for several years.

Johnese’s granmother Mary Johnese has attended the Angels on the Bluff tours for a few years and always left with stories to tell family members. This year, instead of taking stories back to the family, she brought the family with her.

“I always talked about it,” she said. “After hearing me talk about how interesting and entertaining it is, I wanted to bring them to see what it’s like.

“A couple of my grandchildren thought being in the cemetery at night was scary, but they’ve enjoyed it.”

This year’s tours tell visitors the stories of Alfred Bernard White, “The milliner of Natchez” Madame Marguerite Justine Marchand Benoist Mezeix, Ashley Vaughn, Professor Samuel Henry Clay Owen, The Fleming Family, Charles Ferriday Byrnes and Marian Montgomery.

Veteran Angels on the Bluff actor Sam Jones tells the story of Alfred Bernard White from the perspective of Alfred’s father Clay White. It’s a story of the tragic death of Alfred and the grief of a father who lost his only son.

Alfred drowned in the Mississippi River at 18, after falling into the river from a ferry. Clay White attempted the water rescue, but didn’t know until his son drowned who he was trying to save. Alfred’s death is memorialized with an empty tomb in the family plot at the cemetery.

Further down the path, visitors are treated to the story of Vaughn, who edited the first Baptist newspaper in Mississippi, served as pastor at First Baptist Church and was one of the founding members of the Mississippi Baptist Convention. Vaughn’s story is told by the Rev. Doug Broome of First Baptist Church.

Musical entertainment is provided by Diana Glaze, portraying Natchez’s own jazz singer Marian Montgomery. Glaze tells the stories of Montgomery’s time spent dazzling crowds with her voice in nightclubs and bars.

Glaze greets visitors with a song and sends them on their way with a musical exit as well.

The tour is a fundraiser for the Natchez Cemetery Association, the non-profit group charged with maintenance of the historic cemetery.

The funds raised through the tour are used to restore cistern houses and other structures on the property, year-round maintenance and beautification and the perpetual care of the cemetery.

Tours continue tonight and Saturday night, departing from the Natchez Visitor Reception Center. Tickets for tours are sold out.