Whether you believe in the paranormal or not, ghost tours offer up a spine-tingling experience, especially around Halloween. From the eerie streets of New Orleans’ French Quarter to the shores of Honolulu, companies across the country guide thrill-seeking guests on spooky adventures through haunted local sites. If you’re looking for a fright, here are seven of the best ghost tours found throughout the United States.
French Quarter Phantoms - New Orleans, Louisiana
With its historic mansions and Creole cottages, the French Quarter is among the most storied districts in the county, especially when it comes to ghosts. French Quarter Phantoms is a New Orleans-based company that employs “Master Storytellers” with a rich knowledge of NOLA’s haunted history — rather than actors in costume, these ghost tours are led by expert guides with degrees in Forensic Anthropology and History.
Operating since 2006, this company offers notable excursions such as the Ghost and Vampire Tour that stops by LaLaurie Mansion. This former home of Madame Delphine was set ablaze in 1834, and the spirits of those who passed away are said to still haunt its halls. They also offer a Garden District Tour that passes by the gates of Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, a ghoulish site that inspired much of the gothic fiction by novelist Anne Rice.
Bar Harbor Ghost Tours - Bar Harbor, Maine
Bar Harbor Ghost Tours brings a layer of fright and terror to this otherwise quiet coastal Rhode Island town. This company is notable for being the only indigenous-owned tour company in Maine, run by descendants of the Wabanaki Indian tribe. Furthermore, it’s the only ghost tour company in the world that tells indigenous spirit tales, coupling the tribe’s regional oral tradition with a more modern Euro-American lens.
Bar Harbor Ghost Tour guides dress up in garb from the 1870s and guide people by blue lantern throughout the town. The company also has exclusive nighttime access to the Criterion Theatre. This Prohibition-era, Art Deco-style space dates to 1932 and is among the most haunted spots in the entire state, with guests reporting being mysteriously tapped on the shoulder and hearing knocking on the stage.
The Gangsters and Ghosts Tour - Chicago, Illinois
As the home of former mobsters such as Al Capone, Chicago’s ghost history is directly intertwined with its rich past as a gangster’s paradise. The Chicago Gangsters and Ghosts Tour explores this haunted history, taking visitors on a 1.5-mile walk around “The Loop” area of downtown Chicago. During Prohibition, this region served as a popular den of sin, as well as the place where many mobsters met their untimely ends.
Today, history-conscious tour guides relay ghastly tales about the brutal gangster life, and the spirits that purportedly still haunt the area. Notable sites on the tour include the ultra-spooky Congress Hotel. This one-time favorite hotel for many U.S. Presidents is said to be cursed by the specter of Spanish-American War Capt. Louis Ostheim. Guests often report sightings of Ostheim, who’s known as the “Shadow Man of the Congress.”
Mysteries of Hawai’i - Honolulu, Hawaii
Mysteries of Hawai’i is the only ghost tour in the state owned by Native Hawaiians. It was established in 1997 and voted the No. 2 ghost tour in the country in both 2021 and 2022. This lofty reputation is thanks in part to Lopaka Kapanui, who serves as the group’s master storyteller. Kapanui has guided ghost tours for almost 25 years, making him incredibly knowledgeable about the sinister history of the Hawaiian islands.
Some of the company’s more popular options include the Waikiki Night Marchers Ghost Tour, where tour guides lead guests through dark streets while relaying ghost tales from Hawaii’s centuries-old oral tradition. Then there’s the Ghosts of Old Honolulu Walking Tour, which takes groups past historic and purportedly haunted buildings that once served as residences for the Hawaiian royal family.
Black Cat Nightly Ghost Tour - Salem, Massachusetts
As the site of the historic Salem Witch Trials, this small Massachusetts town is among the most haunted places in the country. Black Cat Tours explores that sordid past with a number of tour options, including one that combines walking and traveling by boat. The company is run by Lara and Daniel Fury, tour guides who specialize in the history of the pirates who once frequently plundered the shores of Salem.
Incorporating both believable actors and knowledgeable storytellers, Black Cat Tours serves both an entertaining and educational purpose. The company offers more family-friendly daytime excursions that pass through locations such as America’s oldest Colonial-era cemetery. There are also adult-only nighttime tours including the Moonlight Prowl, which is full of harrowing ghost tales of a more graphic nature.
Sixth Sense Savannah Ghost Tour - Savannah, Georgia
Beginning in 2002, Sixth Sense Savannah Ghost Tour has guided curious onlookers through the city’s historic district. Among the tour’s more notable stops are a residence known as the Espy House, where a father and daughter mysteriously died just a month apart in the 1930s.
Other spots to see along the tour include the creepy morgue tunnels at the Old Candler Hospital, and a “lost” cemetery in Calhoun Square. For ghost hunters, Savannah contains a slew of other creepy sites such as the Hamilton-Turner Inn, where it’s said that you can hear children laughing and billiard balls clanking at all hours.
Asylum Twilight Tour - Traverse City, Michigan
The Village at Grand Traverse Commons is home to a former state hospital that’s among the scariest spots in Michigan. Though they offer daytime tours of the hospital grounds, those looking for a good scare should choose the Asylum Twilight Tour, which travels through the building itself. With the sounds of creaks and groans at every turn, it’s hard to tell whether the building is settling or if ghastly specters are present.
Historically, the asylum received its first patients in 1885, and is where Dr. James Decker Munson explored his patented philosophy known as “Beauty is Therapy.” Munson decorated the building with fine china, beautiful artwork, and inspirational sayings, as he believed it was the best way to heal his troubled patients. Many remnants from that time remain, as do the souls that are said to haunt the hospital halls.
