June 1, 2020
Due to travel restrictions, plans are only available with travel dates on or after
Due to travel restrictions, plans are only available with effective start dates on or after
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Some ghost tours make you scream. Others make you laugh.
Some are heavy on history. Others are partial to the paranormal.
Whichever way you lean, a ghost tour is a memorable way to experience a city while you’re traveling. “Whether it’s a legend that has been passed down for generations to keep errant children at home after dusk (like La Llorona of my childhood) or a historical report backed up by scientific research and police evidence, whatever you hear on a ghost tour will grant unique insight into the place and people,” travel writer Sara Button observes.1
We’ve found the best ghost tours in five of America’s most haunted cities.
The small Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg is home to a surprising number of ghost tours, owing to its history as the site of the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. There were some 23,000 Union casualties, as well as 28,000 Confederate lives lost.
Haunted sites include Spangler’s Meadow, where a mysterious woman in white has been seen, and The Angle on Culp’s Hill. Reported encounters with ghosts are marked by the sounds of footsteps, cannons firing, soldiers cheering and cries for help.2 “Still others have been olfactory, describing smells with no obvious source: cigar smoke, lilac or rose water as in old-fashioned perfumes, or the strong and pungent smell of sulfur, a key component of black gunpowder,” say Mark and Carol Nesbitt, owners of Ghosts of Gettysburg. This well-known ghost tour company features guides in period dress who carry candlelit lanterns.
Immerse yourself in history at the Farnsworth House Inn, which still has more than 100 bullet holes in its wall from the war. You can dine on period-authentic dishes, like game pie and apple-bourbon pork chop, and then tour the haunted cellar. Or, take the Paranormal Night tour, which involves investigating the inn with ghost-hunting equipment.
Ghosts and Gravestones offers a delightfully frightening sampler of Boston haunts: the haunted Omni Parker House hotel, streets where the Boston Strangler roamed, and the city’s old burying grounds, where Victorian grave robbers once lurked. Costumed “gravediggers” lead the tours, conducted above trolleys.
Boston Ghosts leads walking tours that expose Boston’s grim history, including hundreds of hangings in Boston Common. You can also opt for a tour bundled with a visit to the infamous Lizzie Borden House (an hour outside Boston) or a ghost tour of Salem.
New Orleans is a town filled with tragic tales. Its supernatural residents include Arnaud Cazenave and his daughter, Germaine Cazenave Wells, who reside at Arnaud’s; glass-flinging phantoms at Muriel’s, which maintains a Séance Room; kindly priest Pere Antoine, who appears in an alley near Jackson Square; and even author William Faulkner, who has been seen sitting and smoking at Faulkner House Books.3, 4
Perhaps the most famous supernatural figure in New Orleans is “Voodoo Queen” Marie Laveau, who in the 1800s was renowned for her spiritual gifts and powers. Her spirit is associated with several places, including the location of her house on St. Ann Street, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, and Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo.5
French Quarter Phantoms’ Ghost & Vampire Tour is one of the best-known. The guides possess a deep knowledge of New Orleans history and folklore. For those who like spirits with their spirits, a two-for-one Hurricane special can be obtained with your ticket.
Another New Orleans ghost tour is Haunted History Tours, which offers a variety of experiences. One fun choice is the 5-in-1 walking tour: “Hear local legends and true tales of ghosts, vampires, witchcraft, voodoo, and unexplained mysteries.”
Did you know that St. Augustine, Fla. is considered the oldest city in the United States? It was founded on Sept. 8, 1565, by the Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. As you might expect, some of its long-dead residents still make an appearance every now and then. Haunted places include the Old Jail, the Castillo de San Marcos, and Huguenot Cemetery.
GhoSt Augustine offers several opportunities to explore the city’s supernatural side:
Sheriff’s Ghost Walk Tours has a unique twist: every tour is led by long-dead sheriff Guy White: “One tragic day in 1911 I was shot along with one of my deputies. Unlike my deputies, I have returned to tell you the historic facts about our Old City, St. Augustine.”
Vegas is a young city — just a baby, compared to New Orleans or St. Augustine. Nevertheless, ghost tales abound. “When you hear of the vast sums of money that transfer hands here, of the things that happen in Las Vegas and stay in Las Vegas, and the desire to have the largest life possible, it seems obvious that people in Las Vegas might have unfinished business that would leave them to haunt the Strip for all eternity,” Vegas Ghosts observes.
This Las Vegas ghost tour introduces you to the spirits of the Strip: desperate gamblers, mobsters’ victims and hotel haunts. Tupac Shakur makes an appearance, as does Vegas legend Bugsy Siegel.
Zak Bagans’ The Haunted Museum features unique items collected from haunted sites, such as Peggy the Doll (which reportedly gives people chest pains just from looking at it) and the “World’s Most Haunted Object,” the Dybbuk Box (which has a controversial history). If you’re feeling brave, sign up for the museum’s late-night flashlight ghost tour. You’ll be one of just 20 guests allowed to wander the museum at night — if you dare.
While it can’t protect you from the supernatural, travel insurance is your best defense against other travel mishaps, Find a plan for your next adventure.
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