The Best Spooky Ghost Tours In America, According To Online Reviews

We all have our favorite ways to embrace autumn. For some of us, there's nothing more magical than taking a drive to the best places to see fall foliage in the U.S. or getting lost in one of America's best corn mazes. But for lovers of the eerie, unexplained, and potentially paranormal, there's no better way to kick off the spooky season than with a good old-fashioned ghost tour. 

While not every ghost tour means the chance to spot a specter, the opportunity to see some of America's oldest spaces and connect with the history, legends, and lived experiences of those who once walked the same streets or hallways can be fascinating. From the brave soldiers who fought in the wars to the hardworking people whose labor built the cities we know today, every piece of ghost lore is tied to a real human life, and a ghost tour gives us a chance to imagine the worlds they inhabited. Even the darker tales of crime and human suffering offer a glimpse into the history that shaped the world we live in today. Of course, not all ghost tours are created equal. This is why, via multi-layered digging (more on our methods at the end of this article), we've worked to uncover the absolute best, shiver-inducing ghost tours that bring American history and legend to life.

If any place should be haunted, it's the community where 19 people were executed as part of one of the darkest chapters in American history. Ranked 15 by Tripadvisor's 2024 Travellers' Choice Awards, Best of the Best Things to Do, the History and Hauntings of Salem Guided Walking Tour is a two-hour experience that uses vivid storytelling to explore the spookier side of Salem including a few witchy locations featured in "Hocus Pocus.

Led by charismatic and knowledgeable local historians, the popular tour brings the history of Salem alive for visitors while weaving in local lore like the tale of the Lady in Blue. The tour begins in the town's historic district on the steps of Salem's Old Town Hall with an in-depth introduction to the Witch Trials Hysteria and Salem's history as a seaport. A stroll down the old cobblestone streets leads to sites like the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, the location of the First Church of Salem, Old Burying Point Cemetery, and Hamilton Hall. One Tripadvisor user emphasized, "I really appreciated the balance between the historical stories and the supernatural. In Salem, both are part of the story [of] the city, and this tour did a good job of acknowledging that." 

With its long history of folklore, voodoo, and supernatural storytelling — not to mention the city's hauntingly beautiful above-ground cemeteries — New Orleans has an almost magical feel in the air, especially when the city comes alive for Halloween. And one of the best ways to become completely immersed in that energy is with the popular New Orleans Haunted Ghost, Voodoo, and Vampire Tour.

The tour kicks off at the Witches Brew Gallery & Oddities Shop before heading into the French Quarter's hundreds-of-years-old, gas-lamp-lit streets. Stops include the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum and some of the French Quarter's most allegedly haunted locations, including smuggler Jean Lafitte's old haunt and the home of infamous socialite serial killer Madame Delphine LaLaurie. While the tour guides integrate tales of vampires, voodoo, and ghosts, stories of African spirituality and intersectional cultures are also touched on.

Google and Tripadvisor are both loaded with rave reviews praising the engaging tour guides' abilities to weave threads of the city's centuries of lore through an educational look at its history — all under the dreamy ambiance of a New Orleans moon. As one Tripadvisor reviewer concluded, "It wasn't just about the ghosts, but also the cultural context that made the stories come alive."

Chicago's rich history of ghost and supernatural lore is only surpassed by its even richer history of organized crime with the likes of Al Capone and his Chicago Outfit. Thankfully, Chicago Gangsters and Ghosts Tours gives shudder-seekers the best of both worlds with a two-hour tour through the Chicago Loop, formerly one of the city's most notorious vice districts.

Back in Chicago's organized crime heyday of the 1920s and 1930s, the Loop Vice District was home to its fair share of speakeasies, bootleggers, and underground tunnels. Stops on the tour include both allegedly haunted spots and former mafia haunts. The tour passes through Millennium Park and then past the historic Palmer House lobby, Chicago Riverwalk, the Chicago Theatre, Congress Plaza Hotel, Death Alley, and Harry Caray's. 

Although the tour deals with some pretty shady figures and topics, it's presented in a family-friendly way that still manages to bring a few good chills and thrills. "Awesome creepy ghost stories," wrote one Tripadvisor reviewer. Another commented, "Unlike the typical 'ghost' tour, Chicago Gangsters and Ghosts focuses on the history and story behind some of the most tragically fascinating events of the city's past."

The New York City Gangsters and Ghosts Tours pays tribute to some of Manhattan's must-see spots for tourists and ghost-hunters alike. The two-hour tour is just over a mile long. It begins on the corner of Mulberry and then travels through the Five Points, the notorious neighborhood that inspired the events depicted in Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York." The group then travels to Chinatown and Little Italy before hitting the West Village, all areas once known for their connection to bootlegging, speakeasies, and organized crime, while pointing out city secrets like hidden graveyards. The tour ends at Washington Square Park, home to its share of allegedly haunted old mansions.

The tour also stops by the Triangle Fire Memorial, a Greenwich Village memorial honoring the 146 garment workers — mostly immigrant women and girls — who died in 1911 while working at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The tragedy, which is still considered one of the deadliest industrial accidents in United States history to this day, ultimately catalyzed significant labor reforms in the country including the eventual creation of OSHA a few decades later. Like many of the best ghost tours, this event is hosted by local history buffs who present an in-depth look at the city's true tales of organized crime while integrating plenty of local lore and ghost stories. "I had a great time being guided through some of New York's most richly historical, mysterious neighborhoods and byways," one Google review recalled.

One of San Diego's most historic districts is its Gaslamp Quarter, located half a mile from the East Village — and you can get there by way of San Diego's Old Town Trolley Tour. The quarter is home to dozens of 19th-century buildings that are still in use today, which makes strolling through the Gaslamp Quarter almost feel like time-traveling to the Victorian era. Since each of those old buildings carries its own history and lore, there's almost too much spooky material to cover in a single ghost tour. But the Haunted Gaslamp Tour makes a fair attempt.

The long list of tour spots includes one of Wyatt Earp's old haunts, a haunted hotel, former brothels, a haunted hospital, and a German spy hideout among its more than 30 destination points. The tour, which runs for roughly two hours, is about a mile and a half long. While kids are welcome to participate, it may not be suitable for younger children since the subject matter integrates true crime, including tales of serial killers and brothels.

With its maximum tour group size of 20, Gaslamp Tours also offers a more intimate ghost tour than many. Tripadvisor users praised tour guides' ability to connect history with local legends, with one reviewer noting, "We had a lot of fun and learned some interesting history. We do a lot of ghost tours, in many different cities, and this ranks at the top."

First established in honor of its namesake King Charles in 1670, Charleston is a metro with so many beautiful centuries-old churches it is known to many as the "Holy City." And it's also replete with haunted and paranormal tales. With so many legends and local lore, Ghost City Tours of Charleston offers a few different tours to give the supernaturally curious a closer look at the local spirits. Recalling their experience, one Tripadvisor user wrote, "From the moment we gathered, our guide set the perfect eerie atmosphere with captivating storytelling and local legends." Other reviews praised their tour guides' ability to blend humor and spooky storytelling with a comprehensive understanding of local history.

There's the Death and Depravity Ghost Tour, a mature tour for ages 16 and up eager to hear about some of the most gruesome hauntings along with darker tales of voodoo, demons, and the occult. Or there's the more family-friendly Ghosts of Liberty Tour with its focus on Revolutionary-era patriots and some of the pirates that once made harbor in Charleston. Both tours pass through the city's Historic District where many of its centuries-old churches can be found. The tours also stop by the Colonial-era Powder Magazine and visit the Georgian-era Old Exchange, home to the Provost Dungeon where Revolutionary War prisoners once lived out their final days.

Nestled in the breathtakingly beautiful Ozark Mountains, the Crescent Hotel & Spa looks like something straight out of a fairy tale. First established in 1886, the hotel is considered by many throughout the region to be an extremely active paranormal destination and has developed a rather lengthy canon of local lore.

According to legend, Room 218 is home to the ghost of an Irish stonemason named Michael, and a woman named Theodora permanently resides in Room 419, where she spends her eternity tidying up after guests. A young child is said to bounce his ball through the hotel hallways, a long-gone hotel cat still prowls the grounds, and a house doctor from the Gilded Age still smokes cherry pipe tobacco near Room 212. Hotel lore also claims a third-floor annex is home to an otherworldly portal that sometimes causes fainting in guests. And in the 1930s, a vaudeville performer-turned-radio guy and later politician rode out the Depression by conducting experimental medicine on cancer patients at the Crescent.

Luckily for ghost hunters, the Crescent Hotel & Spa embraces its spooky status with a selection of ghost tours including the Crescent Hotel Ghost Tour, the Expert & Expanded Ghost Tour, a Midnight Investigation, and even a Kids' Ghost Tour. "I absolutely loved the tour, especially visiting the creepy hotel morgue where charlatan Norman Baker, the most notorious figure in Crescent's history, did his autopsies," raved one Tripadvisor user.

Although most towns seem to be populated by fairly benign spirits and haunts, Savannah is said to be home to some of the country's most frightening phantoms. Throughout its centuries-long history, Savannah has seen just about everything that's historically colorful, questionable, and downright macabre — things like duels, pirates, opium dens, yellow fever outbreaks, and mass murder. And then there's the brutal slave trade the city was built upon.

Suffice it to say that the Dead of Night Walking Tour is not kid-friendly, which is why it's for folks over 16 only. The pet-friendly ghost tour sets out from the Nathanael Greene Monument in Johnson Square before traveling to the city's oldest municipal cemetery, where tourists learn about the legend of Rene Rondolier, whose nearly seven-foot figure is said to haunt the grounds. Next, they travel to the beautiful historic Marshall House, a four-story inn that served as a hospital for Civil War soldiers and later, patients of two yellow fever outbreaks. The tour also visits Wright Square, once known to locals as the "Hanging Square."

And there's always the chance, however, minute, that you'll glimpse some ghostly phenomena as one Tripadvisor user claims to have. "For someone who doesn't typically believe in ghosts, I can tell you that I have changed my mind," they wrote, recounting their experience spotting a spirit in a window. "It sent chills through my body."

The oldest city in the United States, coastal gem St. Augustine is full of historic charm – and chills. Continuously occupied since 1565, not only does St. Augustine have an incredibly rich and fascinating history, but the nearly 500-year-old city is also said to be home to countless spirits, ghosts, and various supernatural entities as well as the legend of Ponce de León's long-fabled search for the fountain of youth.

The tour (run by St. Augustine Ghost Tours) sets out on St. George Street near a handful of haunted locations, including the coquina block columns of the Old City Gates where various spirits are said to reside, as well as the oldest wooden schoolhouse in America, which is a stone's throw from Huguenot Cemetery, opened to house the remains of almost 200 yellow fever victims in 1821. The tour then passes by the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, a Spanish masonry fort that broke ground in 1672. The fort holds a dark history that includes the merciless imprisonment of many Seminoles in the wake of Andrew Jackson's implementation of the Indian Removal Act that led to the Trail of Tears. Over the centuries, the fort's bitter history has generated countless tales of paranormal encounters and even legends from claims of Spanish soldier sightings to unexplained sounds and physical experiences. And the view alone is worth it, with one Tripadvisor reviewer writing, "All of this was in the twilight, walking with the backdrop of the castle and old streets was almost magical."

Famous for the Battle of Gettysburg, the three bitter days of combat between the Union and Confederacy that sustained more casualties than any other fight in the Civil War and would turn the tide in favor of the North, Gettysburg is believed by many to be haunted by thousands of souls from the 7,000 men who died there. For those who want to pay their respects to the dead while learning about the spirits of the many lives lost on the battlefield, Ghost City Tours of Gettysburg's Echos of War Tour provides a reverential look at the area's history.

The tour begins in downtown Gettysburg and heads past the home of attorney David Wills, where President Abraham Lincoln prepared to give his Gettysburg address. Other stops include a handful of local hotels and mansions of importance either during or after the war.

For fans of the paranormal who want an even closer brush with the unseen, the Gettysburg Ghost Hunt involves nearly three hours of specter spotting with real ghost hunters using infrared cameras and EMF detection technology. The adults-only event is for guests over 16 and a small group of no more than 15 ghost hunters. On Tripadvisor, one reviewer shared, "Best ghost hunt I have ever been on ... Very interesting house within a few feet from where some of the first shots of the battle were fired ... house was very active with paranormal activity."

Anyone who has ever been fascinated with the luxury of Titanic-era ocean liners will understand why so many people flock to the RMS Queen Mary, a now-retired ocean liner constructed less than two decades after its ill-fated predecessor. Developed as Britain's way to one-up the decadent superliners coming out of France, Germany, and Italy during the 1920s, the Queen Mary represented the latest and greatest in 1930s luxury travel. When she first launched in 1934, the glamorous liner offered her passengers a grand ballroom, a squash court, five dining rooms with lounges, two swimming pools, two cocktail bars, and a ship's hospital.

When war broke out just a few years after her maiden voyage, the Queen Mary was co-opted as a troopship, ultimately ferrying as many as 810,000 military personnel before World War II ended and she went back into service as a luxury liner. These days, the Queen Mary remains laid up in Long Beach Harbor, where she has been reincarnated as a luxury hotel. And she also gets a lot of traffic interested in spotting the many ghosts who reputedly still call the luxury liner home, so much so that Time Magazine once voted the Queen Mary one of the country's top 10 most haunted places. The Queen Mary's reported ghostly guests include a Lady in White, an eternally dedicated ship's engineer, and even a few spirit children. The Queen Mary offers a nighttime ghost tour called Haunted Encounters that takes visitors to the spirits' most frequented spots aboard ship. Tour highlights include a now-defunct swimming pool where troops once slept, a notorious cabin, and a boiler room catwalk.

To find the best ghost tours in the country, we started by looking for which cities have the best spooky legends — the kind that are worthy of a Halloween vacation. By taking a deep dive into Reddit, Facebook groups, and websites devoted to paranormal America, we created a long list of cities and neighborhoods that are notorious for having a lengthy and storied connection to the supernatural.

Next, we went on a quest to find some of those places' most famed haunts to determine which were the most worth visiting on a ghost tour. Armed with that list, we started checking sites like Tripadvisor, Google Maps reviews, and Yelp to find out which haunted locales offer ghost tours that people can't stop talking about, which led to this line-up of can't-miss spooky tours every ghost lover should add to their bucket list of fall activities.