5 Reasons To Go On a Ghost Tour

Whether you're visiting a city for the first time or have lived there your whole life, you are sure to enjoy experiencing a ghost tour. I recently went on a ghost tour around San Francisco, and it was such a fun time. I think this would be a great adventure for families, friends, or even a dinner-and-a-ghost-tour date, and I highly recommend it for anyone who likes history, architecture, true crime, or stories of ghost hauntings. Here are my top 5 reasons why you should book a ghost tour in your city.

1/ See your city in a new light

My favorite part of the tour was getting to see a new perspective on an old neighborhood. The ghost tour traversed the neighborhood of Nob Hill, which I worked right next to for two years. I had passed some of these buildings plenty of times without giving them a second thought, so I really enjoyed the chance to take a closer look at some of these spots and get a new ~spooky~ perspective on the neighborhood.

If I were doing a ghost tour in a city I'd never been to (which I hope to do soon!), I think this would be a great way to get oriented to a new place. Our guide did a good job of providing a mix of helpful tourist information, history lessons, and entertaining ghost stories. He also offered restaurant recommendations and travel tips for getting to our meeting spot. All around, this would be super helpful to plan for your first day of vacation in a new city.

2/ Get access to unique places

While most of the locations we went to were outdoors, we did get access to a closed building to take a closer look at its architecture. I am a huge fan of buildings and architecture, so this was a cool part of the tour for me. Our tour guide explained the design of the building and different theories about why it was haunted because of it.

All of the buildings, in fact, being old and historic, meant that they were gorgeous. There was a lot of unique architecture to enjoy, as well as some great views from the top of Nob Hill. Even without going into a lot of buildings, I felt like we were getting unique access just because we were paying extra attention to spots I had never stopped to look at before. We were certainly getting a unique and private history lesson on the area. Every building you walk by in a city has a story (or a few!), and it was fun to hear all the history and century-old crime scandals and paranormal activity that surround these locations.

3/ Hear fun (and surprisingly educational) stories

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, the stories are super entertaining and surprisingly informative. In addition to hearing about murders and haunting, we learned all about the history of San Francisco and the major events that shaped the city as we know it today. Our tour guide had a ton of photos to show us of different buildings and what they looked like before and after the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906.

This was really interesting since I had never gone out of my way to learn that much about it, and being from the East Coast, I didn't learn about the Bay Area or even California in depth in my history classes in school. Seeing pictures of how the city was formed during the Gold Rush and rebuilt after the fire gave me a new understanding of the city and an appreciation for all it has been through.

4/ Get started on your city exploration

Our tour guide was super nice and gave us a lot of fun recommendations for other things to do after finishing the tour. Especially if you are doing a ghost tour in a new city, this is a great way to have one-on-one access to a local who can answer questions, help orient you, and provide restaurant and entertainment recommendations. Our tour guide pointed out a few cool bars in hotels, event venues like the Grace Cathedral, and self-guided walking tours, including one through the North End and another along the Barbary Coast Trail.

If you're looking for new ways to enjoy your city or fun ways to check out a new place, starting with a ghost tour is a great way to get a lot more recommendations about things to do next. Our guide was really knowledgeable about a lot of goings-on in the Bay and made great recommendations for families, dates, and friend hangouts.

5/ Visit new places

Even if you go on a ghost tour in your hometown, I'm certain you'll experience something you've never done before. I've lived in the Bay for five years now, and while I was quite familiar with where we started the tour, there were a couple of spots along the way that I definitely hadn't been to. Our tour guide was great at pointing out not just the haunted sites but some other popular locales as well. He showed us where to stand to take one of San Francisco's most Instagrammable photographs, pointed out a popular historic tiki bar, and explained the origins of many buildings.

Just go for a nice walk!

If you're not convinced by any of the above reasons, I would still encourage you to go on a ghost tour for the opportunity to go on a fun walk and meet some nice people. I really liked our tour guide, and the tour was an invigorating walk up and back down Nob Hill. The tickets are super affordable (don't forget to tip your tour guide!), and with all the cool sites and fun stories, you will definitely leave feeling that the experience was worth it. Pick a day where the weather looks good, and schedule an educational and entertaining walk around town!

In Conclusion

All in all, the ghost tour was an awesome mix of educational content and ghost stories. I think it would be a fun way to get a walking tour around a new city, but it was also a great way to get a new perspective on a city I've spent a lot of time in.

No matter where you live, I'm sure you're within a short drive of a ghost tour near you: you can find ghost tours in more than 250 cities around the country. And if you're super into getting haunted, you can even check out staying overnight in a creepy local like the Lizzie Borden House in Massachusetts. I'm not sure I'm up for all that spook, but I definitely hope to do another ghost tour soon!