Last Updated on January 15, 2026 by Home in the World
Welcome to the second ever guest post on Home in the World!
Today’s contribution is brought to you by US Ghost Adventures, one of the USA’s leading providers of fun, educational ghost tours, whose aim is to make sense of the unexplainable by authentically showing the places and telling the stories of the people who left their mark on them.
All text and photos are by US Ghost Adventures. Enjoy this bone-tingling, USA-wide selection of haunting historic experiences and ghost tours, as detailed by some of the best in the business.
The 7 best US cities to take ghost tours in
While many cities across America have their own ghost tours, there are a handful of towns with truly exceptional ones. This country is dotted with towns steeped in strange lore, from East Coast communities steeped in maritime ghosts to those of the Old West, flush with frontier phantoms.
Annapolis, MD
Known as the Sailing Capital of the World, Annapolis continues to be one of the Old Line State’s spookiest cities. With a history soaked with maritime tales and colonial heritage, it harbors just as many ghosts as it does boats along its waterfronts and seaside docks.
A deep dive into this nautical city’s history will reveal spooky stories linked to its many taverns, historic homes, and legendary lodgings. Visitors to this traditional seafaring town in search of chilling legends should pay a visit to the haunted Maryland Inn, a lodging more than 250 years old, stacked with tales of phantoms and their tragedies.
One of its rooms remains haunted by a bride whose groom died in the street below after being hit by a horse-drawn cart. The despondent bride followed him soon after, leaving the pair to linger within the historic inn, perpetually stuck in the midst of wedding preparations.
New Orleans, LA
While many flock to the Crescent City for its festive atmosphere and celebratory mood, others are pulled in by a darker current. For lovers of the strange and spine-tingling, New Orleans is a true paranormal playground.
A spectacular city for otherworldly enthusiasts, the residents of this soulful city celebrate their strange past, embracing the skeletons of years ago as part of their vibrant culture. Its music-soaked streets are drenched with unearthly tales, from stories surrounding voodoo priestess Marie Laveau to the witch of the French opera house on Bourbon Street.
Within New Orleans, you’ll find a medley of ghost tours, such as those that focus on its opulent homes to tours centered around vampires and voodoo. No street in this Southern city is without a story, it seems, making NOLA one of America’s best cities for ghost tours.
Savannah, GA
Widely considered the most haunted city in Georgia, the so-called Belle of the South is rich with Southern ghost stories and hair-raising legends. A city pummeled by epidemics, floods, and other tragedies, many ghosts linger within Savannah’s grand homes and sprawling plantations.
In this stunning town, visitors can tour Savannah’s haunting cemeteries and tombs, exploring this Southern city of the dead. Other tours will guide you through its moss-draped streets, regaling you with strange histories and homes filled with oddities and apparitions.
Spooky stories lurk behind every oak-lined corner in this elegant city, residing behind mansion doors and cemetery gates. Ghosts flood homes like the Davenport House and the Owen-Thomas House, where a Lady in Gray forever tends to her lavish garden and inexplicable happenings ooze from inside these walls. Meanwhile, the Colonial Park Cemetery holds many departed souls, from Civil War soldiers to a possible murderer.
Bisbee, AZ
A mining town until the 1970s, Bisbee remains as rich with Wild West phantoms as it once was with copper. Gunslingers, miners, and villainous folk once ruled this Western town during the turn of the 20th century — and after dark, some say they still do.
A walkable town swept with legends of frontier-era specters, a ghost tour of this free-spirited city will shepherd you to haunts like the Copper Queen Hotel, where the haunts range from those of tragedy to a mischievous child spirit.
The Old Bisbee Jail is equally eerie, with shadowy figures having left their ghostly traces in cold spots, disembodied voices, and the smell of old whiskey permeating the air. Even to locals, it’s regarded as a place one never wishes to linger too long, especially after the Arizona sun sets on this eccentric little town.
Myrtle Beach, SC
While sunny beach towns may not seem like the pinnacle of spookiness, one must make an exception for Myrtle Beach. Watery figures of misfortune and mayhem rule this sandy community, adding a layer of mystery to this sunny city.
Its numerous local legends span from the seafaring pirate known as Drunken Jack — left forever searching for rum despite him drinking a good deal of it before dying — to the mysterious Grey Man of Pawley’s Island, who acts as a harbinger for fatal weather and hurricanes.
A shadowy Myrtle Beach ghost tour will detail its many haunted locales, from its spirit-soaked boardwalk to Pyler Park, where a headless entity has been spied looking for his lost appendage. More terrifying are the tales of the park’s Boo Hags, who follow visitors home to their steal breath as they sleep. Luckily, there’s safety in numbers along a hair-raising ghost tour of Myrtle Beach.
San Francisco, CA
Today, San Francisco may seem like a mecca for creativity and innovation, but it holds a past riddled with turmoil. The 1906 earthquake left much destruction in its wake, leaving peculiar phantoms to wander in the places where old buildings once stood.
Several hotels in the Golden Gate City continue to be haunted by unusual specters, such as the Fairmont Hotel, in which a Woman in White is spied in the hallways and ballroom. Then there’s nearby Alcatraz Island, where the echoes of inmates and guards continue to moan and clang doors long after departing.
A city cloaked in fog and shadow, the Golden Gate City has arisen from a foundation of tragedy, making its gleaming appearance all the more remarkable today.
Salem, MA
Last but not least stands America’s infamous Witch City. Lovers of the wicked and whimsical cannot miss this Massachusetts town. Spooky excursions in this darkly fun community range from the historic to the supernatural, each filled with bizarre tales rising from hundreds of years of local lore.
1700s-era homes, a haunted library, and countless tales of curses and witchcraft have shaded this town with an aura of secrecy that will take multiple visits to unravel. Tour-takers can learn about the infamous and commonly misunderstood witch trials that cursed this formerly Puritanical town, vengefully claiming the souls of those who committed such wicked deeds and leaving hordes of specters to clog its lantern-lit streets.
Post written by US Ghost Adventures
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For related travel content, feel free to check out my North America section, where you can find some of my older blog posts (written in more of a narrative style) from my travels to various cities across the USA and Canada.
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Sounds like a whole lot of spooky fun
Yes indeed! And educational too!