Dog-Friendly Ghost Tours

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From sentimental strolls that emphasize history over mystery to expeditions complete with equipment that may record an ectoplasmic encounter, numerous dog-friendly ghost tours from coast to coast invite both you and your aspiring Scooby Doo to peek into the past. We’ve unearthed the following trips back in time that allow sleuthing Spots to join in the fun — if you know of a dog-friendly ghost tour that’s not on the list, let us know! Happy (ghost) hunting!

NOTE: Any dog who embarks on a ghost tour must be well-behaved and remain on a leash at all times. Also, pet parents must remember to pick up after their pup.

Alabama

Huntsville Ghost Walk, Huntsville

See if Spot can spot a specter at the “Fraternity House for Ghosts,” the entity that haunts a courthouse, or the children of yesteryear who still play on Walker Street as you promenade past visions of the Victorian era during the Old Town Historic District tour.

The Twickenham Historic District tour takes tourists past Helion Lodge #1, the Backwards House, the haunt of LeRoy “Father of Huntsville” Pope and an array of beautiful Antebellum mansions, while the Haunted Downtown tour includes an area where the spirits of both departed American Indians and Civil War soldiers are thought to dwell.

Arizona

Old Bisbee Ghost Tours, Bisbee

Once a mining town rich in copper, silver and gold, today Bisbee, Arizona is a virtual treasure trove of paranormal activity. Your tail-wagging chum can tap into his inner ghost hunter while searching for the preternatural presence of the late Nat the miner, who paid off a debt by ‘giving up the ghost’; The Lady in White, a kind soul who rescued three children from the clutches of death, and a cat who continues to linger after using up all of its nine lives.

For a family-friendly foray through the area, take the Bisbee Historic Ghost Walk, where you can learn about the spirit of the town on a stroll through the Main Street district. (NOTE: Dogs are not allowed on the Evergreen Cemetery Tour, the Haunted Pub Crawl or the Ghost Hunt of Old Bisbee.)

California

Haunted Haight Walking Tour, San Francisco

Is it just the fog rolling in, or is a specter settling among the sightseers as the founder of The San Francisco Ghost Society takes tourists on a time trip? During a two-hour exploration of the famed Haight-Ashbury district, history buffs will see more than 150 favorite architectural haunts from the Victorian era.

Georgia

Blue Orb Tours, Savannah

Deemed one of the top 13 ghost tours in the world, your canine companion can accompany you on a visit to the supernatural side of Savannah.

Terrifying tales bring the dead back to life for the brave souls who embark on the adults only Zombie Tour, while the Savannah Shadows Tour takes visitors to The Hanging Square, where evil once took root under the limbs of Live Oaks, and conjures up mental images of a seance which just might have included the post-life presence of master magician Harry Houdini. (NOTE: Dogs are not allowed on the motorized Bonaventure Cemetery Tours.)

Saint Simon’s Original Ghost Walk Historic Lantern Walking Tour, Saint Simon’s Island

As you and your dog’s shadows stretch out along paths that lead to the waterfront and old town, lantern light will illuminate stories of the spirits that linger on Saint Simon’s Island in this one-mile family-and Fido-friendly ghost tour. (NOTE: The Dinner and Ghost Tour is not dog-friendly.)

Kentucky

Louisville Ghost Tours, Louisville

The past is always present at Louisville Ghost Tours’ favorite haunts, which includes The Brown Hotel, where the building’s original owner is said to still preside, years after his passing; the Seelbach Hilton, which remains the home of the mysterious Lady in Blue, who died in the hotel’s elevator shaft; and the Louisville Palace Theatre, where a kind-hearted Casper named Fred is said to have saved the life of a worker renovating the 1920’s movie palace. Budding dog detectives can see if they can sniff out signs of the supernatural during a 90-minute, 1/2-mile stroll past some of the city’s phantom-filled structures.

Maine

Red Cloak Haunted History Tours, Damariscotta

From May through the end of October visitors are enveloped in tales from the mist of time as The Lady in the Red Cloak holds her lantern high and guides amateur ghost hunters on 90-minute walks through Bar Harbor, Wiscasset, Boothbay Harbor, Camden, Bath, Damariscotta, Rockland or Hallowell.

Massachusetts

Providencetown Ghost Tours, Providencetown

Each night at nine o’clock guides and their guests embark for a date with the dearly departed during 90-minute tours of historic structures, inns where those now gone once enjoyed spirited evenings, and the cemeteries which are now their final resting places…or are they?

New Mexico

Albucreepy Downtown Ghost Walk, Albuquerque

As the proprietors of the Albucreepy Downtown Ghost Walk say, “Scaredy cats must stay home” but curious canines are welcome to join either the original 100-minute tour past such paranormal hangouts as the old Bernalillo County Courthouse, the KiMo Theater, the Wool Warehouse and the Freed Building, or the tour to see the scandalous sites showcased in the Red Light Edition.

New York

Haunted Broadway Theaters Walking Tour, New York City

Fidos and their families can unleash their inner Frank N. Furter while doing The Time Warp or learn Michael Jackson’s killer “Thriller” moves during a two-hour Haunted Broadway Theaters Walking Tour in Times Square.

Tales of Broadway and vaudeville performers who took their final curtain call long ago take center stage as the tour travels past haunted theaters, and sightseers can wake the dead as they sing along to toe-tapping (and tail-wagging!) tunes from some of The Great White Way’s spine-tingling soundtracks, including The Phantom of the Opera, Little Shop of Horrors and Sweeney Todd.

Ghosts, Murder and Mayhem Tours, New York City

The dead of night never seemed so alive as shadows dance in the light of lanterns held aloft by the tour guides at Ghosts, Murders and Mayhem Walking Tours of New York City. The two-hour expeditions feature historical photographs of those whose souls may still linger at the attraction’s stops along the Greenwich Village Tour, the Lower Manhattan Tour and the Hell’s Kitchen Mostly Murder Tour.

Rhode Island

Providence Ghost Tour, Providence

Known by some as The Renaissance City, long-buried stories from a city’s past are born again thanks to Providence Ghost Tour, which features guides in period garb spinning tales that weave folklore with cold, hard facts. (NOTE: Doggedly devoted to our pals with paws, the tour’s proprietors recently donated a weekend’s worthy of profits to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, with a portion benefiting Big Fluffy Dog Rescue, which has taken in four-legged evacuees!)

Tennessee

Chattanooga Ghost Tours, Chattanooga

It’s believed by some that dogs can perceive the presence of the paranormal. See if Fido can sense a poltergeist as you reach into the realm of the spirit world with the help of transcommunication devices while on a downtown ghost hunt, the Murder and Mayhem Tour or the original Chattanooga Ghost Tour. (NOTE: Dogs are not allowed on the UTC/Cemetery hunt. Also, pet parents should keep in mind that many of the company’s tours and downtown hunts do not enter where the tours began, which will mean a six-block walk back to the point of origin, as the city’s free electric shuttle does not accept dogs on board.)

Nashville Ghost Tours, Nashville

The echoes of days gone by will be music to your ears as you and your canine companion head out on a Haunted Downtown Nashville tour that strikes just the right nostalgic notes. Lantern-bearing guides take tourists past the Ryman Auditorium, as well as Printer’s Alley, the Tennessee State Capitol and other landmarks.

Texas

Austin Ghost Tours, Austin

The Live Music Capital of the World rings out with the music of the night as sightseers on Austin Ghost Tours attempt to peer through the veil that separates yesterday from today. Amateur ghost busters may have seen this Fido-friendly search for phantoms on features that have aired on all the three major networks, TLC, The History Channel, and other television channels. The executive producers of the PBS series Haunted Texas, Austin Ghost Tours offers three nostalgic 90-minute walks through the city’s streets: The Alleyways and Shadows Ghost Walk of the Texas Capitol, which includes stops at Austin’s first hospital, the old Travis County jail, and The Drikill Hotel; The Historic District, which takes tourists to Waller Creek, the Susannah Dickinson House, the O’Henry House and The Driskill Hotel; and the Haunted Historic Red-Light and Warehouse District Ghost Walk, which stops in Old German Town, Guytown, The Driskill Hotel, and includes the tale of a predecessor of the infamous Jack the Ripper.

San Antonio Ghost Walk, San Antonio

From a sighting of six spectral monks on a mission to safeguard the mission’s walls, to the non-corporeal presence of Davy Crockett still standing his ground, history hounds of both the two- and four-legged variety will “Remember the Alamo” after a visit to spot visions of the past at the Texas landmark. The San Antonio Ghost Walk tour (which includes guests’ use of ghost detecting equipment!) also winds its way past the antiquated architecture of haunted buildings that line the River Walk. (NOTE: Dogs are not allowed on either the pub crawls or the tour of the Black Swan Inn.)

Sisters Grimm Ghost Tour, San Antonio
This popular tour resurrects the past on 90-minute strolls through the streets of San Antonio which leads to The Alamo, The Spanish Governor’s Mansion and the Lone Star state’s most spirit-filled lodging, The Menger Hotel. (NOTE: Dogs are not allowed on the Dinner and Ghost Tour or the Ghost Bus Tour.)

Virginia

Spooks and Legends Haunted Tours, Williamsburg

History combines seamlessly with mystery as costume-clad characters guide two- and four-legged guests by candlelight past 18th century buildings where the life force of departed souls still linger during the Dead of Night Ghost Tour or the Witches and Pirates Tour.

West Virginia

Ghost Tours of Harpers Ferry, Harpers Ferry

For close to a half century, the oldest ghost tour in the United States has brought a pivotal time in American history back to life! Guides in period garb tell tales of non-corporeal encounters at edifices in the “Lower Town” area of Harpers Ferry as they take sightseers on a sentimental, family-and Fido-friendly 90-minute stroll.

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