With the amount of history you can find in Virginia, it’s no surprise that ghost-sightings are common throughout the state. Ghost tours have become a popular Halloween season activity for aspiring paranormal investigators everywhere. With Virginia being central to the American Revolution, there’s no shortage of 250+ year old specters being found at our historical locations. We rounded up some of the 18th-century ghost tours for you to find the history that is fit for the spooky season.
Williamsburg
Haunted Williamsburg
The official ghost tour of Colonial Williamsburg, Haunted Williamsburg is the only tour that takes you inside its historic buildings. This one-hour candlelit walking tour has costumed storytellers share unnerving tales from authentic 18th-century colonial ghost stories to creepy modern-day encounters. Click here to learn more.
Colonial Ghosts
A ghost tour that not only takes you through Colonial Williamsburg, but also the historic campus of the College of William & Mary, Colonial Ghosts touts themselves as a genuine ghost tour with real hauntings. This tour features history from colonial life, the American Revolution, the American Civil War, and more. Colonial Ghosts strives to tell historically accurate stories based on research and documents.
Spooks & Legends Haunted Ghost Tours
Experience many haunted locations including the most haunted building in Virginia, the Peyton Randolph House. Offered here is the “Ghosts, Witches, and Pirates Tour”, an 18th-century tour with a costumed crew that delves into the witch trials and pirates of Colonial Williamsburg, including the infamous Blackbeard.
Williamsburg Ghost Tour
The Williamsburg Ghost Tour takes you on an otherworldly journey through the dark 300 year past of Colonial Williamsburg. Rent a EMF Detector to identify and discover ghosts throughout the tour. See if you can find soldiers that were involved in the first large scale battle in Williamsburg during the Revolution.
Yorktown
Yorktown Ghost Walks
By day, the tiny village where American Independence was won is filled with tourists, fishermen and sunbathers. By night, the ghouls from Yorktown’s past emerge. Conducted by paranormal investigators from Virginia Paranormal Investigations and the published author of the book, “Ghosts of Yorktowns”, this tour will offer a mix of historical accounts, ghost stories and legends.
Richmond
Haunts of Richmond
Virginia’s capitol city is no stranger to spirits and Haunts of Richmond offers many different ghost tours to see them. Their Church Hill Chillers Tour takes place at the birthplace of the American Revolution, where Patrick Henry made his famous 1775 “Give Me Liberty” speech.
Alexandria
Alexandria Colonial Tours
The brick-lined streets of Old Alexandria features elegant Federal homes and cobblestone alleyways. Follow in the footsteps of George Washington and George Mason where they adopted the “Federal Resolves” on the History Tour. For a more supernatural flair, join the Ghost & Graveyard Tour and hear ghost stories, legends, folklore on those same streets.
Alexandria Ghosts
This tour offers an unflinching look into the city’s history and features tales of real hauntings experienced by its residents. This city has been host to founding fathers, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Madison. Alexandria was an important place to control during the American Revolution and Civil War. This wartime history has led to many ghost stories that you can learn on this tour.
While these highlighted tours have some focus on 250-year old Revolution, there are plenty more ghost tours of various time periods throughout Virginia. Click here for more.