Halloween is fast approaching and with it an increased appetite for all things spooky and paranormal. Have you ever done a ghost tour on your travels? You might turn your nose up and say it's all a charade, but ghost tours can be a great way to learn more about the history of a place, as well as upping your adrenaline levels by a notch or two. So what's there to lose? Here are our picks of three of the world's best ghost tours.
Mary King's Close and the South Bridge Vaults: Edinburgh, Scotland
Mary King's Close and the South Bridge Vaults form part of Edinburgh's historic underworld (both lie hidden beneath the Royal Mile). As you descend into the darkness and mystery of the underground closes and vaults your imagination will get a real work out as you listen to the stories of ghosts, murders, plague victims and witches.
Mary King's Close today is the remains of a mediaeval street buried underneath Edinburgh's City Chambers and the Royal Mile - the paranormal happenings that have taken place there are world renowned. When the Black Death hit Edinburgh in 1645 there were around 500 of the city's poorest people living and working in Mary King's Close; about half of them were dead or dying from the disease. The story goes that the city decided to act against further outbreak and the Close's inhabitants were quarantined in their homes and left to die. If you go down to the Close look out for a young ghost called Annie; she's been spotted by lots of people over the years and there's one room in particular that she is rumoured to haunt.
The South Bridge Vaults were built in late 18th century, and abandoned by the 1830s - the corridors and chambers are still unchanged. Burke and Hare, the body snatchers who sold corpses to medical schools, are rumoured to have hunted for victims in these Vaults.
According to The Edinburgh Ghost Project 2001 there abnormally high levels of paranormal activity in Edinburgh's Underground Vaults. As added testament to the ghostly goings on in Edinburgh's underworld, the "Most Haunted" TV team has staged one of its live shows in the South Bridge Vaults and Mary King's Close.
For more info about the Mary King's Close tour visit Mercat Tours. For more info about the Vaults tour visit Auld Reekie Tours.
French Quarter: New Orleans, USA
The French Quarter is the oldest and most famous neighbourhood in America's "Most Haunted" city. Here ghost stories and paranormal sightings mingle with the very real, and very macabre "City of the Dead": St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, where you can visit the Queen of New Orleans Voodoo, Marie Laveau.
Laveau's former home at 1020 St. Ann Street is said to be one of the French Quarter's most haunted spots. People are said to have seen her spirit, along with those of her followers, engaged in Voodoo ceremonies there.
Another must-see spot for ghost-busters is Madame LaLaurie's house at 1140 Royal Street. She was responsible for the torture, mistreatment and death of many of her slaves, and apparently you can still here the screams of her victims today.
Visitors to New Orleans can take their pick from several ghost tours of the French Quarter, amongst the best operators are Haunted History Tours, New Orleans Ghost Tour, and Historic New Orleans Walking Tours.
Read more about New Orleans' most haunted destinations here.
Catacombs of Paris: Paris, France
The Catacombs of Paris (L'Ossuaire Municipal) houses a vast collection of human bones in a network of subterranean tunnels and caverns. The catacombs were created in the 1780s to house remains overspilling from the city's overcrowded and badly maintained cemeteries - it's thought that there are around six million Parisians buried in the catacombs.
Believers maintain that the way the bones were uprooted from their original resting spots and placed in the tunnels was disrespectful and this is what causes the paranormal hoo-hah in the catacombs. There have been reports of ghostly voices and moving shadows down in the underground tunnels. Are you brave enough to handle it...?
Find out more about the Catacombs Ghost Tour here.
Have you been on a ghost tour? Which one did you take and what did you think?
Photo Credits: "Ghost Tour" by thecnote; "Haunted? 1140 Royal Street" by raelb; "Catacombs" by jrmyst. All via Flickr (Creative Commons).
By Connie Motz
Looking for something different to do in New Orleans? How does a narrated walking tour through the cobblestoned French Quarter sound? Fairly normal I hear you say, but think again… Thrill seekers can get their kicks at night in "the most haunted city in America," on a walking tour in search of New Orleans' ghosts and spirits.
What will you see on a haunted tour? Who knows: so be sure to take your camera with plenty of film or lots of space on your memory card just in case; when it comes to the paranormal photographs of seemingly uneventful scenes and uninteresting objects can show eerie shapes and strange shadows once they are developed.
Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre has been continuously haunted since it was built in 1922. Two young distraught actresses both committed suicide at the theatre; a stagehand from the 1920s still loves to play tricks on current employees; and a ghostly group of children loves to play with the theatre's office equipment.
In the heart of the French Quarter is the Andrew Jackson Hotel, former site of a boarding school where five children lost their lives in a fire in the 1700s. Hotel guests have reported finding photographs on their cameras taken of them from above as they lay sleeping in their beds at night.
The House on Rue Royale is said to be one of the most haunted and most horrific of all the ghostly realms in New Orleans. The mansion was ruled by Mademoiselle Lalaurie who subjected her slaves to various grotesque tortures and caused a little girl to fall from the rooftop to her death in the courtyard below. They say that the screams can still be heard today.
Near Jackson Square is Pirates Alley where the ghost of Jean Lafitte wanders in the early morning hours. His footsteps can be seen on the damp cobblestone street between the Spanish Governor's Mansion and St. Louis Cathedral.
All tour guides within the city of New Orleans are required to be licensed through a combination of residency and general knowledge of the city, so you can be sure that any tour you choose will be informative, safe, and entertaining.
There are several night time tours offered in New Orleans that explore the haunted "hot spots" that have even been featured on The Discovery Channel and The History Channel.
Gray Line Tours features a nightly departure from the Jackson Brewery for a two hour walkabout reasonably priced at USD 22 per adult.
The New Orleans Ghost Tour offered nightly by Haunted History Tours is touted to be the #1 Haunted Tour in the Crescent City. Reservations can be made for the two hour tour online for the price of USD 20 per adult.
For more information on ghostly tours in New Orleans, visit these websites:
Photo Credits: 'Ghosts of New Orleans' by Diamondduste; 'French Quarter - Andrew Jackson Hotel' by David Paul Ohmer via Flickr (Creative Commons).
