Haunted Tours for Halloween Fun: East Coast Edition

by Kelly Amabile on

Want to get spooked this Halloween? If your travels find you in any of these ten East Coast cities, be sure to check out the haunted tours happening on and around Halloween.

Alexandria, VA: This Colonial Tour Group runs their original Ghost and Graveyard Tour, as well as a special enhanced Halloween version, several times throughout the autumn months.

Atlanta, GA: How about a haunted tour on two wheels? City Segway Tours runs a Ghosts and Legends Tour.

Baltimore, MD: Fells Point Ghost Tours is now called Baltimore Ghost Tours. They offer several ghost walks (including a Haunted Pubwalk) and a Haunted Harbor Cruise.

Boston, MA: Boston by Foot will run a one-time-only tour called Beacon Hill with a Boo! on Halloween night.

Charleston, SC: Bulldog Tours offers a variety of spooky walking tours, including the Haunted Jail Tour and the Dark Side of Charleston.

Pensacola, FL: The Historical Society hosts a Haunted House Walking and Trolley Tour – a “frightseeing tour”!

Philadelphia, PA: A walking Ghost Tour of Philadelphia departs daily at 7:30 pm through November.

Newport, RI: Nightly walking tours by Ghosts of Newport run through Halloween. They also run Carved in Stone, a 90-minute tour of the colonial Common Burying Ground.

New York, NY: Ghosts of New York runs an Edgar Allen Poe and his Ghostly Friends Tour each week, plus other haunted city walks.

Washington, DC: Washington Walks hosts a DC Haunted Houses Tour every Wednesday through Halloween.

Don’t miss the list of haunted tours on the West Coast.

City Surf’s Audio Walking Tours for the “Un-Tourist”

by Willy Volk on

According to City Surf, “Guidebooks show you which neighborhoods are cool to visit, we show what’s cool IN those neighborhoods.” Indeed, City Surf has created audible walking tours of some hip Toronto hang-outs, including Kensington Market, St. Lawrence Market, Yorkville, and The Annex.

To use the tours, you download one of the 30-40 minute tours, load it into your iPod, and hit the streets. Rather than having your nose buried in a guidebook, you slip on your earbuds and listen to what makes the area unique. Spaced out, listening to your iPod, you’ll look just like a local.

The only downside is that the tours run $9.99 CAD (about $9 US) per download. A little steep? Maybe. But the music-filled sample tracks City Surf has posted sound like they’re brimming with great insider tips that’ll let you experience the city the way the locals do. I’ve never gone on an audible walking tour of a neighborhood. I imagine I’d have to do it twice: once to learn the tips; and a second time to feel like I’ve really immersed myself in the place.

Not heading to Toronto? Montreal and Vancouver tours are in the works.

[Thanks, Ali!]

[murmur] Makes A City Come Alive

by Willy Volk on

When I attended the Bodies exhibit, I received a hand-held device. Throughout the exhibit, when I saw a sign with a number, I entered the number on the device, and a pre-recorded message explained what I was looking at. Of course, many museums offer devices that provide visitors information upon demand. Cleverly, Toronto is doing something similar — for the entire city. Believing stories make a city come alive, [murmur] allows people to infuse communities with life.

An archival audio project that collects stories set in various locations — from parking lots to diners, to front lawns — the stories of [murmur] are told by Torontonians themselves. At each [murmur] location, a [murmur] sign with a phone number and location code indicates that stories are available. By calling the number, users are able to listen to the story. Some stories encourage the listener to walk around; other stories assume you’ll stand in place. If you have a response to the story you just heard, you can record it. [murmur] also has a companion website, which allows you to virtually tour the city and listen to the stories by clicking the map.

Evidently, [murmur] has spread to San Jose, California. What a great way for residents and tourists alike to learn about the city.

[News tip: Great Map; Photo: cjw333]