Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington

Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington The Ghost Walk began researching Wilmington, NC ghosts in 1978 and tours began in 1999. A 90 minute walking tour in one of America's most haunted cities.
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In 2009 the tour was named one of the Top 5 Ghost Walks in America by USA Today and one of the Top 10 Overall Tours in America by Tripadvisor. We visit the most actively haunted locations in historic Wilmington including Gallow's Hill, St. James Graveyard, the Harper House, the Dime Ghost and many others. Visit 5 locations per tour!

Due to the tropical storm conditions, our ghost walks on Monday September 16th are cancelled.
09/16/2024

Due to the tropical storm conditions, our ghost walks on Monday September 16th are cancelled.

Have you visited the Captain John Harper site on our Ghost Walk? His home is known for many a paranormal experience. Cap...
08/13/2024

Have you visited the Captain John Harper site on our Ghost Walk? His home is known for many a paranormal experience. Captain John W. Harper was born on Masonboro Sound in New Hanover County, NC in 1856, and died in 1917. He was a steamboat captain and owner of the Wilmington & Southport Steamboat Company. His house is located on South Front Street is a favorite stop. Captain Harper is buried in Oakdale Cemetery. (credit New Hanover County Digital Archives)

It was on a summer night in July, 145 years ago, James Heaton shot his lover Mary Radcliffe to death in the foyer of the...
07/30/2024

It was on a summer night in July, 145 years ago, James Heaton shot his lover Mary Radcliffe to death in the foyer of the grocery store/masonic hall that is now Slice of Life downtown. Mary was the daughter of a slave and a plantation owner. Heaton was the son of a prominent Senator and himself a radical figure in Wilmington politics and at one time, the City Clerk. After shooting Mary for leaving him, he ran from police. When cornered in a dead end alley, he turned the gun on himself. Their two bodies were laid out side by side in Mary's home for the coroner's inquest and the public to view. It is said the two spirits that died that night still haunt the old building on the corner of Market and 2nd Street. Sadly, Heaton's wealthy family placed a beautiful monolith stone to mark his grave in the New Bern cemetery where he is buried. Mary was buried in an unmarked grave in a pauper's cemetery, her resting spot lost to history.

Do you have your ghost walk tickets yet for this week?  If you are coming in to town they sell out fast! Join us as we t...
07/18/2024

Do you have your ghost walk tickets yet for this week? If you are coming in to town they sell out fast! Join us as we take you to the most haunted spots in the port city. www.hauntedwilmington.com

Was that a whisper in your ear? A cold spot on a hot summer night? A shadow figure walking through the graveyard? What w...
06/28/2024

Was that a whisper in your ear? A cold spot on a hot summer night? A shadow figure walking through the graveyard? What will you experience this weekend on your ghost walk adventure? Join us! Our tickets are selling fast. www.hauntedwilmington.com

Do you have your ghost walk tickets for tonight? Join us as we visit the most haunted places in downtown Wilmington unde...
06/22/2024

Do you have your ghost walk tickets for tonight? Join us as we visit the most haunted places in downtown Wilmington under the lingering effects of the Strawberry moon. Tickets at www.hauntedwilmington.com

In honor of National Donut Day!
06/07/2024

In honor of National Donut Day!

A great ghost story and also a tragic love story comes to us from just north of the North Carolina border in Virgina fro...
05/27/2024

A great ghost story and also a tragic love story comes to us from just north of the North Carolina border in Virgina from the Great Dismal swamp. This is the story of a pair of Native American lovers who were pledged to be married, but the bride died on the morning of her wedding day. As was the custom of the area, the girl was buried in the depths of the Dismal Swamp. Driven mad by grief, her young lover became convinced that he could still see her paddling a white canoe across the surface near where she had been buried. He made a makeshift raft and followed the vision of her out onto into the swamp, but drowned in the attempt to reach her. Ever since that fateful night, people hve witnessed the ghosts of the two lovers paddling together in a white canoe. This story was the inspiration for the Irish poet Thomas Moore's A Ballad - The Lake of Dismal Swamp, where he sums up the whole situation thus:

They made her a grave, too cold and damp
For a soul so warm and true;
And she's gone to the Lake of the Dismal Swamp,
Where, all night long, by a fire-fly lamp,
She paddles her white canoe.

04/22/2024
The graveyard has been particularly active in the past few weeks. Even if you don't capture the shadow man or the dancin...
03/15/2024

The graveyard has been particularly active in the past few weeks. Even if you don't capture the shadow man or the dancing orbs or the gate that slowly opens and closes on its own, it is always a wonderful pictureque place with a spine chilling story. Thank you to our guest Connie for this picture.

The haunted and beautiful Burgwin Wright House. Visit it during the day to see it in all of its Colonial glory and then ...
03/13/2024

The haunted and beautiful Burgwin Wright House. Visit it during the day to see it in all of its Colonial glory and then join us on a ghost walk at night to hear the spine tingling paranormal stories of this over 200 year old house. Learn more at https://www.burgwinwrighthouse.com For tickets to the ghost walk, www.hauntedwilmington.com

On or around this date in 1781, Major John Love and around a dozen Patriot's were bayoneted to death inside Rouse Tavern...
03/05/2024

On or around this date in 1781, Major John Love and around a dozen Patriot's were bayoneted to death inside Rouse Tavern (also known as Eight Mile Tavern as it was 8 miles from Wilmington's riverfront. Location is in present day Ogden near Market Street). This event became known as the Rouse Tavern Massacre, and helped galvanize locals against the British.

Wierd and wonderful North Carolina! The Devil's Tramping Ground, located ten miles from Siler City in western Chatham Co...
02/23/2024

Wierd and wonderful North Carolina! The Devil's Tramping Ground, located ten miles from Siler City in western Chatham County, is a foot-wide bare path forming a perfect circle 40 feet in diameter. Regional legend maintains that Satan frequents this area on his nightly walks, pacing the circle as he contemplates his evil deeds. Normal vegetation surrounds the circle, but only a wiry grass grows inside it, and no plant life of any kind can be found on the path itself. Locals have been unsuccessful in trying to transplant the wiry grass to other soils. Visitors have attempted to anchor sticks and other obstacles in the barren area, but morning always finds these obstacles cleared away. (Courtesty NcPedia)

The Ghost Walk is looking for professional performers/storytellers to join our team for Wilmington’s original, and only ...
02/12/2024

The Ghost Walk is looking for professional performers/storytellers to join our team for Wilmington’s original, and only locally owned Ghost Walk since 1978. The Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington. Generous pay, bonuses & annual pay increases.

REQUIREMENTS:

Acting, storytelling or public speaking experience

The ability to memorize scripted material & to perform a 90-minute walking tour that covers up to 10 city blocks

A strong voice, commanding presence & outgoing personality

A team player that is respectful, courteous, prompt & reliable

Nighttime availability & long term commitment

RESUMES - Email [email protected] for an application

Tired of the boring valentines? Then join us for the “hold your honey tight fright night massacre” ghost walk tours this...
02/10/2024

Tired of the boring valentines? Then join us for the “hold your honey tight fright night massacre” ghost walk tours this weekend. Hear tales of love gone wrong and get a special treat!

On a freezing night in January of 1813, Theodosia Burr Alston, daughter of the infamous Aaron Burr, likely died at sea w...
01/16/2024

On a freezing night in January of 1813, Theodosia Burr Alston, daughter of the infamous Aaron Burr, likely died at sea when pirates over took the vessel, The Patriot, that she was a passenger on. It is said that this took place off the coast of North Carolina.

Many years later, Benjamin F. Burdick, a old sailor and previous pirate, confessed on his deathbed.that he had been on the pirate ship that overtook the Patriot.

According to an 1878 edition of the New York Times: "He said there was one lady on board who was beautiful appearing, intelligent and cultivated, who gave her name as Mrs. Theodosia Alston. When her turn came to walk the fatal plank she asked for a few moments time, which was gruffly granted her. She then retired to her berth and changed her apparel, appearing on deck in a few moments clad in pure white garments. And with a bible in her hand, she announced that she was ready. She appeared as calm and composed as if she were at home, and not a tremor crept over her frame, or a pallor overspread her features, as she walked toward her fate. As she was taking the fatal steps, she folded her hand over her bosom and raised her eyes to heaven. She fell and sank without a murmur or a sigh."

It is said her ghost still appears along the coast of the Carolinas.

In this stately property, stretching from Front St to Second St, lived the famous Captain Harper. During the winter of 1...
01/07/2024

In this stately property, stretching from Front St to Second St, lived the famous Captain Harper. During the winter of 1899, there is a famous ghost story told by the Captain and the crew of his ship. Hearing cries for help, the Captain and crew spotted what appeared to be Scottish Highlanders clinging to the remnants of thier wrecked ship in the Cape Fear River. In front of the Captain and his entire crew, the Highlanders, in Colonial garb, and their ship disappeared as they approached to save the men, fading away as a ghostly imprint on the landscape of the Cape Fear River.

Doesn't this just warm your heart and bring the joy of the holidays! Victorian Christmas cards are creepy!
12/16/2023

Doesn't this just warm your heart and bring the joy of the holidays! Victorian Christmas cards are creepy!

12/13/2023

Poor tree, we hardly knew ye!

This sturdy fir graced our front parlor over the last week, but when the volunteers arrived on Tuesday, they found it toppled over, flat on the floor. The security camera caught the tree suddenly leaning until . . . plop!

Curiously enough, the tree was lying directly under the ornate gasolier, which it should have struck on its way down. No damage was found.

One volunteer claims the children did it. We're moving the toys back up to the children's floor just in case.

Strange phenomenon seen above a grave in St James Graveyard. This is one of the most commonly captured "light" experienc...
12/02/2023

Strange phenomenon seen above a grave in St James Graveyard. This is one of the most commonly captured "light" experiences at that location.

258 years ago, on November 16, 1765, North Carolina’s stamp master, William Houston, resigned his post amid demonstratio...
11/17/2023

258 years ago, on November 16, 1765, North Carolina’s stamp master, William Houston, resigned his post amid demonstrations against the Stamp Act at the foot of Market Street in Wilmington.

10/31/2023

Happy Halloween!

It is a splendid time of year, when the veil between the living and dead is at its thinnest, to join us on a Ghost Walk!...
10/26/2023

It is a splendid time of year, when the veil between the living and dead is at its thinnest, to join us on a Ghost Walk! Get your tickets at www.hauntedwilmington.com

Halloween food? A traditional food eaten on Halloween in Ireland is barnbrack, a bread with raisins, that can be bought ...
10/24/2023

Halloween food? A traditional food eaten on Halloween in Ireland is barnbrack, a bread with raisins, that can be bought in stores or baked at home. Buried in the cake, there is a wrapped treat. The surprise is said to be able to tell your fortune. If you find a ring, you will soon be wed. A piece of straw means that money is coming to you. Other items are a thimble (you will stay a spinster), a button (you will remain a bachelor), a piece of rag (symbolizing poverty or misfortune), or the worst, the stick (is a sign of an unhappy, quarrelsome marriage).

We often talk about Oakdale Cemetery on our tour. Here's an opportunity to take a daytime guided tour of Oakdale.https:/...
10/19/2023

We often talk about Oakdale Cemetery on our tour. Here's an opportunity to take a daytime guided tour of Oakdale.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=763357218928114&id=100057615272939&mibextid=Nif5oz

Come on out for the last walking tour of the season this Saturday October 21, 2023!!! – Historical walking tour of North Carolina’s oldest rural cemetery will be given by the Cemetery Superintendent, Eric Kozen who will take you on a journey of the past. He will focus on the beginnings of the cemetery as well as explain some of the funerary art and some tales of those who are laid to rest here. Tour is from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon. $10.00 for non-members and FREE to members. Tours are cancelled in the event of inclement weather.

10/10/2023

This week in 1922, Topsy the Elephant made quite a stir in her dash through the streets of Wilmington. Topsy it seems was fed a plug of to***co by a visitor to the circus instead of the peanuts she expected and went on a rampage through the streets of downtown. She was seen running through alleys and streets with part of a chicken coop and a garden gate around her neck. One man ran out of his home screaming "Earthquake" from the shaking it caused. In addition, fences, porches, and the interior of the Eureka Pressing Company (now the Dram Yard Restaurant at 2nd and Dock) all suffered damage before Topsy wound up deep in the swamp of Greenfield Lake.

She would have died there had it not been for the second legendary character: Officer Leon George. Officer George stayed with Topsy for many hours, calling her “Mumsey” and coaxing her out of the muck with apples and peanuts. An exhausted Topsy was finally led back to the circus grounds. There she caught her second wind, escaped again, and dove into the Cape Fear River. This time it took two days for Officer George and his apples, peanuts, and calm demeanor to capture Topsy and help her safely back to her train car located where the Wilmington Railroad Museum is now.
As Topsy was led into the train she bowed to the cheering crowd, singling out Officer George with her gaze. Officer Leon “Tiger Hunter” George, as he was now called, was openly weeping.

We are happy to see us on the list of 15 enchanting ghost walks!
09/30/2023

We are happy to see us on the list of 15 enchanting ghost walks!

These ghost tours in NC are a great way to learn and scare yourself into realizing North Carolina is pretty haunted and full of interesting ghost stories.

We are happy to see that we are listed as one of the 15 enchanting ghost walks
09/30/2023

We are happy to see that we are listed as one of the 15 enchanting ghost walks

These ghost tours in NC are a great way to learn and scare yourself into realizing North Carolina is pretty haunted and full of interesting ghost stories.

Address

8 Market Street
Wilmington, NC
28401

Opening Hours

Monday 6:30pm - 10pm
Tuesday 6:30pm - 10pm
Wednesday 6:30pm - 10pm
Thursday 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Friday 6:30pm - 10pm
Saturday 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Sunday 6:30pm - 10pm

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