New Orleans Ghost Tour Review: Is It Worth the Scare?

New Orleans, known very well for its beignets and brass bands, happens to have a past. The city, saturated very deeply in history, boasts whispers of haunted happenings around every corner. One well known popular thing, for those with a bit of nerve, seems to be the ghost tours that wind all through the historic French Quarter. I just wanted to see for myself if one of these after dark treks turned out to be really worth all the hype and a few possible shivers. I thought maybe, just maybe I’d be seeing an actual ghost.

Booking and Tour Choices

You, kind of, can find an unbelievable amount of ghost tour outfits right in New Orleans, alright, which is great because competition seems to keep things rather lively and the prices somewhat competitive. You, really, might stumble on folks hawking tours on practically every block in the French Quarter, which can almost get a bit overwhelming. I actually decided to do a bit of online sleuthing prior to my trip and pre-booked with a company that had tons of stellar reviews and a rather interesting sounding route.

Most tour groups tend to provide all types of twists on a pretty similar theme: alleged hauntings, famous murders, and also a dash of vampire lore, since that seems to play big down there, you know. So, tour lengths are a little different, yet usually run somewhere near one and a half to two hours. Some are just walking tours, and others involve hopping on a trolley, so it seems to depend on your preferred way of getting around, okay. I will say that a fair bit offer special, somewhat grown up versions of their tours (because New Orleans does), for adults only, with possibly darker themes and language, alright.

My Chilling Experience

I got myself all checked in for my tour near Jackson Square as dusk, sort of, began to creep over the city. The mood felt very creepy already. Our guide, a lady in her late twenties maybe, sported a very distinct black cloak and carried this old fashioned lantern; honestly, she looked like she walked straight off a movie set, kind of. Now, just so you all are ready for this part, I will probably spare using specific names, but she sounded just incredible when getting into the spooky stories, almost. She seemed really passionate about local history. Our tour involved lots of walking and standing outside of quite a few places where ghostly things have seemingly occurred. We walked through the quiet alley ways. Each stop seemingly brought us, very much, deeper into the underbelly of New Orleans’ haunted side.

The first notable site involved the tale of Madame Delphine LaLaurie, whose mansion on Royal Street is considered to be one of the most haunted spots in the city, basically. If you haven’t heard her story yet, she happens to be this socialite back in the early 1800s who, apparently, tortured and murdered her slaves in really horrible ways. The stories our tour guide spun definitely turned my stomach and made my skin crawl a little bit, alright. Standing right outside what used to be her home sent real chills down my spine, I have to say, alright.

From there, we, too, slowly ambled onward toward other supposedly haunted locations, that including the Andrew Jackson Hotel, where the ghost of a young boy sometimes likes to play pranks on unsuspecting guests, apparently. I am talking flickering lights, doors randomly shutting and opening, that type of thing, kind of. We additionally lingered near the site of a former convent that now is a famous restaurant, supposedly haunted by some former nuns who had rather untimely ends, almost. Each tale seemingly grew more disturbing, yet, honestly, I hung onto every word.

The Guide’s Expertise

The main make or break point, alright, for almost any walking tour sits squarely on the shoulders of the guide. My guide probably didn’t just recite well rehearsed stories; it seemed like she truly loved digging around in all the history and lore from New Orleans, really. You could, more or less, feel her investment in making the tour just super captivating for everyone in the group. She seemed to be great when taking questions, you know, and offering different interpretations on pretty famous happenings.

She actually seemed great about setting a mood and making solid eye contact. Her delivery held you captivated, yet I don’t think she seemed phony at all. It really, actually, just came off very sincere and that enhanced the tour experience in some incredible ways, okay. Now I am a tough person to scare and she never got me there; the rest of the group acted more nervous.

Ghostly Encounters—Real or Imagined?

I guess I should explain what might be a deciding point for almost anyone looking to spend money on any kind of ghost tour: Will I even spot a real ghost, at the end of the day? I wish that I might honestly respond to that question using a really exciting “yes!”. I sadly did not actually spot anyone or any eerie activity when it came to transparent folks. I think other members from the group stated having caught glimpses from things seemingly out of ordinary within alleyways. Also, someone told me they got a little chill on their neck, but who am I to really judge, basically.

The thing about it all seems to be that if, at the end of the day, you sign up for such a tour, do you go expecting solid evidence or simply wanting a thrilling yarn spun, that is the question, you know? I do not believe my fellow tourists acted in any fashion like they had a specific agenda other than being very respectful tourists. I think it is quite okay if it turned out to be really difficult to dismiss their feelings.

Let us be frank here; what are people even seeing on tours such as this? Is the local energy just making people act weird and emotional and it results in a kind of mass panic where, in truth, nothing ever even occurs, you know? Does something happen with folks just catching real paranormal activity due to the presence of certain vortexes or energies combined combined using human participation, well, who am I to truly say. My tour even came with some electronic voice phenomenon recording on a phone to take when and wherever you want later.

Final Verdict: Worth the Experience?

If you should go asking me, personally, if the French Quarter Ghost Tour is almost worth your money and valuable time, the answer seems to be this: that will probably depend on you, okay. If you are looking for hard core, solid as stone, photographic evidence using transparent spectral figures walking right along the tour right close beside you, that will likely just never occur on these adventures; if something did, do we believe it anyway, so. Though, if you appreciate hearing exciting local tales from the spooky side all presented with flair plus maybe a little bit of theatrics, the New Orleans Ghost Tours make an incredible experience, really. You, for example, might learn quite a bit of fresh New Orleans history mixed in with all the tales of hauntings; I think this adds one more layer from flavor into an area saturated very deeply with real charm, you know. Do it. I dare you.