Best haunted New Orleans tours: Crescent City creepers

Cemeteries, voodoo shops, ghost tours: Find plenty of spirits in The Big Easy. Credit: Dyanna.

By Erin Behan

Whether your New Orleans hotel is in the French Quarter or Garden District, you’re likely staying near (if not in) a haunted spot. New Orleans isn’t called “The Most Haunted City in America” for nothing. This Halloween in New Orleans, we recommend checking out some of New Orleans’ most popular haunted tours.

First up is Bloody Mary’s Tours, headed by a real Bloody Mary (OK, it’s her pen and priestess name). She offers more than just tours –including ghost hunts and voodoo rituals — but it’s her walking tours that you’ll want to jump on. The Tour of the Undead visits a variety of sites, and those 21 and over can enjoy the Haunted Pub Crawl tour — all include plenty of colorful storytelling.

Lord Chaz Ghost and Vampire Tours are as much performance as tour and emphasize spooky stories from the Crescent City. As the name implies, this tour differs from many others in its focus on vampires, and Lord Chaz dresses the part.

The French Quarter Phantoms’ newest tour, True Crime, focuses on New Orleans rich criminal history with tales of the city’s dark underbelly. New Orleans visitors can also get their freak on with a Ghost and VampireTour or a Cemetery Tour.

Theater on the street, you say? Well, that’s New Orleans every day of the year, but you’ll find it especially true at the New Orleans Ghost Tour, which has walks for ghosts, vampires and cemetery history.

The Haunted History Tours of New Orleans’ claim to fame is numerous appearances on TV– A&E, Discovery, the History Channel and MTV to name a few. The company has six different tours, including a voodoo tour that starts at a voodoo shop — just in case you need to pick up a voodoo love doll on your New Orleans vacation.

If you want to go it on your own, try the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum, which runs through the mysteries, secrets and history of New Orleans Voodoo. Or, check out Lafayette Cemetery, which started collecting ghosts in 1833. It’s as famous on-screen as off–having been featured in Anne Rice’s “Interview with a Vampire,” among others. You also won’t want to miss the final resting place of infamous voodoo priestess Marie Laveau; she’s likely buried at St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 in the Giapion family crypt.

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Erin Behan is a freelance writer and editor based in Brooklyn, N.Y., who counts good food, intoxicating drink and adventurous travel among her favorite things.

Tagged: Family time, Hotels