Boston kept its burial grounds right downtown, so its ghost stories sit unusually close to the surface. This guide compares seven ghost tours in the city, a trolley ride, guided walks, a pub crawl and self-guided audio routes, then adds three more we picked up in our July 29, 2026 check, with what each covers and who it suits, so you can match the tour to your evening instead of the other way around. Every price and rating below comes from that check, except for the trolley, the pub crawl and the Gravestones and Gunpowder walk, which we re-checked on August 2, 2026. The sections are not a strict ranking, and the tour we would book first is in the three additions at the end; the full comparison table lives on our Boston city guide.
Why is Boston haunted in the first place?
Age, mostly. Boston's burial grounds, Copp's Hill and the Granary among them, hold centuries of residents, and the streets around them saw revolution, epidemics and darker chapters, from the old hanging tree near the Common to the Boston Strangler. Guides here have real, documented history to build on, which is what separates the good tours from a costume with a script.
1. Boston Ghosts and Gravestones Trolley Tour
The big-production option, and the deepest review record in the city: 4.4 stars across 2,570 reviews, two hours, from $46.20. You ride the Trolley of the Doomed through Boston's haunted streets while a costumed host runs theatrical, informative commentary on the city's darker history, including a stop at Copp's Hill Burying Ground. A good fit if you want the stories without the miles on foot. Two honest notes from the listing: it does not offer wheelchair access, and booking asks for a local Boston hotel or a cell number you can be reached on. Listed until recently as Boston Ghosts and Gravestones Night-Time Trolley Tour.
Book Now: Boston Ghosts and Gravestones Trolley Tour
2. Boston Ghost Past Self-Guided Tour
A go-at-your-own-pace route through Boston's haunted past, delivered through a mobile app with historical narratives and ghost stories at each stop. Sites include a hotel with a claim to being New England's most haunted, the old hanging tree, haunted theaters and several burial grounds. Listed until recently as The Ghosts of Boston's Past Haunted Self-guided Tour.
Book Now: Boston Ghost Past Self-Guided Tour
3. Self-Guided Smartphone Ghost Walking Tour Boston App EMF Reader
Your phone plays guide on this one. Start at 10 1/2 Beacon St and follow turn-by-turn navigation between the city's storied sites while recorded audio handles the ghost stories. No group, no schedule, and you will not miss a stop. Listed until recently as Boston Ghost Tour Self-Guided Smartphone Walk.
Book Now: Self-Guided Smartphone Ghost Walking Tour Boston App EMF Reader
4. Boston's Haunted Historic Streets Walking Tour
A classic guided walk through the historic streets, framed around the history, heroism and horror that shaped Boston. A knowledgeable guide leads the route past some of the strangest and most storied sites downtown, saving the endings for the sidewalks where they happened. Listed until recently as Haunted Boston's Historic Streets Walking Guided Tour.
Book Now: Boston's Haunted Historic Streets Walking Tour
5. Boston Haunted History Self-Guided Walking Audio Tour
Most ghost tours run at night with a crowd. This one hands you more than 60 recorded stories and narrations and lets you walk whenever you like, past landmarks including the Granary Burying Ground and the Boston Opera House. The quiet, daylight-friendly alternative. Listed until recently as Boston Private Self-Guided Haunted History Audio Tour.
Book Now: Boston Haunted History Self-Guided Walking Audio Tour
6. Haunted Boston Booze and Boos Ghost Walking Tour
A 2.5-hour ghost tour and pub crawl in one, led by a costumed Nightly Spirits guide through the historic streets with stops at pubs said to be haunted along the way, and it holds the best rating in our Boston comparison table: 4.6 stars across 161 reviews, from $36.16. It gathers at The Last Hurrah inside the Omni Parker House, 60 School Street, which is the hotel this city names first when the subject is hauntings. Read the age line before you book a group: the listing states "All guests must be 21+ with Valid ID." Listed until recently as Haunted Boston Ghost and Pub Walking Tour.
Book Now: Haunted Boston Booze and Boos Ghost Walking Tour
7. Underground Boston Ghost Tours: Gravestones and Gunpowder
The short one: a single hour in the evening from $26, wheelchair access and strollers both listed. It carries 4.2 stars across 269 reviews, the lowest rating of the Boston tours we checked, and its listing can take 48 hours to confirm, so do not book it for tonight. Listed until recently as Boston Ghosts Haunted Walking Tour.
Book Now: Underground Boston Ghost Tours: Gravestones and Gunpowder
Three more Boston ghost tours worth comparing
Our July 29, 2026 pass through the Boston listings turned up three tours this guide had never covered, and one of them is now the tour we would book first in the city. The Ghosts of Boston Night-Time Walking Tour from Ghost City Tours Boston runs 90 minutes after dark from $29.99 and holds 4.4 stars across 306 reviews, the deepest review record of any Boston walking tour we compared, with wheelchair access and strollers both listed.
The same operator runs the Boston Death and Dying Walking Ghost Tour, 90 minutes in the evening from $34.99 at 4.4 stars across 226 reviews, which takes the harder end of the same city and reads better as a second night than a first. And Haunted Boston Ghost Tours is the cheapest way onto this material at $25 for 90 minutes, 4.5 stars across 163 reviews, and the only Boston listing we found that offers wheelchair accessible transportation as well as wheelchair access and strollers. All three cancel free up to 24 hours before the start.
Questions people ask
Is Boston really haunted?
It has the ingredients: some of the oldest burial grounds in the country, dense centuries of city history, and buildings that watched revolution and tragedy up close. Whether the reported apparitions at places like Copp's Hill hold up is yours to decide, which is half the reason to go.
Are ghost tours in Boston worth it?
If you choose by guide rather than by gimmick, yes, and the numbers back it up: the six tours in our Boston comparison table rate 4.2 to 4.6 and carry more than 3,600 reviews between them. The better Boston ghost tours are history tours with the lights turned down, and even skeptics come away with stories about the city they did not know going in.
What is the most haunted place in Boston?
Ask three guides and you will get three answers, but the burial grounds turn up on nearly every route. Copp's Hill and the Granary anchor most itineraries, with the Common's old hanging tree close behind. The city's own record helps here: Boston lists public hangings among Boston Common's early uses, and the Granary holds the five victims of the Boston Massacre.
How much do Boston ghost tours cost?
From $25 to $46.20 per person. The Gravestones and Gunpowder walk, the pub crawl and the trolley were checked on August 2, 2026; the Ghosts of Boston night walk, the death and dying walk and Haunted Boston Ghost Tours on July 29, 2026. Haunted Boston Ghost Tours starts at $25, the one-hour Gravestones and Gunpowder walk at $26, the Ghosts of Boston night walk at $29.99, the death and dying walk at $34.99, the pub crawl at $36.16, and the trolley tops the range at $46.20. A family of four on the $25 walk runs about $100 before fees.
Should I take a walking tour or the trolley?
Walking puts you on the pavement where the stories happened, and Boston's fall evenings favor layers and comfortable shoes either way. The trolley covers more ground with less effort, which makes it the better pick for mixed groups or tired feet, with two tradeoffs: it is the most expensive tour here at $46.20 and it does not list wheelchair access, while four of the five walking tours in our comparison table do. Book ahead in October; the good departures fill first.
Keep reading
Planning a Southwest trip after New England? Freaky Foot Tours runs walking tours in three Arizona towns; find them on our locations page.
