Looking for NAU student activities that go deeper than the usual list? A ghost tour through downtown Flagstaff is a night out and a history lesson in one, led by locals who have spent years digging through the town’s strangest records. This company started in 2015 with less than $150 and a mother-and-son team, and it has since walked more than 30,000 guests through the mountain town’s dark side.
Who is behind Flagstaff’s original ghost tour?
Freaky Foot Tours was founded in 2015 by Susan Johnson and Nick Jones, a mother and son whose Arizona roots go back five generations. Susan is the research half of the operation: a writer with a knack for uncovering the weird, verifiable corners of Northern Arizona’s past. Susan’s books, including Haunted Flagstaff, Wicked Flagstaff, and The Walkup Family Murders from The History Press, are sold locally, and the careful sourcing behind them is why every story on the tour holds up. The Walkup case, the 1937 tragedy on Leroux Street, hit Susan so hard it became an entire book.
Nick grew up here and handles the community side: partnerships with local coffee shops, galleries, and bars, so tour dollars stay downtown. In 2022 the pair’s research drew national attention when Travel Channel’s The Dead Files came to Flagstaff, and Nick underwent paranormal testing on the episode. That story has a whole post of its own.
Meet Steve: your guide to the unknown
While Susan and Nick handle research and operations, guides carry the show, and Steve "The Heathen" is a Flagstaff favorite. A local with a commanding voice and an offbeat sense of humor, Steve knows every shadowed alley downtown and delivers the gruesome parts with just the right mix of fun and respect. Ask at the end of the walk and Steve will point you toward a favorite local spot for a bite or a drink. Flagstaff’s other guides include Revel the Devil, the goth cowboy guests mention in reviews more than anyone else, and Michelle de los Muertos.
Are the NAU tunnels really haunted?
No. NAU does have underground passages, but they are strictly functional, carrying the steam pipes and chilled water lines that keep campus buildings comfortable, and maintenance crews are the only people who see inside them. Downtown has its own version of the legend: Flagstaff’s historic steam tunnels were sealed shut long ago, and nobody tours them. If someone promises you an underground tour, ask exactly what you will be shown. We dug into the whole subject in our post on Flagstaff’s underground tunnel systems, and it is a good case study in how local myths grow. The documented stories are stranger than the rumors anyway.
Student and group discounts: haunted history on a budget
Students run on thin budgets, and a locally owned company remembers that. NAU students get a discount on Flagstaff ghost tours by showing a student ID at the start of the walk. Planning something for a club, residence hall, or friend group? Large groups get a discount too, and private tours can be arranged, so reach out through the contact page for details.
Questions people ask
Do NAU students get a ghost tour discount?
Yes. Show a valid NAU student ID at the start of any Flagstaff ghost tour and the discount applies. The standard adult rate is $29 for the nightly haunted history tour.
Can a student club book a private tour?
Yes. Clubs, residence halls, and big friend groups can book private walks at a group discount. Send dates and headcount through the contact page and the team will build the night around your group.
Which tour should students start with?
The nightly haunted history tour at 7 PM is the classic first pick. If your whole group is 18 or older, Mountain Town of Madness runs Friday and Saturday at 9 PM with the darker material, and the 21+ pub crawl covers three historic bars in two hours as a private booking for groups.
Walk this story
From Susan’s archives to the guides on the sidewalk, everything about these walks was built in Flagstaff, by people from Flagstaff. The Flagstaff Haunted History Tour leaves nightly at 7 PM, with an 8 PM walk on Friday and Saturday: 75 minutes, $29, student discount with ID. Bring your roommates and see the town behind the campus.
