Ghost Cities · Tennessee
We run walking tours in Arizona, and we research haunted history everywhere. This is our honest local guide to Nashville: the tours worth booking and the stories behind them.
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Our top picks in Nashville
See a new perspective on Nashville on this delightfully spooky, after-dark walking tour. Meet at the Tennessee State Capitol, set off with just a small group for company, and follow your guide: you’ll see local landmarks ranging from supposedly haunted churches and music venues to drinking dens and more. As you go, hear eerie ghost stories, and learn more about Nashville, from the Civil War up to the modern day.
Ideally suited for true crime aficionados, this history-filled evening walk delves into Nashville's brutal past: mobs, murders, hauntings, and brothels. Learn the hidden histories behind the Tennessee State Capitol, hear stories of Nashville's Red Light District at the Hard Rock Cafe, and visit the iconic Ernest Tubb Record Shop, once a Civil War-era hospital.
The Seeking Spirits Haunted Pub Crawl is for ages 21+ and features the truly dark side of Nashville’s transition into becoming the Music City, their role in the Civil War and their former red light district. The crawl stops by haunted bars, hotels, former morgues, and haunted landmarks between bar stops.
More worth a look
Enjoy drinks as you hear ghost stories on this guided walking tour through historic downtown Nashville. Stop at several bars housed in historic buildings and learn about the legends and tales associated with them. This tour offers an interesting twist on the pub crawl. Drinks are at your own expense.
Get the most out of your time in Nashville by combining two experiences, a pub crawl and a sightseeing tour. As you follow your guide around the city, learn about the historic downtown area and its most important sights. The tour passes the Ryman Auditorium and Printer’s Alley with plenty of historical information along the way. As well seeing top landmarks, the tour guide reveals tips on the best pubs and bars in the city.
Nashville sells itself on honky-tonks and the Grand Ole Opry, but the same downtown blocks carry a much older ledger. The Tennessee State Capitol doubles as one of the city's most storied haunted sites, the Ryman Auditorium has decades of reported sightings to go with its music legacy, and Printer's Alley traded its printing presses for nightlife without ever quite shaking its reputation. A short drive out, The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's plantation home, generates some of the most consistent reports in Tennessee.
The tours above are our honest picks, strongest first. Most run in the evening through the historic downtown core, and several fold in the bars, which in Nashville feels only right.
The Ghosts of Nashville walk is the classic pick: a small group leaving from the Tennessee State Capitol, covering supposedly haunted churches, music venues, and drinking dens with Civil War history woven through. True crime fans should book the Murder in Music City walk, built around the still-unidentified killer who stalked the city in the 1880s and the hidden histories of the Capitol, the old Red Light District, and the Ernest Tubb Record Shop, once a Civil War-era hospital.
For a night out with your stories, the Seeking Spirits pub crawl is 21-and-over and covers haunted bars, hotels, former morgues, and landmarks between stops. The Boos and Booze walk takes a similar route at a lighter pitch, and the Honky Tonk sightseeing crawl is the pick if your group wants more Nashville than nightmare, passing the Ryman and Printer's Alley with bar tips along the way.
The Ghosts of Nashville walk meets at the Tennessee State Capitol, and most other routes start in the historic downtown core within a few blocks of Broadway.
Yes. The Murder in Music City walk covers the 1880s murders attributed to an unidentified killer, plus mob history, brothels, and the city's former Red Light District.
The Seeking Spirits crawl is strictly 21-plus. The Boos and Booze and Honky Tonk crawls stop at bars where drinks are your own expense, so bring ID either way.
The Tennessee State Capitol, the Ryman Auditorium, Printer's Alley, and The Hermitage. Each tour picks a different mix, and the stories change depending on who is telling them.
Read our ranked list of the best haunted tours in Nashville, then browse haunted Nashville, things to do in Nashville, and where to stay in Nashville, or see everything we cover in Tennessee.
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