Haunted Evening Horse and Carriage Tour of Charleston

Haunted Evening Horse and Carriage Tour of Charleston is a 40-minute seated ride run by Old South Carriage, booking from $42 per person at our July 30, 2026 check. It boards at the Old South Carriage Company and rolls past four historic sites without stopping at any of them: the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon, Circular Congregational Church, St. Michael's Church and the Charleston City Market. It runs in the evening, no clock time is stated, and you are asked to arrive 15 minutes early to board. Among the 23 Charleston ghost tours we compared it carries the largest review sample by a wide margin, 4.7 across 4,188 reviews, and the shortest run time. It suits anyone who wants the stories without walking, with one large caveat below.

What you will see

The carriage passes the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon, where the usual story is wrong. Pirates were not held in that cellar. Stede Bonnet and his crew were taken in October 1718 and the building did not exist yet: Act No. 957 of April 18, 1767 granted sixty thousand pounds for it, the South Carolina Gazette reported the foundation began to be laid on July 25, 1768, and the work was finished in 1771 (Charleston County Public Library). The 1969 National Register nomination puts the 1718 prisoners in the Court of Guard, an earlier building on the same ground, and calls the basement now shown as the dungeon space for customs business (nomination 69000160). Prison use came later, between 1780 and 1782, and a study reported on August 20, 2012 documented at least 120 people held there, not all patriots and not all in the cellar (study summary). Isaac Hayne was led from this building to the gallows on August 4, 1781 (South Carolina Historical Society).

The Charleston City Market carries the route's other correction. Enslaved people were not sold in these sheds. The market was built and run for meat, fish, poultry and produce; Charleston's sales of human beings happened in the open air on the north side of that same Exchange building, and after the auction ordinance of April 15, 1856 in private enclosed marts, of which Ryan's Mart on Chalmers Street survives (Nic Butler, Charleston County Public Library). Landowners led by Charles Cotesworth Pinckney deeded the city a strip 100 feet wide on March 29, 1788 on condition it establish a public market, the city broke those terms in 1793, renegotiated on August 28, 1804, and the Centre Market of August 1807 is the ancestor of what you pass (the 1788 deed, the 1804 terms). Fire took the headhouse in 1838 and Edward Brickell White's Market Hall followed in 1841 (nomination 73001689).

Circular Congregational Church at 150 Meeting Street holds the older ground: the congregation dates to 1681, and the lane to its meeting house became Meeting House Street, later shortened to Meeting Street. The earliest burial is dated 1695 and the earliest inscribed stone 1729, which the congregation describes carefully as likely the oldest English burial ground still in existence in Charleston, with more than 500 surviving stones naming roughly 730 people (the church on its graveyard). Two things guides get wrong. This is not Robert Mills's round church of 1804 to 1806: that burned in the great fire of December 11, 1861, and today's building dates from 1890 to 1892 (church history). And Lavinia Fisher is not buried here; contemporary accounts place her in a potter's field near the Old City Jail (her case).

St. Michael's Church stands at Broad and Meeting, on ground the first St. Philip's building once held. Its cornerstone was laid on February 17, 1752, construction ran under the builder Samuel Cardy to the first service on February 1, 1761, and the steeple measures about 185 feet (nomination 66000704). The eight bells were cast in London by Lester and Pack in 1764, and George Washington worshipped in pew 43 in 1791 (parish history). The nomination is plain that the architect is unknown, so this is a building in the manner of James Gibbs rather than by him, and it records that the tower was painted black during the Revolution so gunners offshore could not sight the city, and that black against a blue sky proved an even better target. This is the oldest surviving church building in Charleston, though not the oldest congregation, which is St. Philip's. Across all four sites we found no named witness or dated incident behind any apparition claim.

Who it suits

Forty minutes in a seat, four pass-bys, no walking. It is a real option for anyone who would rather not cover ground on foot after dark. It is also the highest from-price of the 21 Charleston tours in our comparison that showed a price, at $42, paired with the shortest run time in the set, so what you pay for is the carriage rather than the clock.

• Skip it if you need step-free access. This seated ride is marked not wheelchair accessible, while most Charleston walking tours we compared are marked accessible.
• Skip it if you want to walk into the Provost Dungeon or a graveyard. Every historic site here is a pass-by.
• Read the age bands before booking for a family: adult 12 to 99, child 4 to 11, nothing below 4.
• Build in the extra quarter hour the listing asks for at boarding.
• Weigh the length. At 40 minutes it is the shortest of the 23 we compared, where 90 minutes is the most common.

How it compares

This is the only horse-drawn carriage tour among the 23 Charleston listings we compared. If the Provost Dungeon is the draw, Charleston Ghost and Dungeon Night-Time Walking Tour with Entry to Provost Dungeon from Bulldog Tours is the only one in the set whose listing includes paid admission to the Provost Dungeon, $40.50 for 90 minutes, though it rates 4.2 across 521 reviews against this ride's 4.7. If step-free access decides it, Charleston's Pleasing Terrors Night-Time Walking Ghost Tour from Old Charleston Tours is marked wheelchair accessible, costs $29 and runs 90 minutes at 4.8 across 1,410 reviews.

Ghosts of Charleston Walking Tour + Unitarian Church Graveyard from Tour Charleston is the other large-sample option, 4.6 across 2,903 reviews at $35.50, and the one whose listing promises access to the Unitarian Church graveyard, but it is not wheelchair accessible either and confirms within 48 hours rather than instantly. For the wider field, see Charleston ghost tours compared and our guide to the best haunted ghost tours in Charleston.

Questions people ask

How long is it and what does it cost?

Forty minutes, from $42 per person at our July 30, 2026 check. Prices move, so confirm the rate on the booking page.

Do you walk at all on this tour?

No. It is a seated horse-drawn carriage ride, and all four historic sites on the itinerary are pass-bys, so nothing on the route is entered on foot.

Is it wheelchair accessible?

No. The listing marks it not wheelchair accessible even though the tour is seated, while most Charleston walking tours in our comparison are marked accessible.

Can children ride?

The listing's age bands are adult 12 to 99 and child 4 to 11, so there is no band below 4.

How early should we arrive?

Fifteen minutes before departure. It runs in the evening and no clock time is stated, so take the time from your booking confirmation.

Were pirates really held in the dungeon it passes?

No. Stede Bonnet and his crew were taken in October 1718 and the Exchange was not built until 1771. The 1969 National Register nomination places them in the Court of Guard, an earlier building on the same site.