Ghost Tours: Exploring Haunted Places
QuestMagazine.com
A ghost tour (also called a haunted tour or paranormal tour) is a popular attraction in tourist friendly cities in the United States and other countries. They may be referred to as walks instead of tours if the event is conducted solely by foot. Ghost tours consist of tours of haunted places. These are often old haunted houses, hotels, restaurants, pubs, jails, prisons, cemeteries, and graveyards.
Ghostlore and Types of Tours
Many tours emphasize the strange ghostlore and history behind the hauntings. The ghost stories told on these tours combine legends from the distant and recent past. Some tour operators employ electronic devices that they claim can detect the presence of ghosts. The presentation can vary from educational to theatrical with guides sometimes wearing spooky costumes. Some tours are somewhat exotic, featuring sailing ghost tours and haunted pub crawls. Tours focusing on a cemetery or cemeteries are also quite popular. Sometimes ongoing paranormal research is either discussed or incorporated into the tour.
Halloween
Ghost tours have become a Halloween tradition. These tours are put on by both profit and nonprofit organizations such as historical societies and charities. Many nonprofits conduct these tours only during October.
Top 20 Most Haunted Cities in the U.S.
Listed alphabetically
* Albuquerque, New Mexico
* Austin, Texas
* Charleston, South Carolina
* Chicago, Illinois
* Galveston, Texas
* Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
* Hollywood area, Los Angeles, California
* Key West, Florida
* New Orleans, Louisiana
* Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* Phoenix, Arizona
* St. Augustine, Florida
* St. Petersburg, Florida
* Salem, Massachusetts
* San Antonio, Texas
* San Diego, California
* San Francisco, California
* Santa Fe, New Mexico
* Savannah, Georgia
* Tucson, Arizona
See also
Hal Siemer is a historian, folklorist, religious researcher, writer, and the Editor of Quest Magazine. He has done extensive research on legends, the Knights Templar, Freemasonry, ancient mysteries and Halloween and Christmas customs, traditions, and folklore. He founded and was president of a public policy think tank. He previously has worked as a lobbyist for nonprofit organizations and has been a political consultant.
Hal Siemer frequently is a guest on radio talk shows. His writing has appeared in the Dallas Morning News, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Austin Review, and other newspapers.
Hal Siemer's professional society memberships include the:
* American Anthropological Association
* American Folklore Society
* Medieval Academy of America
* Society for the Anthropology of Religion
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