If you're visiting Charleston, book a tour with Patricia "Trish" Goron at The Original Ghost Walk Tour. We just finished her tour, and it was easily one of the highlights of our trip. Trish is a true Charleston native, and her stories are based on real local accounts, not a canned script. She even shares photos tied directly to the paranormal history she has experienced and describes. The wildest part. We were standing with her about six feet from a streetlight on a corner. While she was talking, the top of the light pole started shaking, almost violently. There was no wind, and no other poles were moving. Then she asked it to stop, and it did. She acknowledged the paranormal presence and politely asked it to shake again, and it did. She said it was the first time she'd seen that specific physical reaction, and even she was amazed. It was truly a "see it to believe it" moment. By the end, it felt like walking through Charleston with a friend who knows every secret and haunt in town. She is charming, professional, and genuinely local. Support a local expert and skip the big corporate tours. She is the real deal who clearly lives and loves what she does. Cynthia and Peter (Los Angeles) read more

If it were a tour of the coast, it'd be a Coast Tour. I've been on five different ghost tours in Charleston - largely because the people I've come to Charleston with are big fans of ghost tours - but also because why would you not. I mean it's a haunted old beautiful city and I love it. Out of the three that I went on most recently I would say that Ghosts of the South and Ghosts of Charleston we'e both amazing, but Ghost Walk Charleston might be my secret favourite. The hosts of all of them were charismatic and fun and the prices are not bad at all. I don't recommend going in winter because it does get chilly around here at night. The heat of the summer can be a little bit too hot hot in SC, and it gets humid, so go in a moderate climate time of year like spring or fall - that, I think, is the most enjoyable. read more

This had to be the worst experience ever! Terrible tour. Terrible guide. She even showed us fake pics on an iPad to validate her horrible stories. It was so bad that my wife and I walked off on our own halfway through the tour. Don't waste your money on this one! read more

Wish we had read the reviews before we booked this tour. It is exactly as described by the other poor reviews. If you want to stand outside cemeteries and hotels while your guide yells at Robert E Lee, this is the tour for you. We left this tour disappointed. read more

This city is FULL of history and its lurking with all kinds of ghosts and ghouls alike! The tour isn't cheesy, its really frightening and I don't recommend that you take your kids under the age of 12 to this particular outing ...it starts just after the sun sets and the back streets have calmed. The guide is on foot and he/she will take you to the most haunted places.. We visited a few gated cemeteries, some old houses, and an old restaurant where people have spotted a few friends of Casper inside. The best time to go is the fall time when its not too humid outside (perfect for walking around)..Also the leafs change colors and everything in the city just has a more Rustic feel. If you come to the city , this tour is definitely one you should look up and take. If your feeling too frightened before you go..definitely stop by Bubba Gumps and inhale a few drinks before going :) read more

Most bizarre experience I've ever had. We only visited around four spots and could not walk through any cemeteries. My group was shown tons of grainy photos from an iPad and had to look everywhere for Robert E. Lee. The guide imitated a dog standing on its back two legs and howling/barking at the ceiling. We then waited across the street from the Mills Hotel while the guide screamed at Robert E Lee's ghost to show himself. She was also, conveniently, the only one who saw the light flickering. She also did a very offensive imitation of a Gullah woman. Find another tour in Charleston, there are many! read more

To be frank, it was terrible. The only reason I would even give it one star was because it served as a mildly entertaining tour (but for all the wrong reasons). Our tour guide gave us a lot of stories that we not based on any fact whatsoever. Yes, I know it's a ghost tour, but typically there is some historic information regarding the area & events discussed. What was most disturbing was the tour guide's subtle racism (mainly due to ignorance, rather than true bigotry). She compared her childhood nanny to Hattie McDaniels from "Gone With the Wind," even noting they were the exact same color complexion and size. If that wasn't enough, at times she started to speak Gullah as her former mammy. I absolutely couldn't believe it. It's like people who say they can use the N-word simply based on the fact that they have black friends. I'm sorry, but no. A little more discretion and sensitivity should be taken into account. Other than that, there really was very little to be seen. There was information that the tour guide posed to the group as fact, which upon any kind of research at all, was found to be false. The tour guide has been doing this long enough that she should do some fact checking before continuing to charge people for it. My friends and I left this tour talking about everything BUT the information we were given. I would not recommend this absurdity to anyone. Update 6/22/12 : I know for a fact that I am reviewing the correct ghost tour. I still would not recommend it to anyone. read more

The bottom line about the Ghost Walk tour (at least in my opinion) is that it is somewhat entertaining but doesn't really provide too much info in the way of ghosts, hauntings, or even the history of Charleston. Yes, there's some of that in the 90 minute tour, but not a ton of it (though I would imagine this varies by tour guide). I set my bar low for this tour as I hoped only to learn more about Charleston's history given the fact that I have recently moved here. If I got some spookiness thrown in there as a bonus, well then that would be great! Unfortunately, our tour guide provided little in the way of general Charleston history and lore, but rather spoke at length regarding her own history and past experiences. Don't get me wrong--it was entertaining, just not exactly what I was looking for. In terms of talk about ghosts and ghouls, we got to see a bunch of blown up photos of "orbs", Robert E. Lee smoke shadows, and ghostly apparitions that had been taken on previous tours, but were not fortunate enough to bear witness to any of this ourselves. So when all was said and done, I got to take a 90 minute walk around downtown while listening to some mildly entertaining tales and looking at some photos documenting potentially paranormal activity. It wasn't the worst way to spend some time outside on a beautiful evening, but I don't think I would do it again. read more

As a resident of Charleston, this is the my favorite GHOST TOUR ‼possibly my favorite tour in Charleston. See for yourself how our history of yesteryear comes to life with her Native Dialogue! So when I have out of town guests this is one of my favorite activities to book for us. You will never find a more animated and accurate historical tour in Charleston. We locals know our history and Culture is unique and so is this tour!!! It is GHOSTLY GREAT and invariably we are always pleasantly surprised by something supernatural happening on this tour. Let "Trish" enchant you with her very talented story telling while your exploring the Holy City, no one beats her fun and ghostly tour!! I promise you'll be delighted because all my guests talk about their experience for days. Go for it if you Dare read more

Tricia was incredibly knowledgeable, not only about the local ghosts but Charleston's history in general. She really paints a picture with her stories. I truly felt like I was taken back in time. She speaks with passion and excitement. This tour is for everyone! 100% recommended. read more

Is just plain fun. You walk around downtown Charleston at night with a tour guide. Because Charleston is famed to be "haunted", the tour guide takes you to various cemeteries and landmarks via dimly lit alleyways and one way streets telling you of ghostly sightings and unusual haunting tales. It is a blast and a fun way to see Charleston like you probably wouldn't otherwise. It's especially fun if you had a few adult beverages prior to the tour. read more

When one signs up for a ghost walk of a beautiful historic city, one is usually expecting to hear, I don't know, ghost stories and/or, say, legends, and possibly see some old buildings and graveyards. If that's what you'd like, find a different tour. However, if what you're hoping for is to see a bunch of grainy photographs of fuzzy white dots, hear racist impersonations of people of color, and be part of a group of otherwise intelligent people staring at a lamp to see if Robert E. Lee will make it flicker, you're in the right place. I was deeply disappointed in this tour, and feel cheated of the $60 my group collectively spent. People come to Charleston for the history and beautiful architecture--not to hear about the remarkably unvaried ways in which electrical equipment apparently sometimes fails in one woman's general vicinity. We went to, I think, a total of 4 stops. This included standing outside two graveyards (while watching another tour group explore one, which this company apparently didn't have permission to do), vaguely almost seeing a historical building, and then sitting in the Mills House Hotel. At every stop, we got maybe 30 seconds of an actual ghost story or history, then 5-10 minutes of "And I was like, woooaaaaahhh!" and "those orbs are faces!" and "ancient African magic" (because there's nothing wrong with essentializing people of color as more authentic, foreign, and primitive) and "Did that light flicker, or was it just me?" I feel that she genuinely believes the stories she tells, so I don't want to give the impression that she's maliciously leading the group on, but being evangelized to--and with such dull, nonsensical anecdotes--is really not what such a tour should be about. I wish we'd slipped off and gone exploring on our own--it would have been a better use of our time. I would just like to add two last things: 1) Yes, I am definitely sure I'm writing about the right tour. I read the other reviews, and they describe the tour exactly, right down to the bank machine. I also double and triple-checked the name, just to be sure. 2) I find the vague, similarly phrased, hyper-enthusiastic and repetitive reviews a bit suspicious. I find this even more suspicious when paired with the defensive "I called everyone else in your tour and they all liked it" responses on tripadvisor to negative reviews, and the fact that there are some very genuine sounding negative reviews here on Yelp (ones that match EXACTLY with my experience) that are being written off as "about the wrong tour." I mean, basic survey methodology, folks. If you call someone personally and ask them if they liked a tour you led, unless they're sociopathic or ballsy as hell, they're going to tell the polite lie and say yes. We saw two people quietly sneak off mid-tour. There are some problems here. Oh, yeah, and I'm a Charleston native. For the record. read more

This tour was an absolute joke. We only visited 4 sites in an hour and a half. It was a complete waste of money and absolutely boring. At one point I actually quit paying attention because her stories made no sense. The tour guide focused on taking photographs with orbs the entire night and told us maybe two actual ghost stories that weren't even good. She even attempted to tell us a story in gullah (poorly) and didn't teach us anything new about Charleston. I was so disappointed after reading the other reviews on here. Unless you want a lackluster tour that you can make fun of for years to come, don't waste your money or your time. read more

An entertaining and educational tour of downtown Charleston with incredibly interesting stories about ghosts that have been said to haunt local sites. Be sure to get John, a life-long Charlestonian as your guide. He was great. read more

Good tour. Just was a little out there for my taste. Stories were hard to understand because of the tour guide's "story voice". Overall good but I would not do it again. read more

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the ghost tour. It was very informative and our guide was super knowledgeable about the history of Charleston. read more

I took two teenagers on the ghost walk with Tricia and they enjoyed it as much as I did. She was very knowledgeable about the history of Charleston as well as the ghost that haunt it. We really had a great time. A must do while you're in the area. read more

The Charleston Ghost Walk, was, in my experience, quite informative and very enjoyable. Our guide Trisha, was dressed in a pirate costume that had me thinking of days of swashbucklers. She opened my eyes to a whole host of new characters from this very historic coastal city. There were photographs of spirits taken by other customers on her past tours, plus there were older images as well. It was a fun evening. I would recommend this Ghost Tour to anyone, tourist or local alike. Pays you money an takes you chances. You will not be disappointed in my opinion. And I am a gal who really likes to have fun in life. read more

This was the worst ghost tour we have ever taken. Our guide spent the entire tour talking abou her family. There were no ghost stories. She passed around some pictures outside two cemeteries. other tours got to go inside. When she had us stand outside a bak ATM and wait to hear the haunted vacuum tubes we left. This tour is a complete waste of time and money. There are far better choices out there. read more

I took a group of 3rd and 4th graders on a tour with Ghost Walk and I have to say they absolutely loved it. They were totally captivated by our tour guide, Ms. Trish. She even came in full pirate attire. She gave interesting historic facts and told stories which I know to be true as I have lived in Charleston all my life and have studied history for many years. The children couldn't stop talking about the awesome tour and have asked to do it again. I can honestly say, we will, and you should, too. read more

We had originally picked another Ghost Tour, but it was canceled due to the prospect of rain so we picked this one. Our tour guide, Tricia, was very entertaining and knowledgeable. She told several ghost stories along with bits of history of Charleston. Tricia also showed pictures of ghosts and orbs that previous tourists had taken. Both my husband and I have bad backs and it was a fairly easy walk for the both of us. The effects that she told us to watch for (flickering lights in two locations) never occured, but non the less, we thoroughly enjoyed the tour. read more

Ghostwalk with Tricia Goron is THE BEST ! She knows her history and her legends, and she makes those Charleston ghosts COME ALIVE! You can't go wrong on this tour! Informative, exciting, and FUN !! read more

This tour was horrible. No graveyards, terrible stories. The tour guide seemed too scared to do her job. Please do not waste your money. We have done several other tours through bulldog tours and they were so much better. read more

Our tour guide was named Trisha and she was wonderful. She really gets into character and makes it fun. The tour is very educational and not scary at all. Kids would have had no problem on this tour, in fact they may have been a lil bored because its more educational then spooky. Its a great way to get out and explore the city. read more

In the summer of 2012 I was the head camp coordinator at a Nike Tennis Camp in Charleston, South Carolina. One of my responsibilities was getting the overnight campers night activities planned out and coordinated. So when looking into the different tours that Charleston offered there was a huge variety. From the boat tours, the harbor tours, inner city tours, ghost tours and many other tour options it was a lot to choose from. After thinking about what most kids would find a little more interesting and less mundane I decided to go with the ghost tour. I chose this because it's not every day you get a chance to have a history lesson with a little fun; or a lesson on Charleston's ghostly past, whichever you believe. In the end it proved to be a great choice of a trip. The mode of transportation that was used for the trip was by foot. We got the chance to walk from ghost siting to ghost siting. Everything was within a few hundred yards walk at the furthest. There were several different interactions that we had with our tour guide that were a combination of both negative and positive. One of the great things about the tour was that the guide was very dedicated into her work. When she gave all of the detail of each site she was geared into what she was saying and in the end had some of us actually starting to think if these ghost were real? But interaction within itself was how when you took a picture across from the cemetery over the said haunted graves light orbs showed up. What was crazy was that it happened with everyone's phone at the dead of night with no lights within 40 yards of us. Being pitch black and seeing that kind ghostly representation was beyond cool. Regardless of what was behind it, I think that made the trip. Only negative experience we had with the tour guide was that she was very critical to the ones that were cutting up slightly during the trip. I was understanding that it was rude, but the manner the guide took in telling the boys what she thought about their joking could have been handled more appropriately. The service that we received for the tour was well worth the money. The way the tour was handled and the fun while still serious tone it took made it all worthwhile. As well as all of the kids enjoying it which was the main goal of the tour. As for how this experience impacted myself, it made me see another side of the hospitality industry. Was very fun being able to go on such a seemingly controversial type of tour and see what fun it can bring. As for the city of Charleston it showed me that there is a whole other life outside of what seems normal to see. Ghost tours are not the most ordinary tours around. One of the last points to come to is the impact on the local community that they have. One definite impact they have is the preservation of certain landmarks that they use in the tour. As well keeping the path that we use constantly clean (she made sure we helped with that). They were also supporting all of the local eateries and shops in the area along the tour. Two of our pit stops happened to be in a local ice cream store and the finish was at a local pub restaurant. I did enjoy seeing the locals help out the locals. As a whole I enjoyed everything about the tour. I have used it since I attended the tour and it was all the same as my first experience if not parts that made me appreciate it even more so. It's a quality experience in a quality city. read more

This tour is a complete waste of money. History that was quoted was completely wrong. She tried speaking Gullah and not only explained the language incorrectly but spoke it incorrectly. Perhaps she should check to see if anyone is a dialect and language expert before attempting. Pictures were shown to us on an iPad which included those found on the Internet (any idiot can pull those pics up). If we had wanted to hear about our guides childhood it would have been one thing, but we did not. We were taken to some graveyards, a house, and hotel that was it. Tour started late and ended early. Pretty much consisted of walking around a block. Complete waste of time. read more

This was interesting for a story or two but not more. The person leading this was a good story teller but should really not try for a southern drawl and please remember where she is doing a tour. When you speak of the works of a noted southern writer, it is really not appropriate to say it is a shame that he was a person from confederate states and not from union states. Another interesting note--the tour starts at an Irish Pub (Tommy Condons). We dressed up as the Sanderson Sisters as it is near Halloween and a ghost tour. It just so happened that there was a costume contest at the restaurant and everyone loved our costumes. The judging was supposed to be at 10PM, the tour was to begin at 8PM and last 90 minutes so we should be back in plenty of time for the contest. The owner of the tour company kept postponing the tour to wait on people who were late getting there. We finally got underway at 8:45PM, were rushed through the tour to get back for the contest, and returned to find that the contest had been moved to 9:30PM. WOW! Well, guess who WON THE CONTEST--the owner of the tour company!!! Can we say that there is something wrong with this picture? read more

very informatiive, no acting or drama by the tour guide, very intimate stops along the way i did not feel rushed, the guide was excellent and told the stories well, this was my first ghost tour ever and now i try to go on them in what ever city i visit when possible, great odd historical facts and the lavinnia fisher story is CRAZY cool pirate history as well, would highly recommend this tour read more