This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy for more information.
We want to thank Ghosts and Gravestones Boston for sponsoring our tour. As always, all views are honest and our own.
One of our favorite things to do when visiting a new city is to take a ghost tour, and one of our favorite ghost tour providers is Ghosts and Gravestones. I’m not just saying that because they sponsored our visit. We first encountered Ghosts and Gravestones in St. Augustine, Florida, long before we started blogging about our travels. We were drawn to the experience for the first time because we were looking for an evening activity, and the Trolleys of the Doomed caught our attention. Ghost stories on a trolley? Sign us up! To read about that first trolley tour, click here.
Ghost tours can be a family affair, but you may want to ask some questions before you book. Some tours are more intense than others. We’ve had good experiences with Ghsots and Gravesones. Since our first tour in St. Augustine, we’ve done the tours in Savannah and San Diego. After doing the Boston tour, we have only one Ghosts and Gravestones tour left to do–Key West. Someday goals! And if they add more cities, we would love to do them. We’ve done other ghost tours besides these, but there’s just something special about Ghosts and Gravestones.
The Tour Meetup
We arranged our Ghosts and Gravestones tour as part of our East Coast road trip in 2023. I fell in love with Boston and its history. It was kind of like running into an old friend since Boston is such a huge part of early American history; it was awesome to see places I’d only read about or seen as settings in movies.
We chose to stay close to the attractions we hoped to experience. Harborside Inn was an affordable option for us, especially because we selected one of the “windowless double queen rooms.” Parking is off-site, but once the car was parked, we didn’t use it again until we checked out and continued our road trip.
As you can see on the map below, Harborside Inn is right across the street from the Ghosts and Gravestones departure site. It’s also a hub for the Old Town Trolley Tour, which is a hop-on-hop-off trolley operated by the same company.
We were also across the street from the New England Aquarium, which we visited. Through the aquarium and Boston City Cruises, we also took a whale-watching tour that departed from a dock adjacent to the aquarium. In the other direction, you are across the street from the Black Rose Irish pub. Continuing a few blocks west, you’ll find yourself at Quincy Market, Faneuil Hall, and the Freedom Trail.
We had a great stay at Harborside Inn; it was super convenient to step out the front door and start exploring!
When it was time for our tour, we walked out, crossed the street, and found the meet-up area for Ghosts and Gravestones.
This was by far the busiest Ghosts and Gravestones tour we’ve ever done. There were several trolleys preparing to board, and a lot of people were in line. This is a tour you probably want to plan in advance in high tourist times of the year. Luckily, we had some characters roaming for pre-boarding entertainment.
Typically, Ghosts and Gravestones travel with their Trolleys of the Doomed.
We happened to get an Old Town Trolley this time. The only difference is the decoration. We had to get a pre-tour selfie.
The Tour Begins
Our tour guide was amazing! One of the things we love about Ghosts and Gravestones is that the guides really get into character. They dress up, they tell engaging stories, and they have a flair for the dramatic, whatever that means for the character.
The North End
Our tour began with a drive to the North End, known for its Italian-American neighborhoods. We explored this area on our own the following day, but this was our first glimpse.
Copp’s Hill Burying Ground
Our first stop brought us to Copp’s Hill Burying Ground in the North End.
This site on the Freedom Trail is named for shoemaker William Copp. Many people are buried here, and our guide said many graves are on top of other graves, but maybe the most famous person buried here is Cotton Mather.
The cemetery sits on a hilltop and was used by the British to fire cannons during the Battle of Bunker Hill. You can see the Bunker Hill monument from here.
Since the cemetery closes in the early evening, it’s cool that the tour takes you there after hours, especially in the summer when temperatures are cooler. Our guide said that Ghosts and Gravestones is the only tour that has an agreement to enter the burying ground after hours. During the day, you can enter the gates as a destination of the Freedom Trail.
I loved exploring this cemetery. As a Midwestern girl, it’s fascinating to see the old stones, although I know that people from countries outside of the U.S. would laugh at what I describe as “old.” I also realize that there were many indigenous people across our continent who have left pieces of their stories behind.
We couldn’t resist breaking out our EMF reader. I don’t remember getting any significant readings here.
Copp’s Burying Ground is truly a beautiful place to visit, whether on a ghost tour or otherwise. Our guide told us stories as we wound our way through the cemetery.
Massachusetts State House
Soon, we boarded the trolley and continued the tour. Night fell as our guide continued to tell stories and point out landmarks. Our trolley dropped us off near Boston Common and the Massachusetts State House. Yippee! We added another capitol building to our U.S. capitol crawl!
Boston Common
Our guide took us on some paths in Boston Common. The Freedom Trail carves a route right through the park.
Sometimes people comment about Boston Common’s safety, especially at night. We stayed near the northeast section where there were a lot of people around, so it felt fine. Always stay alert, of course.
Park Street Church
After we had a taste of Boston Common, we made our way toward Granary Burying Ground. As we strolled along, we got to see Park Street Church.
Granary Burying Ground
One thing I love about Ghosts and Gravestones is that they often add an experience with another guide or actor that I’ve found to be unique to this company. This tour was no different.
When we arrived at the Granary Burying Ground, this was waiting for us.
He led us over to the gravesite of Paul Revere to continue the storytelling of the tour.
Here is a close-up of Paul Revere’s stone. Other famous people buried here include John Hancock and Samuel Adams. The presentation here is a highlight for sure.
Driving Through Beacon Hill and Stopping at Omni Parker House
After visiting Granary Burying Ground, we hopped back onto our trolley and finished up the tour. While in traffic, we saw another Ghosts and Gravestones tour in progress.
We dropped some members of our tour off near the Omni Parker House Hotel, which is commonly known as Boston’s most haunted hotel. We didn’t get to go inside, but he heard some stories before some of the members of our tour had to return to their lodging for the evening. Not unsettling at all!
Back Where We Started
We stayed on the trolley until it returned to the pickup point.
As we walked back to our hotel, we had a nice view of the Custom House Tower. Since the hotel was nearby, it wasn’t long before we found ourselves in our room, cozy and ready for bed.
Our tour with Ghosts and Gravestones in Boston was one of my favorite tours we’ve done, ghost or otherwise. It’s always fun to hop a trolley so you can cover more territory, and I love experiencing the history of an area, especially with a ghostly spin. Plus, in the summer, you can’t beat getting to see some sites in the cooler temperature of the evening, and a ghost tour can often be the only access after hours.
If you’re in the Boston area, book a Ghosts and Gravestones tour. We were also given tickets to the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum, as well as a day pass for the Old Town Trolley. All of these experiences helped make our first visit to Boston fantastic! To read more about our Boston Tea Party experience, click here.
Click the links below to read about other adventures we had on this road trip.
Evening Monument Tour in Washington, D.C.
Plymouth Rock and Plimoth Patuxet Museums
