Charleston Haunted Jail Night-Time Walking Tour with Admission to Old City Jail
Description
Join us for a memorable tour of the ground level of the Old City Jail, which housed some of Charleston’s most infamous criminals, 19th-century pirates, and Civil War prisoners. Located on Magazine Street downtown, the Old City Jail operated from 1802 until 1939, and has recently undergone renovation, leaving the first floor in keeping with its original design (with the welcomed addition of air conditioning). Bulldog Tours, exclusively, guides guests through the cells, hallways and places where Charleston’s earliest criminals lived. Get a glimpse of how the incarcerated were mistreated with primitive forms of torture while living in miserable conditions. Hear stories like the legend of Lavinia Fisher, the jail’s most famous inmate and first female serial killer. Since Bulldog's first tour of this storied place in 2004, guests have returned again and again to make their own discoveries about what has transpired in this historic site. PLEASE NOTE THIS TOUR IS FOR 10 AND UP ONLY.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The Haunted Jail Tour takes you through the cells, hallways, and into the places where Charleston’s worst criminals lived and died. Brace yourself as you hear stories like the legend of Lavinia and John Fisher, hotel owners from the 1800s who supposedly poisoned their guests. Featured on such shows as Ghost Adventures, the story goes that Lavinia’s ghost still, very audibly, haunts the premises. This Haunted Jail Tour is quite possibly the scariest place you will ever go! Open often to the public for arts events, the jail even gives locals an eerie chill down the spine as soon as one steps foot into the space. Visitors go as far to say they’ve seen objects move or even disappear, while others hear voices, the slamming of doors, or chains as they’re allegedly dragged against the floor of the jail.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(700)
Very informative but at times it seemed a bit staged. Our tour guide was great and he seemed to have a real passion for what he does. Overall a reasonable experience but not a good value for the admission fee
Hello, We are sorry to hear that the tour did not meet your expectations. We appreciate your kind words about your guide. We have no problem offering a refund for the tour. Please feel free to reach out to me at andrew@bulldogtours.com to discuss further.
So I have been on this tour about 8 years ago at that time you could tour the other floors and it was spooky and cool and the vibe was there for a ghost tour/story telling. My daughter didn’t get to do it 8 years ago and wanted to do this tour. So I booked it. The jail has since been made into an event space only the bottom/basement floor can be shown and they set up little reenactments and tell stories. There was a wedding happening while on this ‘tour’. Tour is used lightly since you visit three rooms. And we could quite clearly hear the very cheerful vibrant party happening up stairs. Killed the spooky vibe one wants on a ghost tour. I think it’s great to get some use and remodeling out of this space. But move on from the ghost tour if it can’t be done. It was 45 mins of story telling for $45 while listening to ‘Staying Alive’ and the ‘Electric slide’. Just not the energy I wanted from a ghost tour
Super fun! Loved our tour guide Harper and we learned so much. Very chilling experience but would definitely recommend and go again
Such a good tour. An hour of great stories that are very haunting and historical. We booked in the evening so it would be very dark and it did not disappoint. Definitely a great add to the list for activities.
Thanks for the recommendation!
Jack was a great leader! So much information was given to us in a fun and haunting way! Definitely recommend
Thank you for the 5-star review, Bella!
Sarah, our guide was excellent. Her knowledge and experiences were spooky and reassuring. We would definitely recommend to friends and strangers alike. May the ghosts rest in peace.
Thank you so much for joining us and for your kind words about Sarah!
This is not really a “haunted tour” it’s really just a tour of a prison. The history of what happened there is interesting and the guide was good. Its not scary :)
Thank you for your feedback, Kim!
Wish the tour was a little longer for the price. Our guide was fun and entertaining but we had a drunk girl approach our carriage and harass the guide about the horses being mistreated and kinda put a damper on the experience.
Hello, this review is in the wrong place. We are a walking tour company and do not do carriage tours. We are sorry to hear that someone was harassing the tour though!
Very interesting and fun! Cool experience with a great tour guide. Also, in a nice location that you can walk to a restaurant afterwards or do some shopping.
Thanks for joining us, Nicole!
This was a fun tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable of the history of the jail. I am a bit of a scaredy cat so I’m glad we did not see or hear anything. My teens liked this tour too. Fun thing to do in Charleston. Just wear sneakers
We appreciate your feedback! Glad to hear everyone enjoyed!
