Old Louisville Ghost Tour as Recommended by The New York Times @ 4th and Ormsby
Description
As seen on HBO's MURDER IN GLITTERBALL CITY! Impressive Victorian mansions and quirky residents have earned national attention for Old Louisville, where bourbon barons, racetrack royalty, and titans of tobacco settled in the 1800s. This narrated walk comes from books by David Dominé, who often guides groups himself. Tales involve personal experiences and neighborhood legend, as well as the story at the heart A DARK ROOM IN GLITTER BALL CITY, the true-crime memoir that inspired the HBO series! Specializing in "America's Most Haunted Neighborhood," we depart from the corner of Fourth and Ormsby, at the transitional edge of the neighborhood. If you love beautiful architecture and spooky history, this is the tour for you! If you do not like a diverse, up-and-coming neighborhood, or can't go 2 hours without a bathroom, this is not for you! The New York Times recommends our tours as the first thing to do during a visitor's "36 Hours in Louisville." Locally owned and operated since 2004.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Recommended by The New York Times, Louisville Historic Tours has specialized in guided walks through "America's Most Haunted Neighborhood" since 2004. Once home to bourbon barons, racetrack royalty, and titans of tobacco, this transitional neighborhood has a wealth of ghostly lore that attracts supernatural buffs from all around the world. Centered around Olmsted-designed Central Park and the charming residential enclave of St. James Court, this 40-square block historic district is jam-packed with Gilded Age grandeur and hundreds of spooky Victorian mansions. Best-selling author David Dominé loves showing off the neighborhood and sharing stories about his favorite allegedly haunted houses. Come and see what all the buzz is about! IMPORTANT NOTE: On our tours, you might see things you would see in any larger city across the US; this includes homeless people, panhandlers, or others who do not look like you. If you do not like a diverse neighborhood, this is not the tour for you.
Completed in 1905, the Ferguson Mansion only saw one family reside there in its intended capacity. In the 1920s, it became a well-known funeral home and remained as such until the 1980s, when "The Filson" moved its headquarters there. Contact their front desk to find out how to get inside.
Constructed in the 1890s, "Conrad's Castle" is an impressive limestone Richardsonian Romanesque mansion the typifies Kentucky's Gilded Age. If you sign up for one of their tours (highly recommended!), be forewarned: you might encounter a ghost - or five.
Designed by the same genius behind New York City's famous Central Park, this 14-acre green space is the breathing heart of Old Louisville. At night, it can be kind of spooky.
Hear the story of why this tree is so gnarly and twisted, and why people adorn it with trinkets, beads, and good luck charms!
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Wheelchair accessible
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- FYI The starting point is in a transitional area where you might encounter panhandlers, homeless people, and people who don't look like you.
- MUST BE ABLE TO WALK 2 HOURS WITHOUT A BATHROOM BREAK!
- Not recommended for visitors who have trouble walking longer distances
Reviews(1,262)
We had a great walking tour with Harlan. She was well versed in the history of old Louisville including several ghost stories. It was interesting to find out that we were walking on the opposite side of the road as the Witches Tree because the local witches were actively putting curses on people. Apparently, the coven has their own Instagram page. Who knew? Definitely a fun and interesting evening.
Thanks so much for joining Harlan on her Old Louisville Ghost Tour! We knew about the Witches' Tree Facebook page, but we will have to check out their instagram now!
Harlan and Angelique are incredible guides. They play off each others personalities and knowledge well and I learned so much about the haunted history of the neighborhood. So weird I went my whole life in louisville and never knew how cool old louisville is! Recommend Harlan and Angelique tour any day.
Thanks so much! We're glad you had such a good time with Angelique and Harlan in Old Louisville!
A fantastic tour that goes well beyond the basic history you might have already heard about the area over the years. The tour guide - Harlan - was engaging, interactive, fun, and knowledgeable and makes the tour a must see event.
Thank you for joining Harlan in Old Louisville on her ghost tour!
It was more a tour of the neighborhood and people that used to live there than a ghost tour. Our guide spoke at length of the normal lives they lived, sometimes included how they died, and didn’t give a reason or any evidence for haunting. If they advertised it for what it is I think it’d be fine. That said groups were leaving early, and the tour guide (Angelic) should handle that professionally. She did not and made people in our group uncomfortable
Good morning, I'm sorry the tour wasn't what you were hoping for. We always encourage guests to contact the owner directly with any concerns so we have the opportunity to make things right. Our Old Louisville Ghost Tour is advertised as a haunted history tour, combining neighborhood history, architecture, and ghost stories. Many of those stories focus on the people believed to haunt these historic homes and the events behind the legends. Your group was the only one to leave early after expressing disappointment that we could not guarantee seeing actual ghosts—something no ghost tour can promise. When the tour was interrupted mid-story, I explained this so the rest of the group could continue enjoying the experience. The others in the group expressed their relief when you left. Please feel free to reach out to me directly as well. I haven't been able to determine which name your reservation was under and it would be helpful. Thank you.
Angelique was a great tour guide and a fabulous historian and story teller! The beautiful homes and neighborhood we toured a big plus. Highly recommend this tour when you're in Louisville.
Thanks for your kind words! We're glad you had a nice time with Angelique.
Angelique is a gifted story teller and local expert on paranormal. If only it hadn’t been so incredible hot we would have loved it even more. She made us want to learn even more and when we returned to our hotel we researched more of her tales!
Thank you so much for joining me in hot Old Louisville and being such a trooper in the heatwave! Hope to see y'all in the fall!
Angelique was a great tour guide. She is a local resident, knows the lore and history, and has 1st hand experience that she shares. I wish we could have gone in to some of the houses but as we learned on tour, that only happens once a year.
Hi! Thank You for joining our walking tour in Old Louisville, we appreciate y'all ! There are 2 houses that do have year-round tours and are Haunted: The Conrad-Caldwell House Museum and The Filson Historical Society. Those are during the day , so we hope you'll come back! Also the Conrad-Caldwell House Museum is now available for rentals for ghost hunts!
Esas stroll trough old Louisville with many ghosts but not much history. Houses in that area are beautiful, thus the tour is worth it for ghost stories and architecture
Thanks, but it is a ghost tour, so the emphasize is on GHOST stories, but there is a lot of history included as well. Most of the stories are actual stories based on historical events.
The tour was really fun. The guide had great stories about Old Louisville. The walk was easy pace and went by fast.
Lots of good local history, beautiful houses to look at. We went in July and the gardens of Old Louisville were awesome. The tour guide, Angelique, was very friendly and knowledgeable and had a cool vibe. The Witches Tree was a very cool part of Louisville lore that I did not know. So I learned something. The tour itself is too long. The tour is NOT disability or mobility friendly, so keep that in mind if you have any type of mobility issue. And the guide will not wait for you to catch up, so if you have mobility issues you will miss some of the stories. It was fun walking with other travelers.
Thank you for joining Angelique in Old Louisville! Yes, as stated in the tour description, this is a walking tour and is not recommended for people with mobility issues.
