Did you like telling ghost stories as a kid? Enjoy a good scary movie? The West is full of ghosts and haunted houses, and these are a few of my favorites.
CALIFORNIA GHOST TOURS
- Winchester Mystery House, San Jose: Sarah Winchester's rambling house, where she once met with the spirits nightly, now hosts flashlight tours every Friday the thirteenth and at Halloween.
- Queen Mary, Long Beach: The Queen Mary could be one of California's most-haunted places, with over a dozen reported apparitions and sightings. Learn about them on the daily Ghosts and Legends Tour and special Friday dinner tours with paranormal researcher Peter James.
- San Francisco Vampire Tour: Don’t be alarmed if you find a vampire walking the streets of San Francisco's Nob Hill. No doubt it's playwright Kitty Burns in her role as 127-year-old Mina Harker, leading a tour of the posh neighborhood.
NEW MEXICO GHOST TOURS
- Santa Fe Ghostwalker: When I took the Santa Fe Ghostwalker Tour, it felt like an evening with a favorite aunt, telling ghost stories. Learn about La Llorona, witches and headless horsemen.
- New Mexico Ghost Tours, Albuquerque: Old Town Albuquerque is a good place to go ghost-hunting, and New Mexico Ghost Tours says "Vengeful lovers, murdered soldiers and mysterious specters await those who are brave enough to explore the secrets that lie within Old Town's darkest corners." The fact that their guides are trained paranormal investigators makes the stories they tell all the more creepy.
WASHINGTON GHOST TOURS
Seattle's Private Eye Tours is not recommended. The two-minute glimpse of downtown at night is spectacular but the tour's guide is uninspiring and pedantic.
