Haunted Night Bus Tour with Cemetery Visit New Orleans

Haunted New Orleans after dark

New Orleans has a reputation as one of the most haunted cities in America, and a haunted night tour is the best way to hear why. Founded in 1718, the city has lived through fires, epidemics, floods and war, and every era has left its stories. Your licensed guide tells them in a lively, spooky way, from old houses in the French Quarter to legends of restless spirits in the cemeteries.

The tour is by bus, so you cover a lot of ground in two hours without long walks in the dark. If you are searching for a ghost tour in New Orleans that is more than a stroll, this evening ride mixes history with atmosphere and gives you a real sense of the darker side of the city, told by someone who lives here.

Above-ground cemeteries: the cities of the dead

The most striking sight of the tour is the cemetery. New Orleans sits close to the water table, so for centuries the dead have been placed in tombs above ground, in rows of whitewashed vaults that look like small houses. The guide explains the burial customs, the family tombs and the benevolent societies that looked after their members, which is why the neighbourhood cemeteries are nicknamed the cities of the dead.

You step inside an above-ground cemetery with access arranged for our tour, and you have time to walk between the tombs with the guide. A New Orleans cemetery tour at night feels very different from a daytime visit, so wear comfortable shoes and keep to the group. Please be respectful, as these are real burial places for local families.

Mid-City, the hurricane memorial and the fever cemeteries

Beyond the French Quarter the bus travels through Mid-City, where several historic cemeteries sit side by side. You drive past the memorial that honours victims of Hurricane Katrina, and past a historic cemetery associated with the city's charity hospital, where many yellow fever victims were buried in the nineteenth century. Another Irish parish cemetery nearby shows how different communities built their own resting places.

These stops give the tour weight as well as thrills. The guide explains how the epidemics changed the city and how the storm is remembered today. It is a haunted history tour in the fullest sense, with ghost stories on one side and real events on the other, and the mix keeps the evening interesting for adults.

Ghost hunting with EMF readers, and planning your night

During the visit your guide explains how an EMF reader detects changes in electromagnetic fields, and how paranormal investigators use one to look for the unexplained. Each guest can try the readers, and you can ask to see pictures of unexplained lights and shadows that earlier groups captured. Whether you believe or not, it adds a fun, hands-on touch.

The tour lasts about two hours and departs in the evening; the booking panel shows the times available. Arrive 30 minutes early at the meeting point in New Orleans, wear comfortable shoes and bring a light jacket. Children under 10 are not suitable for this tour. Hotel pickup, food and drinks, and tips are not included.