Taking Gordon's ghost tour through Greenwich Village was an eerie delight! His wealth of historical knowledge was both informative and spine-tingling, making it a memorable night in the heart of NYC. read more

Can you give this 0 stars? We did the tour of the east village and rather than retype out what I sent in email and never received a response to I will just copy & paste here. Mind you - I never asked for a refund in my email, but a response saying they'd address the issue would have been useful. Yet here we are. So NO - I do not recommend this!! "Good morning, I am reaching out regarding the booking listed in the subject line above. We met with our tour guide last night, an older gentleman in his 70's, that I cannot even tell you his name because we could not hear a word he said. We booked this ghost tour with anticipation of having great spooky stories around East Village NY while on my sisters bachelorette trip (which I specified in the booking reason when we booked). However, immediately we were disappointed by the tour guide assigned to us. So much so, that we tipped him for his efforts and bailed on the tour within 45 minutes of the tour starting. We are VERY disappointed and likely will not recommend this tour as we spent a good deal of money for it and did not enjoy a single second of the tour. I felt it was important that we let you all know because we do not want any of your future booking to be as disappointed as we were. We are seasoned ghost tour guests and know what to expect, but none of this was met in the even short time we were on the tour. Thank you" read more

we had Gordon tonight as our guide! he was so sweet and told us lots of stories! love him!!!!

Glenn was an amazing tour guide! He is very engaging, intelligent and a great story teller about these real historical and tragic stories. Some of which are Edgar Allen Poe's house, Mark Twain in Death House, The Hangman's Elm, The Gay Street Phantom and a lot more. It was my first ghost tour, and I don't really believe in ghosts, but the eerie historical stories and facts reeled me in, kept me engaged and a little spooked. Also, we originally wanted to go on the tour the weekend before, but due to a snow storm we were able to reschedule any day for an extra $5. read more

I went on the Edgar Allan Poe and His Ghostly Neighbors of Greenwich Village tour with my fiance. First off, Dr. Phil did not give the tour but just followed us while the tour guide gave the tour. I don't know if this guy was new or not, but he was extremely repetitive. Some of the facts were interesting but the way they were presented made it extremely boring. The guide kept talking negatively about NYU, where my fiance goes to school, which I found a bit obnoxious. Also, someone in the group realized that the guide had given some of the facts incorrectly. At one point, Dr. Phil stepped in to say some facts that the guide did not give. I was just hoping for the tour to end, and that is not a good sign. I guess I would be willing to try it again with another guide. read more

My fiance and I have gone on 2 ghost walking tours with Dr. Phil's company called Ghosts of New York. Our first tour was about 2 years ago in the winter time in Grand Central Terminal. We left that tour wanting to do more. On July 3, 2011, we went on the Peter Stuyvesant and His Ghostly Friends of the East Village tour led by one of Dr. Phil's tour guides, Jamie. We walked around the East Village and found out many interesting and lesser-known facts about famous luminaries-- such as where Harry Houdini liked to hang out. The tour was an hour and a half; we walked approximately a mile total. It is for the young and old alike. We plan on going on more ghost walks around NYC. read more

My least favorite ghost tour experience of all time. We did the Edgar Allen Poe walking tour. I cannot remember our guide's name, but she was pleasant enough...and cheesy enough. The first stop is Edgar Allen Poe's home that he lived in for about a year. Apparently "The Raven" was written here - cool. If you look inside, you can see about four stairs and part of a banister that has been walled off. Upon looking in she goes "Can you see his ghost floating up the stairs?" Uh...what stairs - they've been walled off. But whatever. It didn't seem like she had a lot of her specific facts straight. We had another know-it-all in the group that kept correcting her to the point that I began to feel bad for her. When we got to the Brown Building she kept saying things to scare us like, "can you hear them? Can you hear the screams of the girls jumping to their deaths? I can see the bodies now...lined up on the street splattered about." We had to turn our backs to to keep from laughing. Overall, the tour was pretty boring, cheesy, and what was suppose to be a 90 minute tour ended up being exactly an hour. Definitely not work $20. You could also tell the group as a whole wasn't very amused. read more

Just some disclaimers: this is a review for only the Edgar Allen Poe-focused Greenwich Village tour. I'm not a ghost fanatic. I'm normally really skeptical of anything labeled as "paranormal." I took my mom on the tour as a birthday present, since she loves ghost stories and went to school in the neighborhood. The tour was surprisingly not stupid. It was so not stupid, I'm going to not recommend it to ghost fanatics and people who immediately believe any ghost story that they're told because they like the scare. This tour wasn't full of scare tactics and macrabe, obviously made-up stories. It was historically informative and really well-researched. No bullshit. Karen, as mentioned in other reviews, is fantastic and has got crazy knowledge. And as mentioned before, she does disparage NYU a lot. My mom, an NYU alum, disparaged it right along with her. Because, let's face it, NYU is a like destructive, greedy, vomit-y, real estate-obsessed infant. Complaints: We didn't go inside any of the supposedly haunted places, but I understand that it's hard for a tour group to gain access to them. The tour could've been more expansive, but then I could have chosen to go on a longer tour. Last complaint: for a walking tour, it was awfully friendly to people who didn't like walking. I would've been okay with walking to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory building, rather than hearing about it from down the street. Overall: yes. Go! read more

We did the "Ghosts of Grand Central" tour with Ann, which was a memorable experience, although possibly not in the ways that she intended. First and foremost, the tour was extremely disjointed. For example, we started out in front of the transit museum, where we were told that Peter Stuyvesant was a real "control freak" (without any additional anecdotes or substantiation) and that Wall Street got its name from a Wall built there. While this was an interesting bit of NYC history, it has nothing to do with Grand Central Station, and it was unclear why they decided to include that tidbit, much less start off the tour with it. The tour guide would also switch between topics seemingly at whim. At the end of the tour, we were taken to the downstairs food court area of the Terminal, and told about both Canal Street, as well as the subway systems of New York - neither of which had anything to do with what we were looking at in the station. Secondly, the tour was very heavy on ghost stories (i.e. the Lincoln ghost train which had skeleton guards), but skimpy on actual history. At one point, we were told that we were in the famous "Kissing Room" of the Terminal, which was somehow connected to the historic Biltmore Hotel. Turns out, the Biltmore Hotel used to be in the building right next door to Grand Central, and was built as part of the Terminal complex. I learned this from the "About.com" guide to Grand Central Station, which seemed to know more about the area than the tour guide. At other times, I wanted the tour guide to go further. For example, she would tell us a bit about Cornelius Vanderbilt's early history, and mention that he was involved in the building of Grand Central, but not go further as to what he had actually done for Grand Central or why he had done so. In addition, the tour guide sometimes would speak with her back to us, or while moving, and it was very difficult to hear her. Finally, there was an entire section at the end about an "Indian" worker who helped build the subways and saw the ghost of an "Indian chief" in an unfinished tunnel. Because he spoke "Indian," he knew the Chief was chanting a "death song." The tour guide then informed us that she had been at a sweat lodge in which she also heard an "Indian Chief," and although she did not speak "Indian," he appeared to be maliciously inclined. I found the whole thing slightly offensive and generally a tone deaf anecdote to tell, not once, but twice. Our tour was at 7:30PM, and the tour guide had mentioned that she had been giving tours since 9 in the morning. This might explain her scatter brained nature and general inability to give a good tour. My recommendation is to skip this tour and everything else associated with "Ghosts of NY" read more

This tour didn't do much for me. I just couldn't get in the spooked mood, probably because of the noisy traffic around us and the tons of people walking around on the lower Manhattan sidewalks. Had I stayed home and watched an horror movie, I would have got much spookier vibes. In any case, I can see this tour working out for some people. It's just not for me. read more

Excellent tour! The tour guide, Karen, was well spoken and knowledgable. I still remember the majority of information that was given. She took us to several spots and even recited Edgar Allan's Poe , The Raven. This is my favorite tour. I walked on west 4th so many times and didn't know the history of the streets, the park, and buildings. It's a must do tour. read more

Me and my fiancé enjoyed the Greenwich Village ghost tour. Our tour guide was Amada Anderson. She really made the tour fun and enjoyable. We saw a ton of historic landmarks and learned a lot in the process. We loved seeing Mark Twains home. The tour was 2 hours long filled with a ton of great facts and interesting facts about the area. We'll definitely be going on more tours with Ghosts of New York. Amada is wonderful. read more

Ghosts of New York - Home we saw near Waverely Place with Orbs. No filters and never expected to see any orbs. - Tours Near Me - Flushing, New York

See all

Actually this tour was the highlight of our NYC tour - a 12 yr. old & his parents. Why? Expertly & professionally conducted, super rich in arcane historical facts, priceless anecdotes & a comfortable, friendly & intimate group... if you love stories, history, humor & NYC, TAKE THIS FANTASTIC TOUR...Todd, Eli & Will of Punta Gorda, FL. read more

Took this tour on Halloween and it was the perfect thing to do, especially with most activities pandemic-suspended. Our guide, Debi was super fun and very knowledgable. She made the 1.5-hour tour an experience that passed all too quickly. read more

Debi was an amazing tour guide! I signed up for the tour of Grand Central Terminal and got to learn so much about the history, as well as hear some spooky stories. Thank you, Debi for a great evening! read more

Can you give 0 stars on Yelp? I wish this tour was terrible in a fun way, but it was incredibly boring and terrible in a normal way. I took the Ghosts of Grand Central tour and I am pretty sure the first two sentences of this review have been more entertaining than the entire tour. Our tour guide was named Gordon, I'm pretty sure it was Gordon at least because it was impossible to hear him. I understand Grand Central is a loud place, but I have never been on a tour where the tour guide didn't even make an effort to raise his voice. Or be entertaining in any kind of way. Even a simple hand gesture would have been nice! Maybe a dramatic wave of the arm? Also, Gordon's shirt was really dirty, like stained and old dirty, like we weren't sure if he was the tour guide at first dirty... Besides that, he became distracted when anyone walked by, presented very little meaningful information, and took long pauses and "Ummms" between sentences. It seemed like he had no idea what he was saying, had memorized nothing, and never practiced before. Ghosts were mentioned very little, and really, I don't know what to say besides that it was BORING, like worse than your little brother's orchestra recital boring. (Way worse, I love a good string instrument!) We ended up cutting out early, and stopped off to check out the female tour guide who we saw on the way out (our group had originally been split into two). We didn't fare any better with her. Also boring. Do not do this tour. I love this kind of thing, and this was far below any expectations one might have. Like, if you entered without expectations, which we did, it would fall way below that. read more

Karen was our tour guide and she was fabulous! We took the Edgar Allan Poe tour in Greenwich Village and it was a great time. Karen was very knowledgeable and personable. She had a ton of historical facts and dates memorized, but delivered it in a storytelling way not just reciting it. She was good about catering to both believers and skeptics, and answered all my questions. She even treated us to a verse of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven at the end! Highly recommend this tour. read more

My friends and I were on the Edgar Allen Poe tour led by Prudence Holmes and loved it! She was very knowledgable, funny and entertaining. Great way to learn about historic information in NYC around Washington square park. Fun activity to do with friends and/or family around Halloween read more

I really wanted to enjoy this tour, but it was like pulling a bandaid off for 90 minutes straight. I heard one story that I found pretty interesting and that was it. Our tour guide was an older gentleman who looked absolutely perfect for the part of a ghost tour guide but didn't follow through when it came to telling stories. His timing was off and he was hard to hear and 90% of the time there was just no good point to the story. It seemed that most of the time he'd say "oh a ghost lives in this house.... and the house was built by so-and-so architect" when really we just want to know what the ghost did. It is a ghost tour afterall, and what makes this ghost worth mentioning from another if something spooky hasn't happened. We also didn't go to all the places listed in reviews or the cellar that edgar allen poe supposedly lived in, which was advertised in the video on their website. Our group of 20 dwindled to 8 people in no time as people finally got bored enough to leave. My friends and I stayed because we felt bad and could tell the man was trying, but it was just a bad tour. I don't care about NYU whatsoever, but he put more time into putting down NYU rather than telling ghost stories. When people would slowly start to leave the group he would just complain about how it's their money's loss and then he'd continue to complain for minutes after about how we "didn't need them anyway." He seemed bitter and he couldn't stay focused on the stories and therefore we lost complete attention. There were ten times the bad jokes than ghost stories and when no one seemed to laugh at the joke he would occasionally just tell it again. I wouldn't dismiss this tour altogether because the other tour groups around were in the full group of 20 and seemed to be having a blast with their tour guides. A large part of me wanted to sneak into the other line of people and join the other group. I just think I wound up with one that wasn't as great. Sweet guy, bad guide. I've been on ghost tours before, Boston still remains best, but this just left me utterly disappointed. I give this tour two stars instead of one because the man was nice and frankly i feel bad, and he guided us through parts of manhattan I had never seen before even though I live here. So that was neat but I was never scared or intrigued for more than a few seconds. I'll have to try the ghosts, murders and mayhem tour there are reviews for on here. That seems to be a bit more gruesome and up my alley. read more

My two NY gays I was staying with and I went on this tour led by Karen. It was a hot, sunny day so we expected more sweat then apparitions. Karen was energetic and knew her ghostly history. I learned a lot about different buildings I had passed many times and about Washington Square Park being a mass grave and having a hangman's tree still growing there. We saw Anderson Cooper taking out his openly gay trash and considered going through it and sending some souvenirs to Perez Hilton who posted my photo on his site. But Karen held our interest and we continued on. I was surprised that my friends were into the tour as well. I will go on another one when I come back to town. read more

We loved this tour! Our guide, Russell, was knowledgable and funny, providing us with many anecdotes and true tales. It was not a super long walking tour and the hour and a half flew by. It was nice to see the area at night on foot through a historian's eyes. I would very much recommend this tour to others!! read more

My best friend and I took the Edgar Allan Poe and His Ghostly Neighbors of Greenwich Village tour, led by Karen. We both had a great time. It is kind of hard to get a proper spooky vibe when you're out in the middle of Manhattan, but it's an interesting neighborhood tour and a fun history lesson, with a neat theme. If someone you love is making you go, you're probably not going to have a good time, but if ghost tours are already your cup of tea, you'll definitely enjoy it. read more

I have been on two tours with Ghosts of New York and have yet to be disappointed. The tour guides are some of the most knowledgable people I've met in the city and very friendly. I've been on a pub crawl type tour which was some of the most fun I've had and a great way to have a good evening with friends, and I've taken my 13 year old brother on a separate tour which we enjoyed just as much, if not more. Dr. Phil himself is a wonderful person to work with if you need help scheduling and provided better customer service than I could have asked for. As someone that lives in NY, I have to say that this is a tour everyone should go on - you'll learn facts about the city that very few people know and can brag about your new found knowledge. Take the tour!!! read more

We did the Edgar Allan Poe tour with relatives who came to visit us in New York, and were quite disappointed. The stories were far-fetched most of the time (you can clearly see that an appartment is inhabited, but apparently some ghosts drove the previous tenants away..., or you learn that a character is haunting a building for which he has little to no connection). The historical anecdotes provided by our guide were luckily more interesting, but not enough to make us really have a great time. read more

I have always been a fan of ghost stories, scary movies, ghost hunting TV shows, and basically anything to do with the paranormal, so my gf got me a ticket for one of these tours as a Christmas present. I really had no idea what to expect. Were we going to explore old abandoned buildings or hold EVP sessions or what? As it turns out, Ghosts of NY walking tours is a chance to learn about the history of the city with a macabre twist. We happened to go on a beautiful night, and our tour was about the maritime ghosts of NYC. We picked that one because it happened to be the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking. I got a chance to explore a part of the city I'd never really been to before, and hear some creepy stories about murder, scandal, and the supernatural along the way. We were treated to some great views of NY landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the new World Trade Center (and realized for the first time how enormous this building was/is going to be). Our tour guide was Andrea, and the best part about her is how much she clearly loved her job. Up front, she described herself as someone who loves to read and write ghost stories, as well as someone who loves history. Her passion and enthusiasm came through every time, as she led us up the Hudson waterfront through Greenwich Village and toward the Chelsea Piers. The tour went on longer than advertised, so in addition to the walking and the stories, you really felt like you got your money's worth. I learned a lot of new things about a city I've lived in all my life, and my gf and I are already planning on taking another tour later this year. If you're going on this tour expecting to bump into a ghost or have some dramatic encounter a la Ghost Adventures, this may not be for you. If you love history and the paranormal, then hopefully you'll have as good a time as we did. There are lots of tours to choose from on the website, so chances are you'll find something that piques your interest and gets you started. Once on the tour, you'll pick up some great trivia with some creepy moments (like our impromptu ouija board session) thrown in for the ghost hunter in all of us! read more

Prudence Holmes is an awesome tour guide and did a great job. I truly enjoyed every minute of her tour. She has lived in the city for 30+ years, so she is very knowledgeable and fun. A truly great story teller, Prudence is definitely recommended. You won't be sorry you took your tour with her! read more

My wife and I went on the ghost tour of Greenwich Village. It's a great way to spend the evening out when the weather is nice, especially if you live in the neighborhood. The 90 minute walking tour did rounds of Washington Square park and other places we pass frequently. You may be surprised to discover who lived where, and who still haunts there. read more

Joel was an AMAZING tour guide. My roommates and I had the best time learning about the ghosts of the upper west side. Joel was so knowledgeable and shared so many interesting stories. We loved his enthusiasm and the theatrical elements the tour were so much fun. We will definitely be back next Halloween. Anyone who has Joel ad their tour guide is in for such a treat! read more

Deborah was a great guide! We had an amazing time on the LES with her. I would definitely recommend her.

We were very surprised by how terrific this tour was. Our guide, Andrea, was top notch and the information and history she shared was incredibly interesting. The tour was spooky, smart and sassy, and taught us New Yorkers a number of things we did not know about our great city. I recommend this for natives and tourists alike. We can't wait to do the pub crawl next! read more

Amazing tour with prudence write Holmes. Her stories kept us entertained and the tour was incredible . I can't wait until my next tour with the company. It was informative, fun, and a unique way to spend a Friday night with friends read more

This experience was a disappointment. I did the Haunted Pub Crawl in the East Village with 8 friends and our tour guide was Gordon. We paid $240.83 for this tour and it was a total rip off. First of all, the website where we bought our tickets promised us that "the first drink is on us" (meaning the company). However, when we arrived at the first stop and I brought this up to Gordon and showed him the site, he said that the website needed to be updated but that this was not the case (???) but that he would "try to honor it." He pulled out his wallet and said he didn't know if he had enough money. I said we could maybe all try to pitch in a couple bucks but that we were expecting to get the first drink free. When the time came to pay, we all paid for the drinks (INCLUDING GORDON'S) and Gordon did not make a single move for his wallet. We went to two more pubs and Gordon told us maybe 5 facts total. Otherwise he just sat there as people paid for his drinks. He also had a disheveled/unkempt appearance that was off putting. We were expecting to learn a lot about each pub/the East Village as we walked through it, but we barely learned anything. The only redeeming part of the whole thing was that the last pub we went to was cool. Bottom line: NOT WORTH $240 for a group of 10. Save your money and get a free audio walking tour or something. read more

I went on the Ghostbusters tour in the upper west side. It was fun, took about hour and 40 mins. The tour guide was fun and informative .

My friends and I went on the upper west side haunted tour. Phil was great! And along with some haunting stories, we learned a lot about the architecture of the upper west side. And the payoff at the end where we learned about the Dakota and all of its hauntings, and ghosts was totally worth it. Phil is incredible knowledgeable, and friendly. He really interacted with the group, and I highly recommend going on one (or more!) of his tours!! :-) read more

"Edgar Allan Poe and His Ghostly Neighbors of Greenwich Village" was a wonderful experience on a pleasant evening. Our guide Karen was knowledgeable, friendly and enthusiastic. You can tell she does independent research. The path is well-thought out and not taxing for those who might not consider themselves avid walkers. I've lived in the neighborhood for 20 years, and still I learned a lot of interesting facts and fun stories. Oh, and we weren't bothered by any ghosts. read more

We really enjoyed the tour with Prudence Holmes. She was so informative and exciting. Her stories were funny and kept us wanting to hear more. The tour started in the west village and took us on a waking adventure all around Washington square park. There was not a dull moment and prudence is an incredible actress. We are looking forward to our next tour with her read more

Did the ghost busters tour with Joel tonight he had so many fun facts and interesting information! Such a fun Halloween activity will defiantly be doing another tour next year! read more

I am dissatisfied by the customer service delivered directly by "Dr. Phil." I attempted to reschedule a tour I had signed up for due to a Nor'easter. Dr. Phil only allowed us to reschedule for one day later, which we were unable to do for our own scheduling reasons. We had been looking forward to the tour, and would have loved to have been happy customers at another time, but the inflexibility with the approach of a massive storm -- one that predicted power outages and traffic disarray -- is extremely disappointing. I hope Dr. Phil enjoyed that tour he gave in the middle of sleet, snow and cold -- if he actually even held it. Ridiculous. read more

My daughter and I went on the Greenwich village tour and loved it! The guide was knowledgable, charismatic, and funny. It was obvious that he has a geat love of the city and its history. The only unpleassent ortion was the weather - it was bitter cold by then end. I would definitely reccomend these tours to others, especially in armer month. read more

I would have asked for a refund of my ~$100 for a private tour for 5, but I didn't want to deprive myself of the opportunity to post an honest bad review. Despite repeated correspondence and confirmation of our date, time and meeting place and payment in full in advance, we were not met by our tour guide. Standing alone and confused in the snow with a party of 5, we learned our guide had left with a different party. After calling and texting for 45 minutes our guide finally responded with apologies. The "mistake" was incomprehensible. He'd simply taken off with a random group of people. Almost an hour later, he returned and offered to conduct the tour we'd paid for. Here's where I made my mistake; I agreed. What then ensued was a rambling walk around the east village that we could have done on our own by getting lost. The "points of interest" amounted to a K-Mart "that used to be something else" other buildings of no particular interest that "used to be something else", a torturous trek to the pubic theatre for an uninformed rendition of the Macbeth theatre lore. Then more random streets and buildings of no particular interest that "used to be something else". Disjointed, poorly delivered stories of no particular interest. A marble graveyard that we couldn't see. A building there, that we couldn't see. A trudging walk to somewhere else that we couldn't see with a rambling story that had nothing to do with where we were. A total farce. The only redeeming feature of the experience was the jokes we enjoyed amongst ourselves about the absurdity. I can say with certainty that this tour experience was farcical because we'd had an excellent experience previously from Boroughs of the Dead. Our tour guide was Leanna Renee Hieber and the tour she gave was magical. We'd hoped to repeat the experience. Sadly, not. read more