My boyfriend and I went to Rhode Island on August 8, 2026, for this tour. We arrived at 7:45 p.m…read more and checked in at 8:00 p.m., when the guide turned her lantern on.
The guide was not in costume like you would expect a ghost tour guide to be. When she saw us, she immediately fussed at us for not being on time and told us that we should have checked in. I apologized to her and explained that I did not know she was the guide. In fact, I actually thought we were in the wrong place because we were standing in a park surrounded by about 25 unhoused people. I did not realize she was our guide until she turned her lantern on at 8:00 p.m.
She continued to make a fuss about us being late, which I found humiliating. My boyfriend had a few words back to her, and she eventually gave a slight apology.
Moving on, she carried a panda purse while wearing street clothes, and there was a rainbow flag on the purse. During the tour, she repeatedly referred to me as a "shit bag" and said that "shit bag me" had caused this issue and that issue, and that Rhode Island was haunted because of "shit bag me." This was extremely uncomfortable and inappropriate. You could clearly tell that she hated men, which was not okay.
I later found out that she had skipped over some of the stops and left out a lot of information. When I tried to ask her questions about some of the historical events connected to the stops, she often had no idea how to respond. I did not feel that she was very educated about the history she was supposed to be presenting. My boyfriend, who once lived in Newport, knew more about some of these places and events than she did.
At one of the stops, she asked if anyone was staying at the hotel or if anyone was eating at the restaurant. When everyone said no, she responded, "I didn't think so. This place is $3,000 a night. I've never had anyone come on our tour that's been able to afford to stay in that hotel." I found that extremely insulting and unnecessary.
I'm not saying I didn't learn a thing or two during the tour. I'm simply saying that we definitely did not feel like we got our money's worth.
Another thing I noticed was that when we would arrive at a stop, we would sometimes stand there awkwardly in silence for 10 to 15 minutes. I figured that might have been why we missed a few of the stops--because maybe she didn't know where she was going or what she was supposed to be doing or saying.
Another issue was that people walking by would become intrigued by the tour and stop to listen. Instead of welcoming their interest, she would scold them and tell them to move along, while also telling them that they could get tickets. Again, I found this very unpleasant.
Overall, she simply was not a pleasant guide, which in turn made for a very unpleasant experience. The guide's attitude, the lack of information, the missed stops, the long periods of awkward silence, and the comments made throughout the tour left us very disappointed.
I have never left a review before. This is my first time. I felt that strongly about this experience that I felt the need to speak up. I hope this feedback is taken seriously because we genuinely expected much more from this tour.
