I went on this tour about 2 years ago with my wife and 3 very dear couples that we go on trips together! We went at night which makes things more spooky to begin with and our tour guide, Suzie Q was amazing! Pretty and well versed on the Old Jail's History (as in most cases, the tour guide makes or breaks the Tour)! SZQ made it tantalizing for our group of 15 or so! playing up history of those locked in here! Letting us know the grim details of certain prisoners and what they had done as well as deplorable conditions of the 1800's! Hey there are no toilets or showers in here friend! The most you could hope for was to put some fresh hay down for your bathroom needs! Hearing walking noises a floor above us when there were no other groups above us had me a believer! Supposedly a guy chained to the floor above us that got partially loose! I felt something behind me where no one was!!! A cool experience if you go with the flow! read more

Not the one to believe in ghosts until I encounter it first hand. Regardless this was creepy as hell. Definitely gives you goose bumps. I captured another picture with an orb in it as well. All of the pictures in multiple different phones all appeared hazy. Coincidence or not? Idk, but it really does make you think about it... read more

The Old Jail - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

I recommend the bulldog evening ghost tour! Super creepy and worth the money and our tour guide was great!

We went through the haunted tour. It was so fun an informative. Suzie Q made the tour amazing. She made it lively and historical as well as spooky! read more

Great jail with lots of amazing history. Only way to get in is via a tour (currently only one I could find that was allowed into the jail was http://bulldogtours.com/the-haunted-jail-tour . Tour guide had good information to share. PS: My son wants me to add that there are some good PokeStops nearby! read more

So much fun! My husband and I recently took this tour. We went through BullDog tours. Our guide was awesome. Just be aware...if you go at night some places are completely dark....and I hate being in the dark! LOL but it adds to the appeal. Best to go when it's cold since it doesn't have any modern amenities. read more

Just enjoyed this historic tour last night. Shaun, our guide, was perfect for my visit finding the perfect balance between the history of the jail and the paranormal experience/expectations. He was charming, knowledgeable, witty and welcoming. Without a doubt this is a must see, must do experience. read more

I was beyond excited to go here and was the first trip that I booked when I scheduled a vacation here, but after a 45 minute tour into 3 rooms I have to say that my disappointment is truly immeasurable and it ruined my day. The site itself was very cool to see and walk around but there was just so little to see and do that in the end, it was over before it even began. If they opened up more of the tour to make it about an hour and a half to two hours and let us see more of the history of it, this would be a different review. But for right now, from someone who wanted to love this tour more than anything, it was so much more than just disappointing. read more

So I have been on several haunted tours and historic tours of haunted locations. When I signed up for the Haunted Jail tour, I thought I was getting a haunted tour. Instead, Glenn gave us a history tour with 20 minutes on the history of the criminal justice system and then a rush though 3 other rooms. I'm not sure if it was the guide or that the tour was just 45 minutes but after spending $80+. This by a mile was the worse tour I have ever been on. Glenn mocked the tours that just take the people outside the jail, I felt that they got as much of the experience as I did. I wouldn't waste money on this lame tour. read more

I did a tour of the old jail with my girlfriend. She likes to be scared and I like the history. It was a win win. I kept scaring her in-between listening to our tour guide Glenn talk about the fascinating history behind the jail (and a few tall tales of ghost encounters wooooo). Obviously I was there for the history. But the ghost stories were pretty interesting as well. read more

Made a visit to the old Jail last night. We didn't see any ghosts or other scary stuff; however, history of the building by the group facilitator was very interesting. Well worth the $25 to see and hear about Charleston history. read more

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What I thought would just be a cheesy ghost story snooze fest actually turned into a heck of a good time. It got mor and more interesting with the stories and history getting eerier by the minute. All of these companies will use these tricks and scare tactics to creep you out, but Bulldog does a very good job explaining the actual stories and history of the Jail. Our guide Randy did an excellent job giving us the insight to his creepy experiences and amazing stories that come from the jail. Overall an amazing place and recommend it to anybody who's in for a good story about the Old Charleston Jail. read more

DO NOT PAY FOR THE GHOST TOUR!!! The ghost tour is such a scam. You will pay $34 per person to go inside a dark room and have a guy tell a mediocre ghost story for 40 minutes. Don't waste your money - would never recommend to anyone. Wouldn't even do this if it was free. read more

It was very spooky!! Great tour , very informative and entertaining. I highly recommend Bull Dog Tours!!

I attended jailbreak so that is the only way I even found out about this jail. The jail itself is every cool castle looking. I was very disappointed with the inside and lack of preserving there's been. Mostly a few rooms and floors are available to look through. I read reviews on the actual tour you can take to see if there actually is old jail cells some where we couldn't go during jailbreak but it sounds like no. To me that's the best part of seeing an old jail... The cells they stayed in, daily life, where anyone well known might have stayed. read more

Wouldn't recommend to people who actually want to get scared. Was the most scripted and over exaggerated ghost tour I have ever been on. This tour could be performed much better than it was. Everything just seemed a little too rehearsed. Don't recommend for charlestonians. read more

We did the night tour at 10:00 pm. It was about 100 degrees inside and the tour guide was very rehearsed and it was easy not to follow because his tone was so dull. At the beginning of the tour, our guide told us how he gets the most tips which was odd because it immediately told us he was fishing for tips before we even entered the jail. There were a few interesting stories but was not worth the cost and the guide was a letdown. read more

If i was rating the old jail simply on my experience at Jail Break I would give it a full 5 stars...unfortunately without jail break being there it lacks luster. The outside view of the building is beautiful and gives you an idea of how small the jail was right in the middle of downtown Charleston. Inside is where I was very disappointed...I wanted to go in and see old jail cells, maybe some "memorabilia," instead most everything had been transformed into art studios of some sort or another. The kind of creepy hall ways and a few bars over the windows are just about the only thing that makes you feel like you are in a jail at all...you need to use a lot of imagination. read more

Meh. Came here on a ghost tour. The jail is interesting, with an interesting history. If you don't make it out here during your visit to Charleston, don't feel bad. read more

Learned a lot while getting a little scared!! Very fun Tour! Loved the old building and all the history that goes along with it!

My sister-in-law went on this tour tonight. This review is just my personal opinion, so experiences may differ with other people. I 100% believe in ghosts and spirits, from personal experience. I didn't walk in being cynical. The whole thing, (with the stories), was a little cheesy for me. However, the history behind the jail was fascinating. Is the whole Haunted thing a tourist trap? Maybe. I would go on another tour of the jail with more of a history lesson, absolutely. read more

Amazing history with this building. We explored about three or four rooms in it with Bulldog Tours. The guide was very knowledgable of the history of the prison. Not sure if you can tour during the day, as it serves as a local college. The outside is worth a view. The tours through Bulldog are more haunting/supernatural focused, but we did get a great history on the place from the guide, Shawn. read more

We had a great time on our tour, though I do wish there were a few less people in the groups and a bit more time to peruse the cells as you walked to the "tour rooms". It is definitely an active place and I got some great photos but had to almost stay behind the group to take any photos which was fine as I am not easily spooked. It's sad that the building will soon be office space. A historical museum would have been a better fit. I enjoyed the tour and listening to the history. Bring bottled water or buy it from them because it is hot as hades in that building in August! Two people in our group got scratched (one calf one back). And one had charms on her bracelet being lifted and lingering sticking straight up. She would put them down only to have it happen again. When that stopped her bracelet began to be "twirled" on her wrist like someone was looking at the charms. Very fun tour. read more

Did not get into the jail As it was daytime. The building grounds are a but ratty and Sonia the building but they run A Haunted program so guess they need to keep it a bit tattered and ratty. read more

The jail itself has great potential. Unfortunately our tour guide Elizabeth was a let down. She was not believable, over dramatic and frankly down right rude!!! Major let down and not worth the price!!! read more

We did the 45 minute jail tour first but there was a noisy group with us so we were not able to hear all of the history and really enjoy the experience however the tour guide was really good. We decided to do the 2 hour paranormal investigation of the jail the next night and we were very pleased with the experience! Randy and his wife did the tour and there was another woman but I can't remember her name. They were all amazing! Very laid back and knowledgeable! I was actually a little uneasy about the tour before it started and they really helped me to relax and enjoy it. I would recommend the paranormal investigation to anyone! They give you some of the history and show you the rooms for an hour and then you are allowed to explore the jail for the next hour. They also offer a 4 hour investigation. They provide you with a flashlight, an EMF reader and a temperature gauge to use and they allow you to bring your own equipment. There was a guy there that had an infrared camera. Some of the group used an app called ghost radio. It was a great experience! read more

We checked out 3-4 rooms on a haunted jail tour with Bulldog Tours. The jail itself is super eerie and creepy from the outside but once inside the tour guide gave some ok stories about it in a "this is my scary story voice" tone. Tour didn't last the 45 minutes as projected. I would recommend just watching the TV show about it. read more

After a great experience with the Ghost and Dungeon Tour, I wanted to take my daughter on a ghost tour with Bulldog Tours. She decided on the Haunted Jail Tour. What a huge mistake! I was so disappointed and felt that the $40 I spent was a complete waste of money. Do yourself a favor and do not waste your time and money on this tour. Our guide, Glenn, seemed knowledgeable but was a little too rehearsed. We were taken into 4 rooms of the jail and the entire experience was 45 minutes. I was expecting much more as the Ghost and Dungeon Tour with Paulette was nearly 2 hours long and full of Charleston history. Paulette, by the way, was an excellent storyteller! read more