Tours run rain or shine, so please be sure to dress for the weather and bring appropriate footwear and/or rain and snow gear if applicable. Tours may be amended in order to accommodate our guests comfortably in the event of unpleasant weather.

WEATHER RELATED CANCELLATION POLICY

In rare cases, extreme weather makes it dangerous or impossible to run a tour as scheduled. In the event extreme weather conditions prevent us from running a tour as scheduled, our staff will inform all ticket-holders as soon as possible and you will automatically be given a rain check to take any other regularly scheduled public tour at your convenience (subject to availability). Rain checks are transferable and they do not expire.

WHY DON’T YOU OFFER REFUNDS FOR WEATHER-RELATED CANCELLATIONS? 

As climate change has begun to increasingly affect all of our lives in recent years, it has become apparent to us that we as a small business need to make some adjustments to our policies in order to survive. In 2023, cancellations due to wildfire smoke and flooding put our business in peril several times. Therefore, we have made the decision to offer rain checks in lieu of refunds.

No exceptions will be made to our refund, weather, or lateness policies. We thank you for respecting the boundaries we have put in place to protect our small business.

Yes, it is the only way to guarantee your spot on a tour. We currently do not offer on-site ticket purchase. 

Our tours aren’t scary …

The goal of our tours isn’t to produce a momentary sensation of fear but rather to communicate deeply unsettling stories that will stay with you long after the tour is done. Our emphasis on strange-but-true stories and history means that there is no active ghost-hunting aspect to any of these tours, and it is unlikely you will spooked by supernatural entities, or even encounter any. 

But they might be disturbing to some …

Boroughs of the Dead tours do cover topics that are dark and may be potentially upsetting in nature. Potential topics may include death, including the death of children and animals; general violence; gang violence; riots; slavery; prostitution; murder; piracy and illegal/criminal activities; drugs, alcohol and illicit substances; rape; abortion; war; torture; dismemberment; mental illness; suicide; disease; discussions of the afterlife and spirit world; and grave-robbing. Whether you find this scary/disturbing depends on your point of view. Personally, we tend to find humans and the things they’ve done to each other far more terrifying than any ghost. 

So… are the tours fun?

We think they are! NYC’s histories and ghost stories are bonkers, and these stories are absolutely fascinating and entertaining. And while we do approach every story we tell with nuance and respect, gallows humor exists for a reason. Sometimes being irreverent isn’t appropriate, but sometimes you have to laugh to keep from screaming. 

You be the judge. 

Generally, our tours are not recommended for children under 12. Boroughs of the Dead tours cover topics that are “dark” and may be potentially disturbing in nature. See “Are Your Tours Scary?” above. Bring your children at your own discretion, but please know that we do not personally consider our tours family-friendly. The only tour for which we currently offer a “Spooky Kid” ticket option is the “Ghosts of Christmas Past” tour, which may be acceptable for children 8 and up, but please be warned this is still a fairly dark tour with some adult content (and lots of history and walking). We generally find that, by the time their kids are 8, most parents know whether or not they have a Spooky Kid, but if you’re not sure yet, here’s a good rule of thumb: if your kids might be afraid of Krampus or Frau Perchta, this might not be for them. If they love the movie Rare Exports, they will probably like this tour.

As for dogs, we love them but for liability reasons they are not allowed on our tours.

YES! Our guides work hard and tips are appreciated. The amount you tip is up to you and your budget, and how much you enjoyed the tour. Good reviews on Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor are another great way to show additional appreciation for your guide. These people are incredible, really. Please see the Our Guides page on our website for more information about our amazing, talented guides!

If you’re interested in the history of the Spiritualist movement, or you simply enjoy strolling in cemeteries, you might like Spiritualists of Green-Wood Cemetery. If you have a literary bent or are a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, we can recommend Edgar Allan Poe’s Greenwich Village, a walk through the poet’s stomping grounds in the 1840s.

If you do believe in spooks, we can recommend our two Greenwich Village Ghost Tours. Each stop has been carefully selected based on several years’ research and experience leading tours in the West Village and Greenwich Village. Finally, Dark Histories of Lower Manhattan wends its way through Lower Manhattan — one of the oldest and most haunted areas in the city — and features a lot of history along with its ghost stories. Ghosts of the Titanic remains ever popular, though we only offer it once a year, on April 14th and/or 15th. If you just can’t wait til then, we do offer private tours of our Titanic walk, or any of our ghost walks.

All tours currently running are listed on our calendar of public tours. If you do not see a tour listed, it is not running at this time. Try checking back in October, when we run a fuller schedule, or requesting a private tour.

Most of these tours entail about 1.2 miles of walking in a roughly 90-minute to two-hour period. Only take on what you can handle. The Green-Wood Cemetery and Central Park tours are not recommended for those who have trouble on steep or hilly areas, contain some stairs, and are not recommended for anyone with a stroller.

All of our other tours take place on NYC streets and sidewalks and are wheelchair accessible (please be advised however that the Brooklyn Heights tour contains some steep hills and narrow sidewalks).

*** Please note: end points are all subject to change, as routes may change unexpectedly during a tour for reasons beyond our control. All of the following end points are approximate. ***  West Village Ghosts usually ends near 7th Avenue and Christopher Street; the East Village Ghosts tour ends near Washington Square; Haunted Brooklyn Heights ends near Court Street and Pacific; Haunting Histories and Legends of Astoria ends near Astoria Park; and Forgotten Dark Histories of Lower Manhattan ends near City Hall Park. The best way to determine a more precise end point for your tour is to ask your guide.

We keep our group sizes small. Normally our groups range from 10 – 15 people, with slightly higher numbers in October. We cap our group sizes at 20 people maximum (25 in park and cemetery tours) to ensure a high quality experience for everyone. In the event fewer than 4 people sign up for a tour, the tour may be canceled at the discretion of Boroughs of the Dead. 

We are open March through December. We offer a limited selection of private and specialty tours in January and February. Please refer to our Calendar to see what we currently have on offer. Our tour schedule is usually posted 2-3 months in advance.