The Ghosts of Boston self-guided walking tour

This bone-chilling walk through Boston’s otherworldly side begins at Boylston Street Station, where a gas explosion killed several workers. Some believe it was an accident, but others wonder if the countless graves dug up during construction had something to do with it. One thing is certain: the victims have not yet left the place of their grisly demise.

From there, you’ll walk through the Central Burying Ground and the Boston Common, hearing the sordid history of unmarked graves, unsettled corpses, and the brutal executions that once took place here. Keep the kids close, because those unquiet dead may not have truly left this place, and one, in particular, has a special interest in children.

Then, you’ll arrive at the majestic Boston Athenaeum, a beautiful building hiding something grim inside: a book bound in human skin. But that’s not the only creepy thing about this place. Do you dare go inside?

Next, we’ll take you to the Granary Burying Ground, where many of America’s revolutionary founders have been laid to rest. Here, you’ll pick up some history about these towering figures, and learn how some of them might still be hanging around this very graveyard.

Another graveyard awaits you after that: the King’s Chapel Burying Ground. No one knows how many bodies really lie beneath the earth here, but they do know that at least one wasn’t dead when he was buried. On some nights, visitors can still hear him scratching at the lid of his coffin…

We’ll take a break from graveyards for a moment to visit Boston’s most haunted hotel, the Omni Parker. Visitors have reported spectral sights, sounds, and smells on nearly every floor of this storied hotel, and only the boldest decide to stay the night.

After that, you’ll hear about a fraudulent photographer who tried to capitalize on Boston’s hauntings, then head toward the Old State House, which houses a cursed artifact responsible for a great deal of suffering.

Then, you’ll visit the site of the Boston Massacre and hear about the supernatural panic that swept across the city during an 1800s tuberculosis outbreak.

You’ll pass next by Fort Warren and the Pilot House, where you’ll hear about the vengeful Lady in Black and the seemingly harmless Lady in White, before continuing on to the Old North Church, which sits atop a crypt where the residents aren’t always content to stay dead. Finally, we’ll conclude our tour in Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, an appropriately unsettling final stop along our route.