It’s well known by pretty much anyone who has ever met me or read this blog for any significant amount of time that I am a year-round Halloween Queen and “Spooky Girl.” Sure, while I thrive in the Fall and especially in October when I can display my (borderline) insane amount of Halloween decorations with all my enthusiasm and delight – I also co-host a year-round horror movie-themed podcast with one of my best friends and actively seek out abandoned, unusual, and historically macabre places to explore and photograph all. the. time.
And lucky for me – living in New England gives me plenty of more-than-likely haunted locations and content to work with. Massachusetts in and of itself was founded, built and developed on the backs of a lot of bizarre events and bloodshed – and we don’t really try to hide it. In fact, we actively educate and offer tours of some of the landmarks and sites of some of our most grizzly, ghastly – and even paranormal! – locations and history.
So when the incredible folks over at Boston Ghosts reached out and offered me the chance to participate in one of their nighttime walking tours around some of the city’s most infamous spots, I was ecstatic. The company is part of US Ghost Adventures, who provide tours of infamous and notoriously spooky locations all over the country – including Georgia, California and Texas – so if you don’t live in New England or are doing some traveling outside of the Northeast, be sure to see if they have anything available near you!
I asked Dan to come along with me, as well – not only because he’s a brilliant photographer and if anyone could capture anything otherworldly on camera, it would be him – but also because if anything out of the ordinary were to happen to me (like a possession, for example), I know he’d water my plants in my apartment until I could find a way back.
We met up with our tour guide, Rachael, on the edge of Boston Common last Friday night – and what a night to explore it turned out to be! Torrential downpours that had lasted all day and into the evening had left the city wet, foggy, and quite perfect for a look at some unsettling, creepy history. Once the rest of our group arrived (visiting from New Hampshire and St. Louis, respectively-) we were off!
Rachael led us through Boston Common, to the front of the State House and the nearby John Adams Courthouse. Throughout the tour, she shared stories of public executions, banishments, riots and revenge – all intertwined with the supernatural phenomena people have claimed to have experienced at each location and some dark humor. She was a riot, and despite the relentless rain and the chill in the air – everyone was in good spirits (no pun intended) and having a great time.
Our tour concluded with stops at the Kings Chapel Burying Ground, the Omni Parker House (where Dan and I had grabbed dinner before the tour, oddly enough!) and the Granary Burying Ground – where people like Samuel Adams, Paul Revere and John Hancock are buried along with hundreds of others.
I had such a fantastic time learning new facts about the city I love so much. Rachael was a great tour guide, and brought so much energy and patience with us as we were stopping to take photos and ask questions. I definitely would have signed up for an extended tour if it hadn’t started to snow by the time we were finished!
Even if you’re a lifelong local, I recommend any one of Boston Ghosts guided/themed tours they have available. They’re really fun, there’s a lot of interesting facts to be learned, and you get to see parts of the city up close and personal that you may have otherwise just glanced at in passing.
I want to thank both Boston Ghosts and US Ghost Adventures so much for having us – and for Dan for braving the rain and sleet with me!
[ Photos by Dan Little ]
xo
Coffee & Chiffon 