Things That Go Bump in Downtown Asheville: A Guide to the City’s Best Ghost Tours
Asheville is famous for its mountain views, craft breweries, and Art Deco architecture, but after the sun goes down, downtown takes on a different personality entirely. Tucked between the Flatiron Building, the Basilica of St. Lawrence, and the old Jackson Building on Pack Square, the streets of downtown Asheville hold more than a century of tragedy, scandal, and unexplained activity. Civil War casualties, Great Depression suicides, a notorious 1906 killing spree, and the haunting legend of Zelda Fitzgerald have all left their mark, and according to locals, their spirits haven’t quite left town.
If you’re looking for a night out that’s equal parts history lesson and horror story, here are four ways to explore Asheville’s haunted side.
Haunted Asheville Tours: Walk With the Orginial Ghost Expert
Haunted Asheville Tours is the city’s original ghost-tour operation, created by paranormal author Joshua P. Warren and voted one of the top ghost tours in America by USA Today readers. The roughly two-hour Classic Walking Tour departs from the alleyway behind the Asheville Masonic Temple on Broadway and runs every night, rain or shine. Along the way, guides cover Asheville’s most legendary haunts, including the Pink Lady of the Grove Park Inn, the tragic apparition said to linger at Helen’s Bridge, a murder at the old Battery Park Hotel, and a body famously said to be entombed within the walls of the Basilica of St. Lawrence. It’s less a ghost walk than a full education in local ghost-hunting lore, led by people who’ve been doing this since 1995.
LaZoom Haunted Comedy Tour: Spooky Meets Hilarious
If you’d rather laugh while you shiver, LaZoom’s Ghosted Haunted Comedy Tour puts a comedic spin on the city’s darker history aboard its iconic big purple bus. Guests board at the LaZoom Room on Biltmore Avenue and are guided by an unforgettable cast of ghoulish characters, from a guitar-shredding skeleton named Bones Boudreaux to a fire-breathing demon named Beezlebus, who blend true crime, scandal, and unsolved mysteries with genuinely funny, irreverent comedy. Expect tales of mental institution fires, downtown hangings, and skyscraper suicides, served with a side of local beer and a fair amount of audience participation. It’s an adults-only show (17+), and it consistently ranks among visitors’ favorite things to do in Asheville after dark.
Asheville Terrors: Historical Ghost Stories With a Creepy Twist
Asheville Terrors takes a deeper dive into the documented history behind the hauntings. Departing nightly from 22 South Pack Square, this roughly one-hour walking tour covers 8 to 12 stops through downtown, including the Jackson Building, where a series of Great Depression-era suicides left what some call a permanent paranormal scar, and the Flatiron Building, where visitors report strange sensations near Battery Park. Guides also tell the poignant story of Zelda Fitzgerald, who spent years at the nearby Highland Hospital before dying there in a fire along with nine others. For those who want their history with a drink in hand, Asheville Terrors also runs Boos & Brews haunted pub crawls through the historic district
Gray Line of Asheville Haunted History & Murder Mystery Tour: Haunting Tales on a Trolley
For a seated, narrated experience, the Gray Line of Asheville Ghost & History Tour loads guests onto a classic trolley departing from Pack’s Tavern in the heart of downtown. Over about 75 minutes, the tour winds past sites tied to the legendary Pink Lady, the ghost of Church Street, an unsolved 1936 murder, child spirits said to haunt a former hospital, and even Nazi agents once based in Asheville during WWII. It’s a comfortable way to take in the city’s eerie history without doing all the walking yourself, perfect for families or anyone who wants their chills with a side of comfortable seating.
Why Downtown Asheville Is the Perfect Backdrop
What makes all four of these tours work so well is the setting itself. Downtown Asheville’s compact grid of early-1900s buildings, many of them designed by architect Rafael Guastavino, who is buried in the Basilica he helped build, creates an atmosphere that feels genuinely historic rather than staged. You’re not walking through a haunted house attraction; you’re walking past the actual hospital, hotel, and office buildings where these stories took place, often with the buildings still standing exactly as they did a century ago.
Whether you want expert-led history, comedy with a side of chills, deep historical storytelling, or a seated trolley tour, downtown Asheville has a ghost tour for every kind of traveler. Just don’t be surprised if you catch something strange in your photos afterward, plenty of past guests say they have.
