Asheville: Adults-Only Comedy Ghost Tour Downtown & Montford

4.94

(166 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I didn’t expect to start the night with a purple bus full of strangers and end up cackling at ghost jokes while rolling past Asheville’s old brick facades. The driver wore a cape—no kidding—and our guide (who called herself “Mistress of the Macabre,” which I’m still not sure was her real name) greeted us with this booming laugh that made everyone loosen up. There was this weird mix of beer in the air from South Slope breweries and something sweet—maybe someone’s perfume or just the city after rain.

We zigzagged through downtown Asheville, right into the Arts District where everything glowed under those old street lamps. Our guide pointed out a building where some scandalous murder happened—I missed half the details because someone behind me snorted at her punchline and I lost it too. She kept tossing out these wild facts about Asheville’s past that sounded fake but apparently weren’t (she swore on her “undead” honor). At one point she tried to get us to howl like ghosts out the window. I did it, even though my partner pretended not to know me for about five minutes after.

The tour hit Montford next—big houses, lots of shadows. There was a story about a lady in white that made my skin prickle for a second, even though we were all laughing most of the time. It’s weird how you can feel both creeped out and totally safe when you’re surrounded by people who are just as awkward as you are. By the time we looped back toward South Slope, I realized I hadn’t checked my phone once. That almost never happens anymore.