New Orleans: Haunted Pub Crawl French Quarter & Bourbon St

4.59

(181 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed was the way the streetlights flickered on Bourbon Street — kind of yellow, kind of tired, but still hanging in there. Our guide, Marcus (he wore a battered Saints cap), gathered us up outside this old brick bar that smelled like sugar and something herbal. He grinned and said, “Ready to meet some ghosts?” Someone behind me laughed nervously. I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not.

We wandered through the French Quarter with Marcus weaving stories about murders and heartbreak — honestly, I lost track of which story belonged to which crumbling balcony. The air felt sticky against my neck, and at one stop I tried a drink called an absinthe frappe. It tasted like licorice and fire at the same time. There was this moment when a woman from our group tried to pronounce “lagniappe” — Marcus just shook his head and laughed, “Close enough.” That made everyone relax a little.

I didn’t expect how much the city’s haunted side would get under my skin. At one point we ducked into a bar that apparently had real vampire regulars back in the ‘90s (no fangs tonight though). The bartender slid us hurricanes in plastic cups while telling us about Aleister Crowley’s favorite corner booth — I still think about that weird chill when she pointed it out. After the tour ended, some of us just stayed on Bourbon Street for another round. The music leaked out of every doorway; you couldn’t really tell where one song ended and another started.