Halloween in Philadelphia – The Spirits of ’76 Ghost Tour

October 26, 2011 By Jeff Belonger

Halloween in Philadelphia – The Spirits of ’76 Ghost Tour

Halloween in Philadelphia always has some sort of spooks, ghosts, and or scary stories around one corner or another. I was fortunate enough to win a ticket to the Spirits of ’76 Ghost Tour in Philadelphia and took the tour last night. The tour is affiliated with the Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia.

The Spirits of ’76 Ghost Tour weaves in and around parts of Society Hill and Old City and is approximately 1 1/2 hours long while walking about 1.2 miles. You visit more than 20 scary sites in which you hear about Philadelphia’s haunted facts and folklore. You first start off with a little history such as who founded the City of Philadelphia and the Greek meaning of Philadelphia, which can be found here. ~ History of Philadelphia ~ Some of the haunted facts that you learn are about Edgar Allan Poe, who used to reside in Philadelphia and about Leo Callahan, the only prisoner to escape from Eastern State Penitentiary and never be captured. You also learn about a specific murder, in which a family was killed, yet never finding out who did this devious crime. Then there are the folklore stories about the legendary ghosts that inhabit Independence Hall, the spirits of Carpenters’ Hall from a first person encounter, the dancing statue of Benjamin Franklin at Library Hall, and much more.

Overall, I enjoyed the tour and learned several new things about Philadelphia that I never knew. We had a very good tour guide, Tim, who has been doing this for three years. Tim was very knowledge and you could tell that he enjoyed giving the tour, which made the tour even more enjoyable. And don’t forget that we had nice weather.

Location :

Meet outside of Così^® Restaurant at 325 Chestnut Street (corner of 4th & Chestnut Streets) each evening before the tour.

Dates :

Runs from April through November. (certain dates & times) October : daily starting @ 7:30 pm. Extended hours in October : Thurs/Fri/Sat/& Halloween @ 9:30 pm. And Sat & Sun @ 6:00 pm.