Charleston Haunted Jail Night-Time Walking Tour with Admission to Old City Jail
4.3
461 Ratings
Charleston
Explore Charleston's haunted Old City Jail at night. Hear chilling tales of infamous criminals and Civil War prisoners. Book your unforgettable tour now.
Duration: 45 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Old City Jail - The Haunted Jail Tour takes you through the cells, hallways, and into the places where Charleston’s worst criminals lived and died. Brace yourself as you hear stories like the legend of Lavinia and John Fisher, hotel owners from the 1800s who supposedly poisoned their guests. Featured on such shows as Ghost Adventures, the story goes that Lavinia’s ghost still, very audibly, haunts the premises.

This Haunted Jail Tour is quite possibly the scariest place you will ever go! Open often to the public for arts events, the jail even gives locals an eerie chill down the spine as soon as one steps foot into the space. Visitors go as far to say they’ve seen objects move or even disappear, while others hear voices, the slamming of doors, or chains as they’re allegedly dragged against the floor of the jail.

What's Included
  • Charleston Haunted Jail Night-Time Guided Walking Tour
  • Admission to Old City Jail in Charleston
  • Professional Guide
  • 45min Behind-The-Scenes Guided Tour of Old City Jail
  • Experience the jail that housed some of Charleston’s most infamous criminals & 19th-century pirates
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Transportation to/from attractions
Additional Information

Join us for a memorable tour of the ground level of the Old City Jail, which housed some of Charleston’s most infamous criminals, 19th-century pirates, and Civil War prisoners. Located on Magazine Street downtown, the Old City Jail operated from 1802 until 1939, and has recently undergone renovation, leaving the first floor in keeping with its original design (with the welcomed addition of air conditioning). Bulldog Tours, exclusively, guides guests through the cells, hallways and places where Charleston’s earliest criminals lived. Get a glimpse of how the incarcerated were mistreated with primitive forms of torture while living in miserable conditions. Hear stories like the legend of Lavinia Fisher, the jail’s most famous inmate and first female serial killer. Since Bulldog’s first tour of this storied place in 2004, guests have returned again and again to make their own discoveries about what has transpired in this historic site. PLEASE NOTE THIS TOUR IS FOR 12 AND UP ONLY.

Location
21 Magazine St
Magazine Street
Please meet the tour guide at Old City Jail 15 minutes prior to tour time.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.3
(461 Ratings)
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Tessar780
May 29, 2024
Fun Tour! - This tour is a lot of fun, they do a great job combining learning about Charleston’s history with humor, while scaring you.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Graceb_91
May 24, 2024
Haunted Jail Tour - I wasn't sure what to expect for a 45-minute tour, but this tour was great! I was captivated and the stories, pictures, and audio that Bruce shared were informative. While nothing supernatural happened on the tour and I wish it was a bit longer, the part of the building that you tour is kept really dark which set the stage for the tour feeling really creepy! Glad I made time to do this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gina_s
May 19, 2024
Worth a go - Randy was a great guide and had lots of stories and historical information. Definitely a little creepy
Review provided by Viator
Lisa
May 19, 2024
Great tour with history and ghosts - Randy was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide through the history of this old jail. I am more into history than the supernatural- this tour covers both. I wish there was more original left but understand that ship has sailed- they have done a great job with what they had after the building changed hands several times. Definitely recommend it if you are visiting Charleston.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
D3346xfmikec
May 16, 2024
Great but short. - Tour guide Dustin was awesome. Had a great time tour should be longer for pics and questions along with the story telling of the jail.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michael_t
May 29, 2024
Spooky but not great - This was a cool tour as you got to explore the jail and hear its history and ghost stories. It wasn’t very scary and I felt like we learned more about the history than the ghost stories. It was a cool experience and was definitely spooky but I’ve had better experiences with other ghost tours.
Review provided by Viator
Lynette_h
May 28, 2024
Nice place , but I wouldn’t want to live there. - Needed to be longer and time to explore. Should have more time. Guide was very good he was the best part.
Review provided by Viator
Jac0b562
May 7, 2024
Cross roads of Paranormal and historical events - Giving 5 stars to host Braxton ! Incredible job Braxton really understood the audience and had a unique skill set with delivering the story from a historical stand point and blending in the paranormal. The people remodeling the prison removed the creepy elements, yet Braxton keep grounding us with all the story’s behind the prison. Wish they would open this up for paranormal investigations and or allow people to experience the entire prison. Currently it’s only 1st floor.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Zachary_g
May 10, 2024
Wouldn’t Recommend - The jail tour was only 40 minutes which I felt was pretty short for the price that was charged. It could’ve been better by exploring different levels of the jail, not only the basement. Overall there wasn’t much history shared, just anecdotal stories of other tour groups that seemed quite fabricated.
Review provided by Viator
Climber53447334282
May 21, 2024
Very disappointing. - Really upset at the service. We called to let them know we would be three minutes late, they said they wouldn’t wait. That’s fine, we understood, but we showed up late by THREE minutes anyway to see if we could slip in since we had ALREADY paid 40 dollars per person for this tour. We came up to the gates and one of the people who worked there gave us a look and just walked away. It was incredibly rude and unprofessional that she did not at least come up to us and talk to us and explain why we couldn’t just slip in.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 15 guests
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June 2024
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