Founding Phantoms: Philadelphia's Haunted History

Discover the dark and macabre history of early Philadelphia on the Founding Phantoms Ghost Tour. Explore haunted locations and delve into the darker side of human nature. Ages 16+. Book now!

Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Pennsylvania Hospital - This hospital, whose purpose was to treat mental illness, was home to many inhumane experiments in an attempt to drive out the evil spirits once believed to be the cause of mental illness. Join us on a journey through the past as we discuss the evils that took place and the vengeful spirits that remain as a result
What's Included
  • All applicable fees and taxes included
  • Professional and experienced guides
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

The Founding Phantoms Ghost Tour is an enlightening excursion digging into the creepy and chilling tales of Philadelphia’s early life. Delve into the shady aspect of humanity - you might depart the tour questioning your own existence. This tour caters to individuals aged 16 and above, and broaches adult themes and speech not appropriate for youngsters….

Location
850 Walnut St
Walnut Street
You will meet your spooktacular tour guide at Starman in the Ancient Garden. It's directly across the street from Walnut Street Theatre and beside a medical building.
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.6
(95 Ratings)
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Companion24965109774
Nov 28, 2024
Great tour! - I can't say enough about Claire. She was amazing. It was sooooo cold so we were the only ones crazy enough to do the tour that night. She not only gave us basically a private tour, she extended it for us. And she knew where alllll the bathrooms were. She was so knowledgeable and it was a very informative night. We loved it so much! Thank you Claire!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Catherinema1641fl
Nov 17, 2024
The best dark historical tour of Philly expertly narrated by Claire - This has got to be the best historical/ghost tour in Philly. We got to see so many historical sites and learn about their very real and very dark histories. Our tour guide Claire was lively and expertly knowledgeable about the city. She took us to two extra spots and told us stories as well. I would recommend this tour group and ESPECIALLY Claire as a tour guide to anyone. My favorite sites were the Penn hospital, the Physick house, and learning about the bricks from the 1800s.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
840yesseniac
Nov 17, 2024
History Haunted tour - Our wonderful tour guide Claire, was fantastic! She made the tour fun and enjoyable. I learned so much about the history of Philadelphia! I highly recommend the tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
977talir
Nov 4, 2024
GREAT Tour Guide - Claire was our tour guide and she was wonderful!! It ended up just being my partner and I on the tour but that meant we were able to really ask questions and details. We learned SO MUCH about the history in Old City in Philadelphia. Claire was a great story teller, touching on the different lives of famous Philadelphian's and then of course the haunts that each location possessed. She even gave us recommendations for our remaining time in the city. 10/10 would recommend this tour to anyone interested in ghosts and history.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Adventure62553434711
Oct 28, 2024
Excellent tour! - Our guide, Claire, was excellent! She was a wealth of information, enthusiastic, and encouraged our question and interaction.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
39wilbertv
Sep 2, 2024
Wow! Philly has an extremely bizarre but interesting history and characters - She was very knowledgeable and seemed genuinely into her tour. Asked us questions, involved us as tools in the tour. We were very tired and literally running on a schedule and she made it interesting enough to keep us tuned in.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
B645lual
Aug 29, 2024
History comes alive - The tour was about a dozen stops and took over 2 hours to complete. We were lucky - our group was very active asking questions and contributing personal stories. The guide went over standard presentation (of course), but seeing our interest, she also expanded on the details at every stop. You don't have to believe in supernatural; frankly, I'm not sold that the blue orbs we captured on camera were manifestations. But your personal attitude on the topic does not detract in any way from the quality of the tour. What you'll learn is history behind events. Just one example to illustrate... You may not believe that a widow was hosting parties on urging of her late husband, but it's unquestionable that she believed that. And hosting these parties led to making connections that had influence on the American history. Does this mean husband's ghost is/was real? Maybe, maybe not - you decide. But the point is that based on her belief in supernatural the widow remarried and made very real influence on the history of the country. The tour is full of these tidbits, the stories behind the people and events. Our guide was absolutely phenomenal storyteller.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Traveler63913249781
Sep 23, 2024
Didn't even get the chance to be disappointed - I called ahead before booking tonight's tour, to make sure it wasn't going to be cancelled due to the rain this afternoon, and was told it would not be. But it was. Thirty minutes later. And it was no longer raining by the time the tour would have started. This is the only night in town I had available to do a ghost tour and now I won't be able to, and that was going to be a highlight of my trip, as it was one of the activities I was MOST looking forward to while in Philly. It really sucks because another tour I had planned to go on previously was also cancelled prematurely due to rain, which is why I decided to book this tour, despite the two most recent bad reviews. I was texted the booking confirmation for this tour, but for some reason was only contacted via email about the cancelation, so I didn't see it until after I stood around waiting for my tour guide, and rushed through dinner to make sure I didn't miss my time slot.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cpbasset
Sep 22, 2024
Wasn't a ghost tour and was a huge disappointment. - I was on the same tour as Christine and I can concur with everything she has written. My friend was SOO excited to take a ghost tour and this was a huge disappointment for her. The young guide was nice enough, but she did not seem to know anything about the area, nor the history of the sites visited. There was no real "ghost stories" and the tour description led us to believe we would be able to ENTER one house which did not happen. I hate to be harsh, but this was the worst tour I have ever taken.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
E2502lbchristinel
Sep 18, 2024
Very disappointing - I typically really enjoy these tours, both the historical and spooky aspects. Unfortunately, our guide shared virtually no ghost stories throughout the tour. She was a young guide and historical facts offered were those that were written on or near each site - most were attributed to movies she had seen. She seemed very uncomfortable speaking in front of our small group of 4, often facing away from us while speaking, and did not talk at all during long stretches of walking. Two people in the group (half of the people) were suffering with bad knees and she walked very quickly, making it difficult to keep up and never checking to see the group was with her. Overall, I'm disappointed to say that we had an incredibly poor experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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