Columbus Ghost Tour
Step into Columbus’s spooky shadows with Lizzie Borden Ghost Tours, and discover its ghostly sightings and tragic endings that spawned its harrowing hauntings.
GET TICKETSTake a Columbus ghost tour to the city’s haunted landmarks, from eerie mansions to haunted lakes, and can experience the darker side of Columbus.
Why You Need to Take a Columbus Ghost Tour
Columbus may seem like a modern city, but beneath its lively streets lies a haunted history that few dare to explore. There are plenty of sprawling historic homes with generations of spirits still attached; military sites are marked with tragic lives cut short. Columbus is a city with a past filled with tragic fates and mysteries that are searching for resolution. This Columbus ghost tour uncovers this hidden, otherworldly side of the city, visiting locations where the dead linger among the living. Step into a world where shadows come alive, and the air grows colder in every building. Each stop unravels more of the mystery and the city’s haunted past, unveiling stories too spooky to forget. For thrill-seekers and history lovers alike, Columbus’s ghosts are waiting.
Susie was a great guide. She even included her own personal experiences in her talk. Good story teller. Beautiful walk around Atlanta in the evening. A fun night.
Why is Columbus So Haunted?
Columbus holds a rich history layered with untold stories that bind restless spirits to these grounds. One of the city’s most haunted locations is the historic Harrison House, a stop on the Underground Railroad. Built in 1807, this home has seen the sorrow and struggle of those fleeing enslavement. Visitors and staff report chilling whispers and shadowy figures moving through the halls as if the spirits of those who once hid here are still seeking refuge.
Mirror Lake, located on the Ohio State University campus, adds to Columbus’s haunted lore with its tragic stories. Legend has it that a young woman drowned in the lake in the 1920s, and her spirit still roams the area. Students and visitors claim to see a woman dressed in old-fashioned clothing wandering by the lake’s edge at night, vanishing into mist when approached. The eerie tranquility of Mirror Lake makes it a hauntingly beautiful spot, even in daylight.
At the Kelton House, a 19th-century mansion with ties to the Civil War, unexplained activity is frequently reported. The house served as a sanctuary on the Underground Railroad, and some believe that the spirits of former residents and hidden refugees linger. Guests and tour guides often feel sudden cold drafts and hear soft footsteps in empty rooms, as if the past is walking beside them. It’s as though the energy of those turbulent years has seeped into the walls, making the Kelton House a touchstone for Columbus’s haunted past.
The Ohio Governor’s Mansion and Fort Hayes further deepen the city’s eerie reputation. The mansion is known for ghostly encounters, with unexplained sounds and sightings of a woman in Victorian clothing roaming the halls. Fort Hayes, a former Civil War military base, holds its own hauntings; visitors report seeing shadowy figures in uniform and hearing the faint sounds of bugles and marching, as if the soldiers stationed there still stand guard. Together, these sites reveal a darker side of Columbus, where history and hauntings intertwine.
Why should you tour with us?
A lot of energy passes through bars and breweries, from broken hearts to bruised egos. Sometimes, there’s even the tragedy of a murder. If you enjoy stopping off at local bars, you’ll have a few to see, all of which come with their own resident apparition or mischievous specter. You can come on your own time for a drink, but with Columbus Ghosts, you’ll get the real scoop of what ghosts emerge after closing time.
A tour with Columbus Ghosts features a detailed history of two cemeteries: Green Lawn and Brown Pet. In the beautiful Sensenbrenner Park, you’ll hear all about Green Lawn’s haunted mausoleum and the four-legged spirits of the pet cemetery located across town. It’s a balance of spooky and wholesome, though the eeriness of Green Lawn’s resident haunts may draw a more visceral reaction.
Okay, so there isn’t a year-round holiday display to be seen at the former home of the Lazarus Department Store, but the history behind the haunted location will pique your interest if you can’t get enough of Macy’s Christmas decor. The Lazarus Department Store can take credit for where Thanksgiving falls, and you can hear all about the ghost of Fred Lazarus, who, when blood still ran through his body, shaped the modern holiday shopping season. It’s a unique ghost story with a moderately festive twist.
When you think of a haunted location, chances are you envision something close to the ground. Maybe an old inn or tavern that shows its years. It seems rare that a contemporary skyscraper becomes rooted in a city’s spectral activity. In Columbus, it certainly isn’t, and if you love a towering high rise, there are a few to focus on during your ghost tour.
You could spend a week in Columbus and still have a ton to see. If you need a break from exploring the many sights and adventures of Columbus, a ghost tour is a great change of pace. You’ll be privy to the stories that aren’t typically told to the casual day crowd at many of Columbus’ most popular sightseeing spots.
Most Haunted Places in Columbus
Ohio Statehouse
The Ohio Statehouse, built with prisoner labor and known for some gruesome discoveries like walled-in cat bones and graffiti, is steeped in history and haunted lore. Ghostly sightings include Clerk Thomas Bateman flickering Senate lights at 5 pm and Abraham Lincoln dancing with Kate Chase in the Senate chamber.
The Elevator
The Elevator Brewery, originally Bott Bros. Billiards, was the site of the murder of Colonel Randolph A. Pritchard in 1909. Today, ghostly footprints appear in February snow, and staff report spooky encounters, including sightings of the colonel’s menacing apparition.
Lazarus Building
The Lazarus Department Store, established in Columbus, Ohio, in 1851, became a retail landmark known for innovations like fixed prices, moving escalators, and air conditioning. Today, the building hosts offices, but visitors report ghostly sightings of founder Simon Lazarus and his son Fred, who continue to haunt their beloved store.
FAQs
View our Refund Policy on this page if you have any questions!
Please see your booking details for meeting location. There are neighboring parking garages and street parking that are available in the area.
Group size varies based on time of year and demand. We can keep everyone in your party in the same group. We’ve been doing this for years, and manage group size to ensure guests have a great experience. In the event you can’t hear your tour guide, let them know, or move closer to them.
Pets are welcome as long as they do not disrupt or distract from the tour
The arrival time will be listed on your confirmation email and in the available tour times when you click the book button
Please do not call us, the best way to reach us is by email using the contact form on this website
An extended tour takes you to a few additional locations when the regular tour ends. This adds about four new places and 30 minutes to your tour- highly recommended
Book a tour and check the +1 box for each person in your group where it says “Extended Tour” at checkout to add an extended Ghost tour.
Please contact us directly for pricing and availability. We do not do private tours under 30 persons. If you have a group under 30, please order directly from the website’s book now option.
Tours are held rain or shine. We will contact you if the tour is cancelled.
Please only attend the tour for the day and time you are booked, as another day or time may not be available. If you need to reschedule, please contact us by email first. There is a $10 per order (not person) rebooking fee for each schedule change.
As it is unfair to other guests, we do not wait for late or no show parties. Please remember to arrive to the correct location on time! We do not grant refunds to guests who fail to arrive to the appointed place on time and miss their tour.
No, but some of the locations you can visit during the day for free. We simply wouldn’t have the time to focus on as many stories as we do if we were to enter each one, and we wish to focus on the stories, and leave the exploring up to you!
15 minutes before the start of your tour
No.
No, this is a walking tour.
Most of the tour is not stroller or wheelchair accessible.
Yes, you are welcome to take photos of the locations we visit!
No, videos are not allowed
No, there is no smoking allowed on the tour
We do not allow intoxicated guests or drinking on the tour- we will promptly ask those in violation to leave
Lizzie Borden Ghost Tours
America’s most infamously haunted house delivers the most terrifying scares from all across the nation. We’ve compiled an extensive list of notoriously haunted locations and packaged them into spooky, entertaining tours available throughout the nation. Discover the true, unfiltered stories that created these hair-raising scares in only the unique and engaging way our expert guides can bring them to you. From the ghosts of unsolved murders and tragic accidents to disturbed spirits unable to find peace, there’s no limit to what we expose on our authentic ghost tours. Join us as we take you on an unforgettable, chilling journey through your city’s dark past and uncover the sinister secrets that put these places on the otherworldly map.
The Lizzie Borden House is home to the infamous murders that captivated the nation and made Lizzie Borden a macabre household name. Guests can explore the house via a variety of tours and, for those brave enough, stay in this notoriously haunted home. We aim to provide you with a memorable experience as well as deliver the best ghost tours, haunted pub crawls, and a variety of other experiences in over 100 cities.
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