Wilmington, North Carolina After Dark During a Ghost Walk

We're going on a Ghost Walk!

**Disclosure: Thank you to Wilmington, North Carolina for hosting our visit and providing us with complimentary Ghost Walk tickets. No compensation was received. All opinions are 100% our own.

Since my daughter is only nine, ghost tours had not been high on our priority list in the past. Over the last year her interest in ghost stories developed, so I thought that our trip to Wilmington would be a good time to try a ghost walk especially considering the rich history of the city. Cue the Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington. Two ghost walks are held daily in the spring, summer and fall--one at 6:30PM and one at 8:30PM. The city can be quite warm during the day so I thought what the heck, why not try the one at 8:30PM when it would be a little cooler--and a little spookier!

Easy to find meeting point on the Riverwalk.

We conveniently met our tour group at the Riverwalk footsteps away from where we caught our carriage ride earlier in the day. The sun setting over the Cape Fear River set the mood yet we had quite a jovial crowd which pretty much eased my worries about my daughter getting too scared. There were even a number of children on the tour a bit younger than her. After being on the tour, however, I would recommend any child coming along be eight or older. Some of the stories may be a little much for younger children.

I think there are spirits here!

Walking through Wilmington at night allows you to experience the historic setting in a truly different way. The area is fairly well lit but the buildings almost take on different personas with shadows in corners, mysterious lighting and the specter of other worldly entities.

The tour did have a decent amount of walking and our guide walked a quick pace. However, she did pause to make sure everyone kept up. Our guide told very lively tales about tragic and even sometimes dastardly events that happened at the very places where we were standing. She was pretty entertaining and was great at keeping the audience engaged in the tales. We visited some of the same spots that we visited during the morning carriage ride. However, now we viewed them from a different perspective. We learned about unfortunate situations and modern witnesses experiencing the energy, actions and even fury of these spirits to this day. Boo!

Be on the lookout!

Our tour included a stop at the cemetery. While we did not enter the cemetery, the shadows throughout really added that spooky element to the story. However, not entering was perfect if you had a little one with you that may be a bit frightened at the prospect of entering the cemetery. In fact, the tour kept to common thoroughfares in the town. Since it was evening, there were not many other people wandering around. However, I feel that keep to main paths that my daughter had been on earlier in the day allowed her to enjoy a bit of a good chill without getting too frightened. A perfect mix!

We were encouraged to take pictures just in case we captured evidence of the world beyond. What a fun challenge! Of course, my camera did not cooperate very well. But, it was fun to look through the pictures that we did get to comb for evidence. I am sure many adults love this idea, but the challenge is especially fun for kids!

The Ghost Walk provided a unique way of exploring Wilmington and enhanced our visit with more of the city's folklore. Sometimes, it can be quite a challenge to find something for older children to be excited about. The tour was such great fun and will definitely entertain adults and kids alike! I am really glad that we chose Wilmington for our first Ghost Walk experience. We had a fabulous time and it truly provided a unique way to look at the city!