Photo courtesy Greater Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau

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Groups can visit the "haunted" Brennan House -- an 1868 Victorian mansion -- during a tour with Louisville Ghost Walks.

Photo by Justin Coulter, courtesy Louisville Ghost Walks

Louisville Ghost Walks, Louisville, KY

Explore the haunts of downtown Louisville – if you dare

by Carrie Daut | October 09, 2011

Every city has its ghosts. And every ghost has its story. This Halloween season, explore the “darker” side of downtown Louisville, and see what the ghosts of the Derby City have to say.

On a 90-minute walking tour of the downtown area, guests can discover haunted Louisville with one of the best ghost tour companies in town – Louisville Ghost Walks.

Louisville Ghost Walks is the creation of Robert Parker, Mr. Ghost Walker himself. Parker is a Louisville native…and someone who’s had more than one spine-tingling encounter with the paranormal. Author of Haunted Louisville and Haunted Louisville 2: Beyond Downtown, Parker fills each and every one of his tours with personal testimonies of Louisville’s scarier side.

The Louisville Ghost Walks tours promise to mix “history with mystery.” All tours begin in the lobby of The Brown Hotel, where some say founder J. Graham Brown still patrols the corridors. Tour-goers then proceed to visit several of Louisville’s most famous – and most haunted – landmarks.

Guests will visit the old University of Louisville Medical School, as well as the haunted fireplace on the campus of Jefferson Community College’s Broadway location.

At The Brennan House – an 1868 Victorian mansion – visitors will learn the history of the Brennan family and their eight children. Did the family really leave? And how can you explain the mysterious rocking of the cradle in the upstairs nursery?

The tour will continue on, visiting the historic Palace Theater and Seelbach Hotel, the Belle of Louisville (a steamboat still haunted by Captain Winters?) and other sites.

Louisville Ghost Walks currently offers tours every Friday and Saturday night through mid-November. Tours are also available Sunday to Thursday upon request. Tours begin at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays, 7 p.m. any other night of the week. Tours last 90 minutes.

Tour prices are $15 for adults (age 12 and older), $10 for children. Reservations are required for all tours, and all tours must be prepaid. Various lot and street parking options are available near the tour’s starting location, The Brown Hotel. Remember to bring: comfortable walking shoes, a camera and a jacket if needed.

To contact Louisville Ghost Walks, call (502) 689-5177 or email LouGhstWalks@aol.com. (Insider Note: Parker responds to both emails and phone calls extremely promptly!) For more information on Louisville Ghost Walks, visit louisvilleghostwalks.com.