Monterey's Dark Secrets: A Haunting Ghost Walk Adventure

Our tour guide, Kendra, was fantastic. She had a wealth of knowledge about Monterey’s local history and shared it with great enthusiasm. I was impressed by how much she knew—and how she made sure her stories were accurate and well-researched. The “ghosts and goblins” portion wasn’t overly scary; it was more about recounting real people and their unfortunate fates throughout the area’s past. I’ve taken many haunted tours (we try to do one on every vacation), and Kendra was truly top-notch when it came to her historical insight and storytelling. I learned a lot of fascinating facts about Monterey that I wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. If you’re in the mood for an evening walk filled with local history and a few spooky tales, I highly recommend this tour.

It was so much fun, an easy walk with tons of history to learn about too! The guide was incredible and friendly. I only wish I knew there were upgrades available, those did not show on TripAdvisor

Host was very knowledgeable. Enjoyable tour and learned plenty of past stories. Not too scary should you think of taking young children.

This was a fun and easy thing to do on a pleasant evening for a stroll. Guide Louie was engaging and friendly, walk was calm-paced and on even terrain. Setting aside any truth to haunted stories, there is some history to learn in an amusing way. Note; the GPS address of starting point - 570 Pacific St - puts you at the corner of Madison & Dutra, while the group was gathering at the other end of the plaza at Colton Hall. This caused some confusion at the start. This tour did not stop at Monterey Hotel, though the guide did address the hotel when a couple of guests mentioned they were staying there.

Our tour guide was excellent on the 8pm tour we enjoyed her knowledge and the passion in her experience.

Adam gave an entertaining informative tour of old Monterey history and ghosts. He is very articulate and educated about this subject. This tour is very enjoyable and well worth taking.

I really enjoyed the stories about the ghosts in this area. We got to hear about some historical people & see some old architecture. Great tour, & entertaining!

wasn’t prepared for the walking but I enjoyed it.the tour guide was very informative and kool..would definitely do it again . And not go after a couple of drinks.

The experience itself was a bit mysterious. The tour I joined didn’t start at the location listed in the instructions, nor did it end where it was supposed to be. To be fair, I didn’t read the instructions carefully, which said to check in 15 minutes early, so I arrived right at 8:00 pm for the 8:00 pm tour at 570 Pacific St. Google Maps didn’t take me to Pacific St, but instead to the intersection of Madison St and Dutra St. Strangely, there was no one there. Even if the group had already left, I thought I’d at least see them nearby, right? The location turned out to be a jail museum that we visited later, which further implied this couldn’t have been the starting point - otherwise, it would have been our first stop, and there’d be no reason to return. So, I called the number provided in the instruction, at 8:01pm, and thankfully, someone answered quickly. The staff member first asked which city I was in, and then told me the guide had already checked in and started the tour. I expressed my confusion that I didn’t see anyone around and that I should have seen the group if the tour started right at 8:00 pm. I then asked where their next stop would be, so I could catch up. The staff told me it was the General Sherman Quarters, and said that she had already texted the guide to let him know I was on my way. I checked Google Maps - just a 3 min walk, not bad. As I headed toward General Sherman Quarters, I noticed a group gathered in front of a building to my left. That could be them! I stepped up and joined the group - there were 6 participants there. The guide was telling the story of the building. When he finished, I confirmed his name and explained what happened. He checked his phone and saw the message about me. From there, the tour went as you’d expect—a manageable walk and stories at each important site. Around 9:05 pm, the guide told us we were at our last stop. We were supposed to finish at the Monterey Hotel, but instead, we ended at a haunted house on Pierce St. Since I had parked nearby, I just walked straight to my car. As I drove away, sitting in my car, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d actually joined the right ghost tour I had signed up for after all. Overall, it was a really fun experience. Even though I’d spent the whole day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Lovers Point Park, and walking along the bay trail, it wasn’t until after the tour that I truly felt connected to the city. You don’t really feel you have visited a city until you know the stories and legends behind its buildings.

This was a very cool tour, lots of history and not too spooky. We did the 10:00 pm tour, so maybe a little spookier, the early tours may be better if you’re easily scared, but it was very cool!