Charleston Haunted Holy City Self Guided Ghost Tour

This is a self-guided exploration game where you'll be solving a paranormal case involving real people and their wandering ghosts. The file on Charleston has been open since 1949. You, with your detective and observational skills, and a little help from the Questo app, will try to close it in 2 hours. The route takes you through 13 of the Holy City's darkest addresses. Your job is to get the other version of every pretty story, and to find out who has been following you since St Michael's. You'll discover dark stories like the steeple painted black to hide it from British guns, the 22-year-old doctor killed in a duel over an actress, and the rich planter who turned pirate out of boredom. Each location involves inspecting a real-world object and solving a challenge. Best after dark with your phone torch on. About 1.5 miles of walking, with unlimited breaks. Hints and 24/7 support if you get stuck. Perfect for Halloween or any night you're in the mood for creepy ghost stories.

1. 1

   Charleston City Hall

   10 min

   You'll start at the Four Corners of Law, where the app opens your case file and introduces the agent running it. Your first task will be to find an inscription nearby and fill in the missing words of a torn note. Solve it and you're cleared for the thirteen stops ahead.

2. 2

   St. Michael's Church

   10 min

   You'll cross to St Michael's, the oldest church building in the city, and search around the churchyard for the two signers of the US Constitution buried there. You'll learn why painting the steeple black during the Revolution was the worst idea the congregation ever had, and you'll find out that something has started following you.

3. 3

   First (Scots) Presbyterian Church

   8 min

   You'll walk down Meeting Street to First Scots and compare a photo of its plaque with the real one to find the detail that has been removed. You'll learn about the galleries built high at the back of Charleston's churches and who was made to sit there.

4. 4

   Rainbow Row

   8 min

   You'll come out on East Bay, across from the pastel houses everyone photographs, and find the sign with the 1711 map of the walled city to read what's hidden under a sticker in your photo. You'll learn where the half mile of city wall went when it came down.

5. 5

   Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon

   10 min

   You'll head to the Old Exchange at the foot of Broad Street and compare its hanging sign with the photo in your file to spot what has been added. Below your feet is the Provost Dungeon, and the file here is about Stede Bonnet, the rich Barbados planter who bought a ship and turned pirate because his afternoons were long.

6. 6

   Old Slave Mart Museum

   8 min

   You'll walk up the cobblestones of Chalmers Street to Ryan's Mart and solve a riddle about its iron gate. You'll read what the complex was built with, including a room the business called the dead house.

7. 7

   St. Philip's Anglican Church

   10 min

   You'll continue to St Philip's and find the landmark plaque on the churchyard fence to read the year hidden under a sticker. You'll learn about Colonel William Rhett, the man who caught Stede Bonnet, and about the other trade he never saw a contradiction in.

8. 8

   The Powder Magazine

   8 min

   You'll stop at the squat brick Powder Magazine from 1713, the oldest public building in the Carolinas, and pick the real hanging sign out of four doctored versions. You'll learn how 22,000 pounds of gunpowder were kept in the middle of a wooden city.

9. 9

   Unitarian Church in Charleston

   9 min

   You'll look through the King Street gate into the wildest graveyard in Charleston and use a punchcard cipher on its plaque to get your answer. You'll learn what's true about the Annabel legend, and why the yard is left to grow on purpose.

10. 10

    Circular Congregational Church

    9 min

    You'll finish in the oldest burying ground in Charleston, with stones from 1695, where you'll use every fragment you've collected to decode the final instruction and read a name off a grave. The ghost who has walked behind you all night finally says who he is.

• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• A charged smartphone with internet is required to play the game in the Questo app
• Comfortable walking shoes are recommended

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