Haunted Places in Charleston

Three buildings in Charleston where the history is documented, what each costs, and why the churchyard everyone photographs is the one with the least behind it.

The Powder Magazine is the oldest thing standing

Built in 1713, the Powder Magazine is the oldest public building in the Carolinas - a squat brick store for the colony's gunpowder, with walls thick enough to contain an explosion and a roof designed to blow off rather than out. It is small, it takes fifteen minutes, and it is the only place in the city where you are standing inside the colonial fortification itself rather than looking at a house that came later.

The Old Exchange, and the dungeon under it

The Old Exchange at 122 East Bay Street went up in 1771 as a customs house, and the cellar beneath it - the Provost Dungeon - was used by the British as a military prison during the occupation. Prisoners of war were held there, and so, earlier, were captured pirates: Stede Bonnet's crew among them. The building is open by day as a museum and the dungeon is part of the standard admission; most evening ghost tours include it, and the ones that do are paying for after-hours access you cannot buy alone.

The Unitarian churchyard is a gardening decision

Construction on the Unitarian Church began in 1772, which makes it the oldest Unitarian congregation in the South, and its graveyard is the most photographed in Charleston. The wildness is deliberate: the congregation chose decades ago to let it grow rather than clip it, so vines and wildflowers run over the stones by design. The Lady in White and the Annabel Lee story attached themselves later. It is genuinely beautiful and it is free to walk through in daylight.

What a tour actually adds here

Charleston's haunted sites are unusually walkable and mostly cheap - the Powder Magazine and the Old Exchange charge modest museum admission, the churchyard is free. What an evening tour buys is the after-dark access to the dungeon that the museum's day ticket does not include, and a route that connects three sites you would otherwise visit as three errands. That is a real product. It is not access to anything secret.

That sits in the typical band for the category, whose median is $30.

Charleston ghost tours

14 of the 14 Charleston tours we track . Ordered by review depth.

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Charleston: Haunted Horse-Drawn Carriage Evening Tour — ghost tour photograph 45 minutes

Charleston: Haunted Horse-Drawn Carriage Evening Tour

4.7 (49) Palmetto Carriage

Experience Charleston’s dark side on this 45 minute haunted horse-drawn carriage ride. Wander through historic neighborhoods, where centuries-old homes whisper secrets of their past inhabitants.

Above the nationwide $50

Above the for a ghost tour in Charleston · 14 tours, median $35

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Charleston: City of the Dead Walking Ghost Tour — ghost tour photograph 1.5 hours

Charleston: City of the Dead Walking Ghost Tour

5.0 (3) 108 Elemental Tours

Join Charleston on a walking tour to the most haunted places in one of the country's oldest cities. See spooky hotels, visit the final resting places of the restless, and hear tales of the dead.

Typical nationwide $35

Typical for a ghost tour in Charleston · 14 tours, median $35

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Questions people actually ask

What's the most haunted place in Charleston?
By reputation it is the Provost Dungeon beneath the Old Exchange at 122 East Bay Street - a British military prison during the occupation, where prisoners of war and captured pirates were held. By documented history it is also the strongest, which is unusual: most “most haunted” claims attach to buildings where nothing verifiable happened. The Unitarian churchyard and the 1713 Powder Magazine are the other two regulars.
What are some haunted things to do in Charleston, SC?
Three that are worth the time regardless of whether you believe any of it: the Powder Magazine, the oldest public building in the Carolinas, built 1713; the Old Exchange and its dungeon, built 1771; and the Unitarian churchyard, free and open in daylight. An evening walking tour connects them and usually adds after-hours dungeon access, which is the part you cannot arrange yourself.
What's more haunted, Charleston or Savannah?
Savannah has more sites and markets itself harder; Charleston has better documentation behind the sites it does have. If you want volume of story, Savannah. If you want to stand in a building where the recorded history is grim on its own terms - a colonial powder store, a prison cellar - Charleston. Neither city has evidence of a ghost, and both have excellent guides who will tell you so.
Is the Provost Dungeon worth visiting during the day?
Yes, and it is cheaper. Standard museum admission to the Old Exchange includes the dungeon, so if you only want to see the space, go by day. The evening tours are buying you access after the museum closes plus a guide and a route - worth it if you want the whole story, unnecessary if you want the room.
How much do Charleston ghost tours cost?
The prices on this page are live from GetYourGuide and shown against the national ghost-tour median, so you can see at a glance whether a Charleston tour is dear for a ghost tour or just dear. Charleston runs above the national median - it is a dense, heavily-toured historic district, and the dungeon-access tours cost more because the access is real.