The Haunted Pub Crawl

12/07/2022

It has been a while since we posted this video. Watch for the small apparition that shows up behind the bar just before chaos ensues. This was taken at Varnish, one of the most haunted pubs in Wilmington.

12/01/2022

Join our team! You will love this work if you enjoy telling a great ghost story!

11/02/2022

Sad that Halloween is over? Us too but you can still keep the spooky going with a haunted pub crawl! Get your tickets at www.hauntedwilmington.com

10/24/2022

Good time on the Haunted Pub Crawl!
Come out and join us!

10/23/2022

Spirits….and spirits!!!
Join us in The Haunted Pub Crawl!

10/10/2022

October is a great time of year to gather some friends and join us for a pub crawl. Explore the dark alleys and old taverns on our haunted downtown.

09/27/2022

On this day in 1718, Stede "The Gentleman Pirate" Bonnet fought the Battle of Cape Fear just south of Wilmington. Blackbeard's partner in crime was hanged in Charleston and, within a month, Blackbeard was killed in Ocracoke, thus ending the Golden Age of Piracy.

09/23/2022

Deep in the underbelly of the haunted streets of downtown, down a dark staircase, into the basement of an old Masonic temple, you will find one of the haunted destinations on our pub crawl. Join us for spirits and spirits this weekend!

07/30/2022

Friday night at Growler’s Tavern!
Cheers, my friends!

07/09/2022

Jacob's run is a set of tunnels dating back several centuries which run under the city into the Cape Fear River just south of the former J.W. Brooks building, according to city maps. Rumors have long circulated the arched tunnels were used as a means of escape for criminals, a way to move the bodies who were victims of Yellow Fever, a passage on the Underground Railroad and even as a smuggler's route for pirates as far back as the Revolutionary War. Here is a photo of a section of the tunnel in 1972.

06/11/2022

Join us for some spirits with your spirits. The Haunted Pubs are waiting for you! www.hauntedwilmington.com

05/18/2022

We love a haunted pub story. This one comes to us from across the pond. The Mermaid Inn in Rye, England has been serving travelers and locals for a pint or a room for over 600 years. It served as a hide out during the reformation, a place that Shakespeare's troop performed, and a hangout for a notorious and ruthless gang that would nail their enemies to the floor. No wonder there are plenty of paranormal incidents including a female ghost sitting by the fireplace. Anything left in "her chair" is found to be drenched in water leading some to think she drowned. There are also two spirits seen engaged in a violent knife fight. PHOTO BY JAMES RATCHFORD. Join us to learn about our own haunted pubs on the pub crawl. www.hauntedwilmington.com.

04/10/2022

It has been 142 years since a fire took the life of Captain Ellerbrock and his faithful dog Boss on April 10th 1880. You may have heard the story when you visited The Husk with us on a pub crawl. William A. Ellerbrock was a young riverboat captain who lost his life fighting a fire in the building on the corner of Front and Dock. His dog, Boss, tried to save him, but both man and dog perished. Their bodies were recovered the next day. The dog was buried in the same casket with the Captain, and the monument erected over their graves by a grateful community can still be visited at Oakdale cemetery. The front speaks to the bravery of the young man and the back side of the pillar base shows Boss lying on top, protecting his master for eternity and inscribed. "Faithful unto death." Captain Ellerbrock was only 24.

04/10/2022

The Haunted Pub Crawl updated their business hours.

The Haunted Pub Crawl updated their business hours.

04/10/2022

The Haunted Pub Crawl updated their business hours.

The Haunted Pub Crawl updated their business hours.

03/26/2022

The story of the ghost of Theodosia Burr.

03/16/2022

Around this date in 1781, Major John Love and around a dozen Patriot's were bayoneted to death inside Rouse Tavern (also known as Eight Mile Tavern as it was 8 miles from Wilmington's riverfront. Location is in present day Ogden near Market Street). This event became known as the Rouse Tavern Massacre, and helped galvanize locals against the British. You can hear more about this story on the pub crawl.

02/26/2022

The Black Cat Shoppe is open for the weekend!

02/25/2022

he Black Cat Shoppe will be closed through Friday this week. Please purchase tour tickets online at www.hauntedwilmington.com.

The Black Cat Shoppe will be closed through Friday this week. Please purchase tour tickets online at www.hauntedwilmington.com.

02/24/2022

Don't pretend to be a ghost in Portsmouth. This guy was fined for standing in a cemetery, waving his arms and saying "wooooo" as well as "rowdy" behavior.

02/15/2022

The Black Cat Shoppe will be closed through Friday this week. Please purchase tour tickets online at www.hauntedwilmington.com.

01/31/2022

Join us for a fun and unique Valentines!

01/28/2022

In January of 1949, the Orton Hotel burned. Initial reports said that everyone got out safely. In the days and weeks that followed it was discovered that this was not the case. JR Mallard's body was discovered February 16th in the rubble. Four months after the fire, young William Stephens body was discovered. It is said that the two men's spirits still wander the basement of the old Orton, all that is left of the original hotel today.

01/22/2022

Due to inclement weather and our concern for the safety of our guest and staff, the Pub Crawl is cancelled tonight Saturday January 22.

01/19/2022

The Ghost of Fort Fisher are probably very active this week.

This week in history brought the fall of Fort Fisher, the Confederate fort just south of Kure Beach. It was the site of one of the bloody battles of the Civil War. It is said that visiting the area after nightfall unsettles the bravest of spirit-seekers . The ghost of Maj. Gen. William H.C. Whiting with his distinctive mustache and starred coat frequents the mounds he helped build, though soldiers have been heard and spotted, as well. It is said that the General lingers at the fort as he predicted the slaughter. His requests for support were ignored, and after three bloody days in January 1865, the fort fell. Wounded, Whiting was captured and held as a prisoner in New York for months before his death. His spirit longed to return home, and many years later his wife, Katherine, relented and relocated his bones to Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington — which he may well also haunt — but his soul belongs to the fort and his men. Credit to Salt Magazine and Harry Taylor for the photo and Nan Graham for the commentary.

01/01/2022

Happy New Years. Cheers!

12/23/2021

With our sense of the macabre and our dark humor, we love the Victorian tradition of dark and creepy Christmas greetings. In the 19th century, before festive Christmas cards became the norm, Victorians loved darkly humorous and twisted holiday greetings. Some of the more popular subjects included evil Santa, devils, bugs and frogs, bloodthirsty snowmen and dead birds. Over the next few days we will be sharing some of our favorites.

10/30/2021

Two men driving a small silver car stole our sign from the waterfront. Let us know if you have any information.

10/12/2021

This is not a ghost story, but we love the quirky history of Old Wilmington.

This week in Wilmington in 1922, Topsy made quite a stir in her dash through the city. Topsy the elephant was fed some to***co by a visitor to the circus and went on a rampage through the streets of downtown. She was seen running through alleys and streets with part of a chicken coop and a garden gate around her neck.

One man ran out of his home screaming "Earthquake" from the shaking it caused to his home. In addition, fences, porches, and the interior of the Eureka Pressing Company (now the Dram Yard Restaurant at 2nd and Dock) all suffered damage before Topsy wound up deep in the swamp of Greenfield Lake.

She would have died there had it not been for the second legendary character: Officer Leon George. Officer George stayed with Topsy for many hours, calling her “Mumsey” and coaxing her out of the muck with apples and peanuts.

An exhausted Topsy was finally led back to the circus grounds. There she caught her second wind, escaped again, and dove into the Cape Fear River. This time it took two days for Officer George and his apples, peanuts, and calm demeanor to capture Topsy and help her safely back to her train car located where the Wilmington Railroad Museum is now.

As Topsy was led into the train she bowed to the cheering crowd, singling out Officer George with her gaze. Officer Leon “Tiger Hunter” George, as he was now called, who was openly weeping.

09/27/2021

On this day in 1718, Stede "The Gentleman Pirate" Bonnet fought the Battle of Cape Fear just south of Wilmington. Blackbeard's partner in crime was hanged in Charleston and, within a month, Blackbeard was killed in Ocracoke, thus ending the Golden Age of Piracy.

09/01/2021

On August 31st, 1888, the first victim of Jack the Ripper was found at 3.45 a.m.. The body of Mary Nichols was found lying next to a gateway in Buck's Row, just off Whitechapel Road.

The Wilmington connection to Jack the Ripper comes in the form of one James Maybrick who was a cotton merchant that frequently visited the Wilmington port from his office in Norfolk VA. Maybrick returned to England due to mental illness caused by an addiction to arsenic. He arrived prior to the White Chapel killings and was killed by his wife not long after the final victim was found. There are several reasons to consider him a suspect of the killings including his pocket watch that had a hidden inscription "I am Jack" and the initials of the five victims.

08/28/2021

It's a great night for a cold drink and a chilling story. Join us on the pub crawl! www.hauntedwilmington.com

08/14/2021

The Black Cat Shoppe phone is out of order for the rest of the weekend. We apologize for the inconvenience.

07/30/2021

If you have been on a pub crawl with us or are about to go, have you seen this great pub crawl shirt? Get it at the Black Cat Shoppe!

07/21/2021

Join us for a pub crawl! There is nothing like a little spirits with the spirits! www.hauntedwilmington.com

07/12/2021

If you were hoping to join us on the Haunted Pub Crawl this Thursday, but when you last looked the Crawl was sold out, look again! Additional tickets have been added for this Thursday, July 15th! Tickets can be purchased at the Black Cat Shoppe, or online at hauntedwilmington.com. We expect these tickets to sell out as well. Waste not time pondering this decision...

07/07/2021

What is the mysterious fog that rose up around one of our guides just as he began to tell the story of the paranormal activity in this pub? Come out for the Haunted Pub Crawl and hear the story yourself! Get your ticket for this weekend!

06/27/2021

Today in history 240 years ago begins the week that Colonel Bloodworth began his historic revenge during the Revolutionary war. After the British massacred a group of Patriots at Rouses Tavern, Bloodworth planned to take out an equal amount of British Soldiers. As the Red Coats lined up daily for their grog along Front St., he set himself up on the other side of the Cape Fear River and each day using his long rifle, revenged his friends. Due to his incredible accuracy, especially at such a long range, Bloodworth became know as the father of modern Snipers. One of those Red Coats may just haunt the downtown pub Cape Fear Beer and Wine. Join us for this story and others on the Haunted Pub Crawl.

05/07/2021

And with that, the pub crawl is back!
Thank you so much for a fantastic evening my friends!

04/22/2021

Did you hear? They're back! Pub crawls begin May 5th. Are you ready? Get your tickets at www.hauntedwilmington.com