Central Ohio takes its ghosts and unsettling history seriously, and if you’ve never done a proper ghost tour here, you’re skipping one of the most fun nights the area has to offer. I can personally vouch for it.
These tours aren’t just a guy in a clown mask jumping out from behind a tree in the woods with a fake chainsaw (though you can find our guide to those types of things here). These tours show off real local history, real cemeteries, and really haunted places, all told by people who have years of research backing up each spooky tale that’s told.
We’ve personally done two tours with Bucky from Columbus Ghost Tours (aka the G.O.A.T.) and we still talk about them, often unprompted, months later.
So if you want to experience the magic of a well-put-together ghost tour, here’s the full rundown. We’re talking every tour Columbus Ghost Tours offers, plus other local spots keeping Central Ohio’s ghost stories alive.
Ghost Tours in Columbus & Central Ohio
Meet Bucky from Columbus Ghost Tours, the Local Torch Bearer of Ghost Tours
Columbus Ghost Tours has been locally owned and operated for more than a decade, led primarily by E.R. “Bucky” Cutright, a guy so knowledgable about ghosts and Ohio’s spirits, he wrote a book about it, Haunted Cemeteries of Ohio. Bucky also researches every tour through just about every single resource available to him, perusing historic court records, library archives, books, and more instead of recycling the same five urban legends everyone already knows.
It shows in the reviews. The company holds a perfect 5.0 stars across 188 reviews on TripAdvisor, 4.9 stars on Google, and repeat customers such as myself. Check out Columbus Ghost Tours here, and keep an eye out for Bucky leading your group. You’ll be in for an unforgettable night.
Columbus Ghost Tours’ Booze & Boos Downtown Walking Tour: Historic Bars, One Drink at a Time
This was the first ghost tour I’ve ever been on, and it ruined every other bar crawl I’ve been on since. The Booze & Boos Downtown Walking Tour ($40/person, 21+) walks you through some of downtown Columbus’s oldest taverns, the kind that opened well before the national Prohibition of alcohol was even a twinkle in Westerville’s Anti Saloon League’s eyes.
You’ll hear all the famous stories and nitty-gritty details, be it firsthand accounts from employees or stories passed down over the generations.
It’s like a history lesson and bar crawl at the same time. Plus, you get the pleasure of watching Bucky raise the stakes story by story until the whole group is leaning in by the end of the night. If you’re already a fan of Central Ohio’s oldest bars and restaurants, this tour is a great way to experience them in an entirely new way with a true paranormal chaser and master of his craft.
Columbus Ghost Tours’ A Night at Green Lawn Cemetery: Locked In, After Dark, With 160,000 Permanent Neighbors
The Booze & Boos crawl is certainly spooky. But it’s a walk in the park compared to A Night at Green Lawn Cemetery, which is truly a step above everything else on this list. ($40/person, 18+, and you’ll need a car to get there).
Here’s a little look into how legit Columbus Ghost Tours is. It’s illegal to be inside Green Lawn Cemetery after dusk. Columbus Ghost Tours has an exclusive arrangement with the cemetery to run tours there at night, which means for several hours under the night sky, you’re truly locked inside, entirely alone. Well, not counting your tour group and the roughly 160,000 people buried across its sprawling acreage.
That number isn’t an exaggeration, either. Green Lawn is Ohio’s second-largest cemetery, and it’s still an active one today. Governors, Civil War generals, aviator Eddie Rickenbacker, and Columbus’s own James Thurber are all buried there. We’ve already written a full, spoiler-free play-by-play of what it’s actually like to be locked in overnight if you want to know more before you book.
The Rest of the Columbus Ghost Tours Lineup
Booze & Boos and Green Lawn Cemetery get the most attention, but Columbus Ghost Tours actually runs numerous different experiences, and most people only know one or two exist. Here’s a look at the lineup:
- Creepy Columbus Downtown Walking Tour – $30/person, ages 12+, roughly 90 minutes through downtown’s darker history
- German Village Walking Tour – $30/person, ages 12+, ghost stories woven through one of the best-preserved historic neighborhoods in the country
- Civil War Ghosts of Green Lawn Cemetery – $35/person, ages 12+, a more daytime-friendly, Civil War-focused walk through the same cemetery
- Thurber House Ghost Tour and Investigation – $35/person, a hands-on paranormal investigation inside the former home of Columbus humorist James Thurber
- Ringside Cafe Ghost Tour and Investigation – $40/person, ages 21+
- Cultural Arts Center Ghost Tour and Investigation – $35/person
- Central Ohio Fire Museum Ghost Tour and Investigation – $35/person
The investigations are a different format entirely: instead of walking and storytelling, you’re using real paranormal equipment on-site to discover and communicate with entities. If you’ve already done a walking tour and want to level up, the investigations are your next challenge. For additional tours and updates, check out the Columbus Ghost Tours website for their full offerings.
Other Local Ghost Tours Worth Your Time in Central Ohio
Columbus Ghost Tours doesn’t have the only ghost tours in Columbus and Central Ohio. If you’re the type who wants a different ghost tour every Halloween (or multiple in the same month), these are the other locally-run options actually worth your time. We’re not including any national chains. These tours are made by locals who know their own towns.
- Ohio Statehouse Haunted Tours – Run by the Statehouse itself, this is truly one for the books: 2026 marks the 30th year of the Statehouse’s evening tours. And as one of the oldest state capitol buildings in the country, this is NOT something you’ll find elsewhere. Tickets historically sell out, so don’t sleep on this one.
- Uptown Ghost Story Tours (Westerville) – A theatrical walking tour, actors and all, through Uptown Westerville, staged by Uptown Westerville Inc. and Good Medicine Productions. You’ll find these tours on Friday and Saturday Nights from September 25 – October 31.
- Canal Winchester Historic Ghost Tour – Run by the Canal Winchester Historical Society for well over a decade, these tours share the stories that have haunted Canal Winchester for decades. You’ll explore the historic buildings, the local landmarks, and learn some wild tales about Canal Winchester’s history.
- Fairfield County Infirmary Ghost Hunt (Lancaster) – This one is for the true paranormal superfans. This is a hands-on, overnight paranormal investigation at the Fairfield County Infirmary. The building was built in 1840, so there’s a LOT of history (and paranormal energy) waiting within the walls of this building.
Want the full picture of everything Central Ohio has to offer? Our guide to Columbus and Central Ohio tours rounds up food tours, city tours, and more happening around Central Ohio.
Read Next
Once you’ve booked your first tour (or your fifth), keep Spooky SZN going by checking out our guide to Central Ohio’s most haunted places and our rundown of the best haunted houses in Central Ohio, especially if scare actors are more your speed.
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