New Orleans Ghost ToursFrench Quarter Phantoms Ghost Tour: The Ghost and Vampire Walking Tour
The French Quarter Phantoms ghost tour is the lowest priced listing on this site at $21 for a 2 hour evening walk, and the operator bills it as the only New Orleans tour focused on both ghost stories and the city's self-declared vampire community. Groups of up to 28 set out from the Voodoo Lounge at 718 N Rampart Street at 6pm or 8pm, hear the LaLaurie Mansion story from the street and stop at the shop where self-proclaimed vampires buy their fangs. This page covers what the price covers, the route, who the tour does not suit and how it stacks up against ghost tours New Orleans that go inside buildings or keep groups smaller.
About This Tour
French Quarter Phantoms runs this 2 hour walk through darkened French Quarter streets, mixing New Orleans ghost stories with tales of the city's real vampire subculture. A Master Storyteller guide leads the way, and the operator calls it the only tour in New Orleans focused on both topics together.
The walk is on foot, wheelchair accessible and suitable for all fitness levels. Children are welcome with an adult, and service animals are allowed. Drinks are available to buy along the way but nothing beyond the guide and local taxes is included in the $21.
$21 per person, the lowest price in the catalog
2 hours, with 6pm and 8pm departure options
The Voodoo Lounge, 718 N Rampart Street, with a box office inside. Arrive at least 10 minutes early
Up to 28 guests. The guide language listed is English
Included: local guide and local taxes. Not included: alcoholic drinks (available to purchase), gratuities, and no entry inside any building is stated
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund, and cancellation for bad weather is offered
Check Dates and Availability
The 6pm and 8pm departures are the stated options, and places go up to 28 per group. Check live dates and times when you book.
You'll confirm the exact date and time on the secure booking page.
Quick answer The short answer
The French Quarter Phantoms ghost tour costs $21, lasts 2 hours, runs at 6pm and 8pm and takes up to 28 people on foot through the French Quarter.
Key takeaways
- It is the lowest priced listing here, rated 4.7 from 2,547 reviews, but no building entry is stated, and the LaLaurie Mansion is seen from the street
- Want fewer people around? The Ghosts of New Orleans Tour caps groups at 9 for $29.99
- Want more stops including the Pharmacy Museum and Voodoo Museum? See the pick, the Witches Brew ghost, voodoo and vampire walk at $33
- Compare every format, from walks to bus tours, on the ghost tours New Orleans
What the Price Actually Covers
The listing is clear about the split between what you pay for and what you buy on the night, so there are few surprises.
What Is in the $21
The inclusions are a local guide and local taxes. That is the whole list. The guide is billed as a Master Storyteller, and the content is the product: ghost stories and vampire lore delivered on darkened streets.
There is no entry ticket to any building in this price, and the listing states no interior visits at all.
| Line | In the price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Local guide | Yes | Master Storyteller guide, walking format |
| Local taxes | Yes | Included in the $21 |
| LaLaurie Mansion | Seen from outside only | The house is a private residence and not open to the public |
| Vampire supply shop stop | Stop is on the route | No purchase or entry ticket is stated as included |
| Alcoholic drinks | No | Available to purchase on the night |
| Gratuities | No | Extra, at your discretion |
| Hotel pickup | No | The operator asks you to walk to the departure point if you can |
What You May Pay on the Day
Alcoholic drinks are available to purchase, and gratuities are not included. The minimum drinking age is 21, which matches Louisiana law. If your party booked separately, tell the operator before the tour or at check-in so you land in the same group, because wristbands cannot be switched once assigned.
No mandatory extras are stated.
The Honest Note on Group Size
Groups are capped at 28, which is fine for a street walk but means you may be one of a crowd outside the LaLaurie Mansion. If a small group matters to you, the Ghosts of New Orleans Tour limits its 90 minute walk to 9 people at $29.99, for a much tighter circle around the guide.
Sources: LaLaurie Mansion
Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop on Bourbon Street at night. Photo: Jeremy Thompson, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Route, Stop by Stop
The listing names darkened French Quarter streets, the LaLaurie Mansion and a vampire supply shop, with ghost and vampire stories told along the way. Here is what is said at each named element, filled out with the documented history.
Meeting Point: the Voodoo Lounge, 718 N Rampart Street
You check in at the box office inside the Voodoo Lounge, arriving at least 10 minutes early for your 6pm or 8pm departure. The operator asks visitors to walk to the departure point if they can, to keep vehicles out of the French Quarter, and notes it is a short stroll from most downtown hotels.
Darkened French Quarter Streets
The walk moves through the oldest neighborhood in the city, founded in 1718 and covering about 0.66 square miles. Much of what you see dates from the rebuild after the fires of 1788 and 1794, which destroyed 856 and then 212 structures and left Spanish brick and stucco with wrought iron balconies. Ghost lore thrives here partly because of those fires, the yellow fever epidemics and the above-ground cemeteries.
The Vampire Supply Shop
The listing says you will see the shop where members of the city's self-declared vampire community buy their fangs and learn some of their favorite haunts. The operator frames these as real people who live their lives as self-proclaimed vampires, and the guide tackles who they are and why. The operator says this angle makes it the only tour focused on both topics.
The LaLaurie Mansion, 1140 Royal Street
The tour's headline stop, seen from the street. Delphine LaLaurie bought the property in 1831 and the mansion was finished in 1832. In 1834 a kitchen fire broke out, set by a 70-year-old cook chained to the stove, and rescuers found bound and mutilated enslaved people in the attic.
The New Orleans Bee reported seven people, more or less horribly mutilated, suspended by the neck. A mob then heavily damaged the house and LaLaurie fled to Paris, where she died in 1849. Records show 12 documented deaths of enslaved people in the household between 1830 and 1834, while modern retellings claim up to 100.
The house was rebuilt after 1838 and is a private residence today. American Horror Story: Coven gave it a heavily fictionalised portrayal in 2013.
Ghost Stories Along the Way
The listing promises the spookiest ghost stories New Orleans has to offer between stops. It does not name which haunted buildings are passed, so the guide has room in a city where the Monteleone, the Bourbon Orleans and Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop all carry well-known legends. Treat the tales as legends, which is how a good licensed guide frames them.
Sources: LaLaurie Mansion, Vieux Carre
Who This Tour Rules Out
This is a broad-access walk, but a few stated features rule some travellers out or push them toward a different listing.
Rules Out Nobody on Age, and Almost Nobody on Access
Children are welcome with an adult, and Viator's age bands run from children 0-7 through adults 8-62 to seniors 63-115. Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller, all areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible, service animals are allowed and all fitness levels are fine. If you want a night without children in the group, the adults-only true crime and ghost walk is 17 and over at $38.
Rules Out Anyone Who Wants to Go Inside
No entry is included and the LaLaurie Mansion is a private residence in any case. If stepping indoors matters, the French Quarter ghost tour with an interior visit includes one private haunted location for $37.
Rules Out Fans of Smaller Groups
Groups go up to 28 guests. For a tighter group, the Ghosts of New Orleans Tour takes 9 at most.
Rules Out Late Risers and Purists
Departures are 6pm and 8pm, so there is no late-night option, and much of the material is vampire culture rather than straight ghost history. If you want pure haunted history with a cemetery, the night cemetery bus tour runs at 7pm and 9:30pm from N Rampart Street for $45.
Could You Do It Without a Tour?
Partly. The streets are free, one museum is close by, and the vampire angle is the one thing you cannot easily reproduce alone.
What You Can Do Free
The houses on this route are on public streets and free to see from outside. You can walk to 1140 Royal Street any evening and look at the LaLaurie Mansion yourself, read the history beforehand, and cover the same darkened blocks on foot at no cost. The haunted places in New Orleans guide lists the exteriors worth seeking out, and the LaLaurie Mansion page has the documented story behind the facade.
What You Can Visit Alone
The Old Ursuline Convent at 1100 Chartres Street runs museum tours, and its attic vampire tale is modern legend rather than history. The Historic New Orleans Collection at 520 Royal Street is free with tickets, open Tuesday to Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Cemeteries are the exception: St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is entered only with an approved tour group, which is why the official cemetery walking tour exists at $25 for 55 minutes.
What the Guide Adds
What $21 buys is the storytelling and the vampire community access. The shop where self-proclaimed vampires buy their fangs is not something most visitors would find alone, and the guide can keep the LaLaurie legend and the documented record apart. If you are comfortable reading up and walking alone, the free streets cover the ghost half.
If you want the vampire half, this is the tour built for it.
Sources: Historic New Orleans Collection
The Night, Step by Step
The listing states two departure times and the meeting point, and names the route elements. Clock times beyond the 6pm and 8pm starts are not stated, so the steps below use phases.
-
6pm or 8pm
Check in at the Voodoo Lounge
Arrive at the box office inside the Voodoo Lounge, 718 N Rampart Street, at least 10 minutes early. Tell the operator at check-in if your party booked separately, because wristbands cannot be switched once assigned.
-
Meeting the group
Meet your Master Storyteller
Groups of up to 28 gather for the 2 hour walk. The guide sets out the two threads of the night: New Orleans ghost stories and the city's real vampire community.
-
Early in the walk
Darkened French Quarter streets
The route moves through blocks rebuilt after the fires of 1788 and 1794, with ghost stories told as you go. The neighborhood was founded in 1718 and covers about 0.66 square miles.
-
During the walk
The vampire supply shop
You stop at the shop where members of the self-declared vampire community buy their fangs. The guide explains who these people are, why they live this way and what a real vampire means to them, and names some of their favorite haunts.
-
Also on the route
The LaLaurie Mansion, 1140 Royal Street
The guide tells the Delphine LaLaurie story from the street: the 1834 fire, the seven people the New Orleans Bee reported finding mutilated, the mob that wrecked the house and the flight to Paris. The mansion is a private residence, so this is an outside stop.
-
After the tour
Back near Rampart Street
No return point is stated, so confirm the finish with your guide. Drinks are available to purchase along the way if you want one, and gratuities are at your discretion.
Pros and Cons
An honest read of the listing against the other walks on this site.
What we genuinely like
- At $21 it is the lowest priced listing in the catalog
- Rated 4.7 from 2,547 reviews across Viator and Tripadvisor
- Covers the city's self-declared vampire community and the shop where members buy fangs
- 6pm and 8pm departures give a choice of two starts
- Wheelchair accessible throughout, strollers and service animals allowed
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure
The honest downsides
- No entry inside any building, and the LaLaurie Mansion is outside-only in any case
- Groups of up to 28 guests
- Only the LaLaurie Mansion and a vampire supply shop are named on the route, so much of the walk is story rather than landmark
- Alcoholic drinks and gratuities are extra
- The latest departure is 8pm, so there is no late-night option
Who it's NOT for: Travellers who want building interiors, a small group, a pure ghost-history focus or a later start should look at the alternatives.
The Phantoms Walk Against the Next-Cheapest Walks
At $21 this is the lowest price on the site. The table shows what the next few dollars buy on the other French Quarter walks.
Price, Length and Group Size
The rows below come from each operator's own listing on Viator or GetYourGuide, with the group size left as stated or not stated.
| Tour | Price | Length | Group size |
|---|---|---|---|
| French Quarter Phantoms walk | $21 | 2 hours | Up to 28 |
| Tours by Foot family walk | $29 | 1.5 hours | Not stated |
| Ghost City Tours walk | $29.99 | 90 minutes | Up to 9 |
| Witches Brew walk | $33 | 1.5 - 2 hours | Not stated |
Questions About This Tour
How much does the French Quarter Phantoms ghost tour cost?
$21 per person, the lowest price among the listings compared on the ghost tours New Orleans, with local guide and local taxes included.
What time does the ghost and vampire walking tour start?
There are 6pm and 8pm departure options, and you should arrive at the Voodoo Lounge at least 10 minutes early. Live times show when you check availability.
Where does the tour meet?
At the Voodoo Lounge, 718 N Rampart Street, where the operator has a box office inside. The tour details list it as a short stroll from most downtown hotels.
Do you go inside the LaLaurie Mansion?
No, and nobody does. It is a private residence that can only be seen from the street, as the LaLaurie Mansion guide explains.
Is the tour suitable for children?
Yes, children are welcome with an adult, infants can ride in a stroller and the walk suits all fitness levels. For a shorter, family-shaped alternative see the Dark Side of New Orleans ghost tour at $29.
How does this compare with the pick on this site?
The pick is the Witches Brew ghost, voodoo and vampire walk at $33, which adds the Ursuline Convent, the Pharmacy Museum and the Voodoo Museum to the route at $33.
Can I cancel if the weather turns?
Yes. Free cancellation is available up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund, and cancellation for bad weather is offered, terms you confirm at booking.
Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
We may earn a commission if you book through one of our links, at no extra cost to you. Full affiliate disclosure