Portland Old Port Ghost Walking Tour: 2-Hour Haunted History

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/6

Duration1h 30m–2h

GroupUp to 30

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Maritime ghosts and poltergeists in the streets where ships once ruled

A 2-hour guided walking tour through Portland's Old Port explores haunted history tied to the waterfront's seafaring past, with a live guide leading small groups through sites of reported apparitions, psychic phenomena, and local maritime legends. The tour is wheelchair accessible and suitable for all fitness levels, with public transportation nearby.

1h 30m–2h

Step-by-step itinerary

The Experience

You start in the Old Port after dark, where the 18th-century port's bustling trade and shipbuilding gave way to stranger tales. A floating restaurant still carries reports of spectral chatter in its former engine room. Maritime legends surface at each stop—a ghost ship that locals believe returns to claim lives, a poltergeist known for hurling dishes off shelves and playing pool, the "Jukebox from Hell" that blasts rock and roll in the small hours. The guide walks you through the neighborhood's darker corners, naming the sites and the stories attached to them without rushing past either.

The tour moves between Old Port's cobblestone alleys and historic buildings, each with its own reported encounter. You'll hear about psychic Alex Tanous, whose declassified CIA file documents his claimed work on high-profile cases including the Patty Hearst kidnapping. A 19th-century pub carries reports of a ghostly pair on the stairs and phantom piano music. One hotel guest reported objects moving in her room, the closet door rattling, and the television switching itself on and off. The guide contextualizes these accounts within the waterfront's real history—the shipbuilding, the trade, the lives that shaped the place before the supernatural stories took hold.

The walk takes roughly two hours and covers the accessible streets and alleys of Old Port. You'll pass through Art Alley, where cobblestones and hidden galleries sit alongside the ghost stories, and learn whether Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Portland's most famous son, believed in what haunts the neighborhood. The tour is led in English by a live guide and works for all fitness levels; all areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible, and service animals are welcome.

What’s included

Guided walking tour led by a live guide in English.
access to all stops and sites in Old Port tied to the haunted history and maritime legends.
the stories and accounts behind the apparitions, poltergeists, and psychic phenomena connected to the waterfront.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by American Ghost Walks Bar Harbor

Is this one for you?Book this tour if you have a free evening in Portland and want to explore the Old Port's darker history with a guide who knows the stories and the sites. The small-group format and live narration work well for a first-time visitor curious about local legends without needing to research them beforehand.