Why You Should Take the Terrified in Tacoma Ghost Tour
If you love local history or good ghost stories, the Terrified in Tacoma ghost tour is worth checking out. The tour takes a 90-minute walk through Tacoma’s Antique Row, Theatre District and past some of the city’s oldest buildings (or sites of buildings no longer there).
If you’re a believer or enjoy ghost stories for fun, this tour will be right up your alley. The tales are well told in a casual-yet-entertaining style, which makes them engaging and fun to listen to. Visual aids along the way help bring stories to life, as does standing right in front of the buildings where the stories took place more than 100 years ago.
What if you’re a skeptic? You may think that a ghost tour is not for you, but there’s a lot more to the tour than believing in ghosts. Tour leaders Charlie and Andrew Hansen weave tales of terror that they’ve gathered during their historical research of Tacoma, but intertwine these tales of terror with the real history of Tacoma. Subtract the hauntings and you’re left with stories about the founders and early days of Tacoma.
The takeaway is that you’ll learn a bit about the South Sound region in a way that’s a lot more enjoyable than reading dry history books!
The walking tours start at Brandy’s Attic on Antique Row at 755 Broadway.
Tours go rain or shine, all year round, so don’t discount the value of a lovely evening. If you do go when it’s raining or possibly going to rain, dress appropriately and wear good shoes. You won’t regret it!
Book tour tickets in advance at the Terrified in Tacoma webpage. You can pay online and choose your day and time.
When I went on the tour, the group was large at about 30 people, but I was told that usually groups are smaller. With two tour guides, any size group gets plenty of access to hearing the stories and viewing any photos up close. If you’ve got questions along the way, it’s easy to ask the guides as the group walks from one location to the next. Both guides are knowledgeable and able to answer just about anything about the area’s history (or haunted history).
One guide typically took the lead on ghost stories, while the second guide had an iPad and would show everyone photos to back up the stories. I really appreciated this aspect of the tour as it allowed the group to view photos of what buildings looked like 100 years ago vs. today, but also of buildings long gone, such as the Tacoma Hotel.
The tour starts on Broadway, takes a turn on S 9th Street past the Theatre District, down to A Street past the State Farm building and Fireman’s Park, up the Spanish Steps to S 7th and Pacific, and back to Broadway.
If you're interested in learning more about Tacoma's history, here are some great resources:
If you’re a believer or enjoy ghost stories for fun, this tour will be right up your alley. The tales are well told in a casual-yet-entertaining style, which makes them engaging and fun to listen to. Visual aids along the way help bring stories to life, as does standing right in front of the buildings where the stories took place more than 100 years ago.
What if you’re a skeptic? You may think that a ghost tour is not for you, but there’s a lot more to the tour than believing in ghosts. Tour leaders Charlie and Andrew Hansen weave tales of terror that they’ve gathered during their historical research of Tacoma, but intertwine these tales of terror with the real history of Tacoma. Subtract the hauntings and you’re left with stories about the founders and early days of Tacoma.
The takeaway is that you’ll learn a bit about the South Sound region in a way that’s a lot more enjoyable than reading dry history books!
1. Tour starting point and a few tips…
The walking tours start at Brandy’s Attic on Antique Row at 755 Broadway.
Tours go rain or shine, all year round, so don’t discount the value of a lovely evening. If you do go when it’s raining or possibly going to rain, dress appropriately and wear good shoes. You won’t regret it!
2. Where to get tickets
Book tour tickets in advance at the Terrified in Tacoma webpage. You can pay online and choose your day and time.
3. Tour format
When I went on the tour, the group was large at about 30 people, but I was told that usually groups are smaller. With two tour guides, any size group gets plenty of access to hearing the stories and viewing any photos up close. If you’ve got questions along the way, it’s easy to ask the guides as the group walks from one location to the next. Both guides are knowledgeable and able to answer just about anything about the area’s history (or haunted history).
One guide typically took the lead on ghost stories, while the second guide had an iPad and would show everyone photos to back up the stories. I really appreciated this aspect of the tour as it allowed the group to view photos of what buildings looked like 100 years ago vs. today, but also of buildings long gone, such as the Tacoma Hotel.
4. Where the tours goes
The tour starts on Broadway, takes a turn on S 9th Street past the Theatre District, down to A Street past the State Farm building and Fireman’s Park, up the Spanish Steps to S 7th and Pacific, and back to Broadway.
5. What you’ll see along the way
- The tour’s first ghostly tales are about the Theatre District and include some cool history of the Pantages and Rialto theatres, as well as a tale of not one but three ghosts in the Pantages.
- Standing in a parking lot across from the State Farm building, you’ll hear a tale of a mummy’s bloody revenge after the mummy was brought to Tacoma by early mover and shaker Allen Mason. Bonus: You’ll see a lesser-known mural in Tacoma by famous artist Robert Wyland. The mural is oddly tucked away even though it’s massive.
- The State Farm building is on the site of the former Tacoma Hotel, which burned down in a terrible fire in 1935. With a great fire comes more tales of terror—and some photos of the stunning hotel and its fiery demise.
- At a stop in Fireman’s Park, you’ll see the Tacoma Totem Pole, which was built in 1903. You’ll hear stories about Jack the Bear, an actual bear who was a fixture in downtown Tacoma in the early days…and whether there’s a bear spirit still lurking around. From Fireman’s Park, there’s a beautiful view of Tacoma’s harbor and the surrounding bay. Of course, the view comes with another creepy story of a mysterious shipwreck that’s still resting at the bottom of the Sound.
- The tour passes the old Elk’s building (that will hopefully be a McMenamin’s someday) and the Spanish Steps.
- At S 7th and Pacific, a small unnoticeable patch of grass is a possible former burial ground and Native American sacred site. Across the street is the Old City Hall—Tacoma’s most haunted building and the focal point of several ghost stories, including one about a 12-year-old girl who may haunt the building’s clock tower.
- On the way back to Antique Row, the tour also gets a glimpse of the Winthrop Building, which isn’t home to a ghost, but instead was the location of a meeting about one of the first UFO sightings in the U.S.—one at Maury Island (just off Tacoma’s waterfront) where six doughnut-shaped flying objects were allegedly spotted by two men in a boat. The sighting helped bring the idea of “men in black” into popular culture—and according to the tour, the men in black met with the men who saw the UFOs in the Winthrop.
- The tour ends back at Brandy’s Attic, which has some ghost stories of its own. On my tour, the group got to hear a recording of a paranormal investigation done at Brandy’s.
6. More about Tacoma's history
If you're interested in learning more about Tacoma's history, here are some great resources:
- A trip to the NW Room at the Tacoma Public Library branch downtown will get you access to microfilm of Tacoma's newspapers going back to the mid- to late 1800s.
- Arcadia Publishing has released several books about Tacoma's history, from books about specific parts of town to a book about Tacoma's Haunted History.
- Or learn a bit about Tacoma's historical Christmas tree that shows up downtown each year!
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