Richmond Ghosts Boos and Booze Haunted Pub Crawl

Richmond’s Boos and Booze Haunted Pub Crawl links old taverns, former hospitals, churches, and Poe country in one evening walk. You will hear ghost stories tied to real buildings, then have the chance to order local beer, cider, or wine along the route.

I like the small-group limit of 15 and the way the tour blends Richmond’s past with time in pubs. Guides Mars and Bob have earned praise for lively storytelling and for getting the group talking. The catch is that the pub access can vary, and the walking route includes steep roads.

Key points to know before you book

• Three drink stops are built into the route: Rosie Connolly’s, Richbrau Brewing, and Patrick Henry’s Pub & Grille, with JewFro and Smith and Foundry also part of the historic pub setting.
• Poe, war hospitals, and old churches shape the stories: The route reaches the Edgar Allan Poe Museum, an old Masonic lodge, and sites tied to the War of 1812 and Civil War.
• Mars and Bob are guides worth requesting when possible: Their strengths are clear storytelling, humor, and encouraging people to share their own strange experiences.
• The tour is for adults only: You must be at least 21, and food and drinks are not included in the $37 price.
• Expect about two hours on foot: Richmond’s steep streets make comfortable shoes a smart choice.
• The experience is not perfectly consistent: Some evenings have included pub and brewery access, while one account describes a larger group and no entry into establishments.

Richmond’s ghosts come with a drink menu

This is not a haunted-house show with actors jumping from dark corners. It is a walking tour through Richmond’s old streets, where the setting does much of the work. You move from one historic address to another while your guide explains the deaths, disasters, and rumors attached to each place.

The $37 price is fair if you want a guided introduction to downtown Richmond and plan to buy a drink at several stops. It is less appealing if your main goal is a serious paranormal investigation or a long sit-down pub crawl. The format gives you some history, some ghost lore, and a social evening out, but no food or drinks are included.

The experience begins at 6:00 pm at McCormack’s Irish Pub on North 18th Street. It ends back at the meeting point, so you do not need to arrange a ride from another part of the city. The meeting area is near public transportation, though the tour itself is on foot.

Rosie Connolly’s and Richmond’s old red-light district

Rosie Connolly’s Pub Restaurant occupies a building that once housed the Railroad YMCA. The location also sits in an area once associated with Richmond’s red-light district, which gives your guide plenty of real social history to work with before the supernatural claims begin.

You have about 20 minutes here. The supplied schedule allows time to try a drink, though you pay separately. The ghost story centers on the idea that an unseen hand may have helped pour it.

That detail tells you the tone of the evening. The stories are meant to be entertaining and atmospheric, not presented as laboratory proof. If you enjoy old buildings, local legends, and a little theatrical suspense, this is a good opening stop. If you want hard evidence, you may find the approach light.

JewFro and the cursed commercial building

The next stop brings you to Richmond’s oldest commercial building. A long line of failed businesses has led some people to call the structure cursed. Your guide explains the story of Daniel Denoon, who is said to haunt the building.

Smith and Foundry, located there, offers African wines for tasting. This is one of the tour’s more distinctive details. It connects a local ghost story with a drink you may not encounter on a standard pub crawl.

The stop is also a reminder that the tour is not limited to Irish pubs or familiar American beer. You get a look at how Richmond’s old buildings now serve modern businesses, while the stories attached to the walls remain in place. Check the evening’s arrangements with your guide if tasting access matters to you, since the tour information lists drinks as an extra cost and pub access may vary.

An old Masonic lodge with a hospital past

One of the route’s most unusual buildings is among the world’s oldest Masonic lodges still in operation. It was used as a hospital during the War of 1812, and the tour connects that medical past with reports of paranormal activity.

This is the kind of stop that gives the tour more substance than a string of bar stories. War hospitals bring clear human drama: pain, fear, and death in a building that later returned to another purpose. You may find the setting more compelling than the ghost claim itself.

The schedule does not assign a separate time or admission fee to this stop. Expect to hear about it from outside or during the walk, rather than treating it as a formal museum visit. That matters if you are hoping to enter every building.

Poe’s Richmond at the Edgar Allan Poe Museum

The Edgar Allan Poe Museum is one of the route’s best-known landmarks. It occupies Richmond’s oldest standing structure and sits near places connected with Poe’s home and work.

The tour focuses on reports that Poe’s ghost has appeared in different parts of the house. His attachment to personal belongings is offered as one possible explanation. You should think of this as a Poe-themed exterior or neighborhood stop within a larger walking route, not a guaranteed museum admission. The tour information does not include entry to the museum.

Even so, the Poe connection gives the evening a strong literary thread. Richmond was important in Poe’s life, and his name adds more than a generic haunted-building story. If you are interested in American literature, this portion may be one of the main reasons to book.

Richbrau Brewing and Richmond’s beer story

Richbrau Brewing provides the clearest beer-focused stop. Your guide discusses the history of beer in the United States, then gives you a chance to try a house brew.

One drink specifically associated with the tour is the 14th Street Horribles sour ale. It is a useful example of how this experience can work best when the history and the drink support each other. You hear about beer, then taste a local version rather than simply stopping at a bar with no context.

The schedule lists about 20 minutes here. That is enough for one drink and a short talk, but not a full brewery tour or a leisurely meal. One evening did not include access to Richbrau, so you should keep your expectations flexible. The route may include the building and its story even when the drink stop does not unfold exactly as planned.

Richmond’s first church and its cemetery ghosts

The route also reaches Richmond’s first church. Over the years, the church and cemetery have witnessed several disasters, and the tour tells the stories of four ghosts said to remain there.

Churchyards are naturally strong settings for this kind of walk. You have old stone, quiet corners, and a clear link between the building and the people buried nearby. The stories can feel more rooted in place than a ghost tale attached to a modern bar.

Again, treat this as a storytelling stop rather than a guaranteed interior visit. The supplied details do not promise admission to the church. Your experience will depend on where the group can safely gather and how much time the guide has to tell the story.

A former tobacco store turned Civil War hospital

Another stop recalls a building that once served as a tobacco store and later became a hospital during the Civil War. More than 300 soldiers died there, and the tour explains why people believe ghosts remain.

This is the most sobering part of the route. The ghost stories work because the site had a real medical and military past, not because the guide needs to invent a frightening setting. You will get a stronger sense of Richmond’s wartime suffering here than at a simple bar stop.

The tour does not list a separate admission or formal visit inside. The value comes from hearing the story in the setting where the events took place. If you prefer ghost tours with a clear historical base, this stop should appeal to you.

Patrick Henry’s Pub and a colonial-era drink

The final named pub stop is Patrick Henry’s Pub & Grille. The featured drink is Farmhouse Dry Cider, presented as a taste of what colonists drank in daily life.

That choice gives the evening a different flavor from the beer stop. You are not just sampling a random cocktail. The guide connects the drink to an earlier period of American life, then adds the warning that any movement in the corner of your eye may not be caused by alcohol alone.

The listed stop lasts about 20 minutes. Food and drinks remain your responsibility, so budget for more than the ticket price if you plan to sample at several locations. The pub setting also gives the group a natural place to relax after walking through several old sites.

What the guides add to the evening

The guide can make or break a storytelling tour. Mars has been praised for being animated, friendly, and good at drawing personal stories from the group. That matters here because ghost tours often work best when they feel like a shared evening rather than a lecture.

Bob is also noted for strong local storytelling and for helping a mixed group warm up quickly. If you can request a guide, Mars or Bob would be sensible names to mention. Guide assignments cannot be guaranteed, but their different strengths point to what you should expect from the best version of this tour: clear history, easy conversation, and a bit of fun.

The experience is capped at 15 people according to the tour details. That is a useful size for hearing the guide and staying connected as you walk. Still, one account describes a group of more than 20, so the actual size may not always match the advertised limit. If a small group is crucial to your plans, confirm before setting out.

Walking, timing, and practical comfort

The tour lasts about two hours and begins at 6:00 pm. Since it ends where it starts, you can leave your evening open for dinner nearby or return to your lodging without arranging a second pickup.

Richmond has some steep roads. Wear comfortable shoes and expect a moderate level of physical effort. You will not need athletic training, but this is not a good fit if you want to remain seated or avoid hills.

The tour is offered in English and uses a mobile ticket. Service animals are allowed, and the meeting point is near public transportation. The experience is not for anyone under 21, even if accompanied by an adult.

You should also plan for changing conditions at the stops. The schedule names several pubs and a brewery, but one experience included no entry into establishments and no drinking or smoking. That conflict is important. The tour may function more as an outdoor historical walk on some nights than as a true bar crawl.

Is $37 a good value?

At $37 per person, you are paying for the guide, the research behind the stories, and the route through several historic parts of Richmond. You are not paying for drinks, food, museum admission, or transportation.

I see the strongest value in the mix of locations. You get Poe, war hospitals, a church cemetery, a Masonic lodge, old commercial buildings, and pubs in one compact evening. A self-guided walk could show you some of the same streets, but it would not give you the connected ghost lore or the social energy of a group.

The value drops if your main aim is drinking. With three named drink stops and an additional wine tasting location, the plan sounds like a pub crawl, but each stop is short. You may have time for one drink rather than a full round, meal, and long conversation.

Free cancellation is available if you cancel at least 24 hours before the 6:00 pm start time. Cancellations within 24 hours are not refunded, and changes in that period are not accepted.

Who should book this Richmond ghost tour?

I would choose this tour for an adult couple, a small group of friends, or an out-of-town family group that wants a social way to see Richmond after dark. It suits you especially well if you like local legends but also want real stories about war, literature, religion, and old businesses.

You should book it if Mars or Bob is leading and you enjoy a guide who invites the group into the conversation. You should also book if the idea of a drink tied to a historic setting sounds more appealing than a formal museum tour.

I would hesitate if you need guaranteed entry into every pub, a fixed small group, or a heavy concentration of ghost evidence. The feedback is mixed, with some evenings praised as fun and animated and others criticized for long gaps, weak storytelling, or little time inside the establishments.

FAQ

How long is the Richmond Ghosts Boos and Booze Haunted Pub Crawl?

The tour lasts approximately two hours.

Where does the tour begin?

It begins at McCormack’s Irish Pub, 12 N 18th St, Richmond, Virginia 23223.

Where does the tour end?

The activity ends back at the meeting point.

What time does the tour start?

The scheduled start time is 6:00 pm.

Is the tour suitable for anyone under 21?

No. The tour is not for anyone under the age of 21.

Are food and drinks included in the price?

No. Food and drinks are not included, so you pay separately for anything you order.

Is transportation included?

No. Transportation is not included. The tour takes place on foot, and the meeting point is near public transportation.

What is the cancellation policy?

You can cancel at least 24 hours before the start time for a full refund. Cancellations or changes made within 24 hours are not accepted for a refund.

Should you book it?

Book this tour if you want Richmond history with a ghostly edge, a few possible drink stops, and an evening led by a social guide. The Poe Museum area, Civil War hospital story, old church, and Masonic lodge give the route plenty of character.

Skip it if you expect a polished bar crawl with guaranteed entry, a drink included at every stop, or nonstop ghost stories. The experience is best approached as a walking history tour with pub breaks, not as a full night of drinking. Wear good shoes, keep your plans flexible, and request Mars or Bob if guide choice is available.