(Please note: This post contains affiliate links to tours you can book through US Ghost Adventures. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you.)
I recently discovered that a company called US Ghost Adventures has ghost tours all over the country, including right here in Jacksonville. When I’m on vacation, I love taking tours and learning about the history of the place I’m in. (Bonus if there’s an added spooky element like on a ghost tour!) But for some reason, it had never occurred to me to take a tour right in my own town before. In our neighboring St. Augustine–the oldest town in America–absolutely. In Boston, where there’s so much Revolutionary history? Of course! Basically anywhere in Europe? You bet. A Jacksonville tour wasn’t even a thought in my mind.
When I first told my husband and our friends that I had booked the tour, they were a bit skeptical. What kind of history–particularly of the ghost variety–could there possibly still be to learn about here? But the truth is, every place has history. You just have to know where to look. With a ghost tour, someone will curate that history for you and give you all the best parts in one go.
Enter Bekah, our US Ghost Adventures tour guide for the evening. By day, Bekah is training to be a mortician. (No way, right? Could there be a more fitting profession for a ghost tour guide!?) By night, she is researching Jacksonville’s haunted history to put together the best tales and trivia to share.
We met up with Bekah at the new Bubba Gump Shrimp Company in Jax Beach (R.I.P., Joe’s Crab Shack), right across from the oldest building in Jax Beach and our first stop, the American Red Cross. There was a mother on our tour along with her young son, who was clearly nervous. “Is this going to be scary?” the mother asked. Bekah assured her it would not be too scary for her son to join us and should be fun for everyone. For anyone wondering if it’s okay to bring kids along, I would agree, and this is typical of my experience with ghost tours–there’s usually an element of humor involved that keeps it from being too scary, and that was true here, as well. No one is going to jump out at you or anything.
True to her word, Bekah kept a level of humor to all of her ghostly tales, and I discovered some spots I’d never even seen before or realized were there, sitting right in plain sight. We’re going to be sure to have brunch at Casa Marina someday soon, and see if we encounter the ghosts of Fatty Arbuckle, his silent film costars, or his purported murder victim.
I think my favorite part, and certainly the most chilling, was when we walked around the historic buildings surrounding the Beaches Museum and peered inside. (Yeah, I had no idea there was a Beaches Museum, either, and I live only a few miles away.)
I took some photos through the mail slot at the museum. It was very creepy inside, like a haunted house in a movie.
At the end of the tour, we came across a tricky spot to cross the street, and Bekah warned all of us about it and said she would stay with us until after that spot, just to be sure we all got across okay. Afterward, we discussed how much we appreciated that little touch, because the chances of somebody walking out into traffic in that spot were high without someone who knew what they were doing.
My husband and I ended the evening at Bubba Gump, which I had never been to before. Seriously, I love Tom Hanks and Forrest Gump, but had never set foot inside one. Since they’re new to Jacksonville, I have to give them honorable mention here. The food was great, and so was the service! It was near closing, and we could tell the staff were tired and ready to close down, but everyone was still kind and polite, and our waiter was excellent–both attentive and friendly.
The Jacksonville Beach ghost tour is the perfect activity, whether you’re in from out of town and want to know more about the area, or you’ve lived here forever and just want something fun and different to do on a random night. If you’d like to try it yourself, you can use the promo code CARRINGTON at either of these links to get 10% off:
US Ghost Adventures | Jacksonville
Lizzie Borden Ghost Tours | Jacksonville
And if you’d like to try a tour at one of the many other locations nationwide, you can use my affiliate link.
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